She started staying out later in the fifth month.
Not much. Just an hour here. An hour there. Nothing he could point to and say this is wrong. Nothing that looked like infidelity or betrayal or any of the things he feared.
But he felt it.
Every minute she was gone. Every text she didn't send. Every time he called and she let it ring.
He was waiting.
And he had never been good at waiting.
---
"You're home late," he said one night.
She was in the doorway. Her coat was still on. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold.
"Traffic."
"Traffic at midnight?"
"I went to see my sister."
"You didn't tell me."
"I didn't think I had to."
He walked to her. Took her coat. Hung it on the hook.
"You don't have to tell me," he said. "But I'd like to know where you are. For safety."
"For safety," she repeated.
"Yes."
"Or for control?"
He looked at her.
"For love," he said. "For concern. For the fact that you're carrying our daughter and there are people who would hurt you to get to me."
"I can take care of myself."
"You're pregnant."
"I'm still me."
"I know." He touched her face. "That's what scares me."
---
She pulled away.
Walked to the living room.
Sat on the couch.
He followed.
"What's going on with you?" he asked.
"Nothing."
"Christabel."
"Nothing is going on." She put her hand on her stomach. The baby kicked. "I just need space."
"Space from what?"
"From this." She gestured around the room. "From the penthouse. From the guards. From the constant watching."
"I'm not watching you."
"You're always watching me."
"Because I love you."
"Because you don't trust me."
---
The words hung in the air.
Damien sat down across from her.
"I trust you," he said.
"Do you?"
"Yes."
"Then let me go out without asking questions. Let me come home when I want. Let me have friends who aren't yours."
"You have friends."
"I have people you've vetted. People you've approved. People who work for you."
"They're people who can protect you."
"I don't need protection. I need freedom."
---
He was quiet for a long moment.
The city hummed below them. Somewhere in the building, a door opened and closed.
"You want freedom," he said.
"Yes."
"From me?"
"From the cage." She looked at him. "Even a beautiful cage is still a cage."
He stood up.
Walked to the window.
Stared out at the city.
"I built that garden for you," he said. "I bought that building so no one else could ever go up there. I gave you a city. I gave you Verona. I gave you everything."
"You gave me things."
"I gave you myself."
"I didn't ask for things. I asked for you."
---
She stood.
Walked to him.
Pressed her body against his back.
"I love you," she said.
"I know."
"I love you so much it terrifies me."
"Then why are you pushing me away?"
She was quiet for a moment.
"Because I'm terrified of needing you this much."
He turned.
Looked at her.
"Need me," he said. "That's not weakness. That's love."
"Love is weakness."
"No." He touched her face. "Love is the only strength that matters."
---
She kissed him.
Softly.
The way she kissed him when she wasn't trying to prove anything.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"For what?"
"For staying out late. For not calling. For making you worry."
"You don't have to apologize."
"I know." She pulled back. Looked at him. "But I am anyway."
He pulled her into his arms.
Held her tight.
"Just come home," he said. "That's all I ask. Just come home."
"I will."
"Promise?"
She looked up at him.
"Promise."
---
The next night, she came home on time.
The night after that, she came home early.
The night after that, she didn't come home at all.