Claimed By My Husband's Enemy novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Chapter 77

(Eli)

I woke up screaming the next day, making me realize that in the middle of my anxiety, the pregnant me still managed to fall asleep. Landon barged into my room, alarmed, and after seeing that I was by myself, he rushed to my bed and wiped the sweat off my forehead with his hand.

“Why? What is it?” he asked as he cupped my cheeks, making me remember about the man I knew and fell in love with before our marriage life fell apart.

“I had a nightmare.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “You mean you had a dream about me?”

I couldn’t speak. I’d always considered it a nightmare if he was there, whether I was awake or not. I couldn’t suddenly consider that a sweet dream after all the things I’d suffered when I was with him. Abuse was abuse. There was no excuse.

“I don’t know what pregnant women like to eat so I prepared a lot for breakfast. Do you want to come down to the dining area or eat here instead?”

“No, I’ll come down. My doctor said I need to exercise my legs every day.”

Not to mention that I needed to study this place. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I’d trapped myself in my room.

“Alright.” Landon removed my chains. “Would you like to wash up first? You’re sweating.”

I nodded. To my surprise, he lifted me up and brought me to the en suite bathroom with such gentleness he didn’t possess before. After some time, I shook my head. Landon used to be like this. He used to let me become whoever and whatever I wanted to be. He used to trust me to leave knowing that I would always return to him at the end of the day. He didn’t let me work after we got married but I could still visit my mom at the hospital without being tailed by numerous guards.

All it took was just my heat to change all that, to lose the foundation of our marriage.

“Why didn’t you do this before?” I asked, not sure how to make sense of this situation.

“I was busy trying to become someone else. But would it have changed anything? Would it have made you stay?”

“Yes.”

And I meant it. My heart was not a fickle thing. All shifters were loyal by nature. Even if I met Creed, I may feel tempted. There would be an attraction, that was for sure. It cannot be helped among mates. But I wouldn’t have fallen for him. 1 would have stayed true to my vows.

However, Landon made it easy for me to let go. Our marriage had been in shambles for more than two years now. And he did not do anything to save it.

“I didn’t fall for Creed right away, Landon. We were enemies for a while. It was his little day to day actions that made my heart warm up to him eventually. He made me feel secure.”

“That’s why I’m changing. I’m trying to become the man you fell in love with. This has always been me, Elianna. Before the insecurities and madness swept me away, this is me. This is how we should have been anyway. Together. You, in my arms like this.”

“We’ve hurt each other too many times already, Landon. We are beyond saving.”

“That’s not true.”

15:54 Fri, Jan 9

Chapter 77

He put me down and was about to remove my nightgown when I shook my head. “No, Landon. If you force me to do this, I’m never going to forgive you.”

He sighed. “Okay. Don’t be mad. It’s bad for your condition. I’ll be right outside in case you need anything.”

“Thank you,” I answered suspiciously.

This was already considered a small win. There were no cameras, at least no invisible ones. I didn’t know if there were any hidden and I didn’t want to waste my energy looking anymore. The bathroom was full of the toiletries I used when we lived together. I took a quick shower and put on a simple shirt and pants, my own clothes from before.

I was in front of the dresser and was drying my hair when Landon reappeared and took the towel off my hand. “Let me do it like the old times.”

He stood behind me and patted my wet hair with the towel before using the hair dryer.

“Do you remember the first time I did this for you? You had a fashion show that night. We were supposed to go out and celebrate its success. But you didn’t want to leave your hotel room. We had the food delivered instead. After I dried your hair, you fell asleep right away.”

That was then, when we still trusted each other.

I did not answer. I did not want to reminisce. I was not going back to the past. I wanted to focus on the present and with a baby coming along, prepare for the future. Our gazes met through the mirror, and I fought the urge to wince after seeing what happened to his left eye. It had become dark while the other was gray, another sign of the forced shifting, of him defying nature, and becoming someone he was never supposed to be.

Despite that, Landon looked… truly content to be here with me. Tears rimmed my eyes. Before he could see them fall, I closed my eyes and felt his gentle fingers in my head, soothing me. The bond was there, humming a song I didn’t want to listen to.

After drying my hair, Landon put my sandals on and held my hand as he led me to the dining area where a feast was waiting for us.

He pulled a chair for me, and I decided to keep indulging him. My stomach was grumbling by the time I took a seat. He put meat on my plate which I devoured. He wouldn’t go this far for me if he would only end up poisoning me, would he?

My baby and I were hungry. I couldn’t go on a hunger strike like I used to. To keep my baby, I needed to be in my best self no matter the situation. Thankfully, Landon let me eat in silence. He just watched me intently the whole time. I was not even sure if he blinked.

After having my fill, Landon took my hand again like he was worried I could still run away even with all the dragons flying outside. Did he think I was suicidal?

He toured me around the mansion, starting with the entertainment room, to the library, to his office, to another room which he said I could turn into my own office, and to another empty room.

“This will be the baby’s room,” Landon said. “You can decorate it however you want. You can shop for the decorations online and our men will deliver them here. Or if you want to wait until we find out the gender, it’s okay. I looked it up online. I read that as early as ten weeks, we can determine the gender. There’s a doctor who will come to visit you every now and then.” He smiled which made his eyes sparkle. “I hope it’s a girl. It would be nice if our baby takes after you.”

It was going to be a boy. I dreamt of it.

“How many weeks are you right now?”

“Six.”

Hearing Landon’s suggestions about the room was making me emotional again. If he was appealing to the mother in me, it

15:54 Fri, Jan 9

Chapter 77

was working. It was hard to be rude when he was talking about the baby like that. It turned out that Landon was so much easier to deal with when he was being a royal pain in the ass.

62

I didn’t know how to handle this version of him without being sad, without feeling guilty, without cursing Hugo who started all this. If not for him, mom wouldn’t have to hide for a long time. She wouldn’t have had to keep who we were a secret. I wished he was still suffering even in death, that he was thrown to hell, and was rotting there.

“This is my room,” Landon said as we headed back to the third floor using the elevator. “Right in front of yours so that in case you need something, I can come to you immediately.”

“What about your dragons? Where do they stay?”

“Our dragons,” Landon corrected. “Our army. They have their own apartments here in the mountains.”

“So, you’re going to stay in this place? For good?” He nodded. “But you are used to life in the city.”

“You’re not. You didn’t enjoy it like I did. I saw it. I felt it. You once said how nice it would be to live near the mountains. That’s why I swore to myself that I’d get us a house near them one day. It took a year to build this.”

I swallowed painfully. “It’s a beautiful house.”

“It has to be. This is where we will be raising our kids.”

Emotion clogged my throat. If I heard this from him before, it would have made a big impact. He would have won me over. And maybe even Landon could tell because I kept hearing the regret behind his every word.

“It’s not too late,” he assured me. “We can still work this out, honey.”

We both knew the answer to that.

He opened the door to my room.

“Thank you for the meal and the house tour, Landon,” I said politely when he seemed to be waiting for something as he stood there. “Thank you for… thinking about the baby.”

I was getting worried. My necklace had been getting warmer for a while now, like a sign of Creed’s temper about to reach its limit.

“You’re welcome,” he said. “Have a good rest.”

“Thanks.”

Landon took a sharp breath, nodded, and turned around. He walked towards his own room in front of mine and opened the door. Just as I was closing mine, I heard him call my name.

“Elianna, you know, I just realized something.”

My brows furrowed. “What is it?”

He strode back to me. “Maybe in order for us to start something together, we need to leave the past behind.”

“What are you saying?”

I would have snapped at him at another time, but I had to be wary of my every reaction. I didn’t want to trigger Landon’s dark tendencies, not in my condition.

“Maybe you have to throw away everything you got from Black.”

“You already did that. Didn’t you burn my nightgown a while ago? That was the only thing I have with me.”

15:54 Fri, Jan 9

Chapter 77

“You have one more left that belongs to another man.”

I stepped backwards as he shot a glance at my necklace. “No, not this one, Landon. Please.”

Without my necklace, the only thing that could help me communicate with Creed would be gone. There was no telephone here, no laptops, no gadgets that I could use.

How could I stay sane in a place like this without talking to my real mate at least?

“But we are starting over. The necklace needs to go, Elianna. Now.” He extended his hand. “Don’t make me mad, honey. Hand it to me while I’m still being nice.”

B

AD

Comment

Send gift

No Ads

15:54 Fri, Jan 9