<h4>Chapter 294: Calm Down</h4>


    <strong>Jacob~</strong>


    "I... I wiped your memory."


    The words left my mouth heavy and cold, falling between us like a boulder cracking through ice. I watched as her eyes widened, emerald irises shimmering with horror and confusion, her lips parting to suck in a trembling breath. For a long moment, she just sat there, frozen, her gaze locked on mine as though she were staring at a stranger.


    Then, without warning, Easter shoved herself upright, her swollen belly jutting forward as she rose so quickly the couch let out a desperate groan beneath her. Her shoulders quivered, her breathing ragged, and her hands curled into trembling fists at her sides, every inch of her radiating a fierce, uncontainable energy.


    "Easter—"


    "No!" Her voice was sharp and trembling,ced with fury and pain. "No, Jacob. Just... stop it."


    She took a step back, her wild curls bouncing around her delicate, freckled face. Her cheeks burned pink as tears welled up in her eyes.


    "I can’t... I can’t do this," she snapped, shaking her head furiously. "I can’t sit here while you... while you mock me about something like this. You wiped my memory? Really? Do you think this is funny?"


    My chest tightened painfully. Mock her? Goodness, no. Did she really think I would ever y games with her heart like that?


    "Easter, please," I whispered, my voice thick. I stood slowly, my palms raised in surrender. "Just listen to me. Please. Sit down and let me exin everything. You need to calm down—"


    "Calm down?" she spat out, her eyes zing with fury. "I’m done, Jacob. Done with men making fun of me all my life. Treating me like I’m worthless and stupid. First Ruben, now you. I thought you were different... I thought..." Her voice broke, tears slipping down her cheeks as she shook her head again. "I can’t do this. I won’t stand here and be your entertainment. Listen to me, Jacob. From now on, stay the hell away from me. If you don’t, I swear I’ll call the cops and have you pped with a restraining order for stalking."


    She turned away, scooping Rose up into her arms and she even grabbed Donut by the scruff with her other hand. The fat tabby let out a surprised mrowl but didn’t struggle as she stomped toward the door.


    Panic seized my chest. "Easter, wait!" I reached out instinctively, but she jerked away.


    "Don’t touch me," she snapped, ring at me over her shoulder with those storm-tossed eyes. "Stay away from me, Jacob. I mean it."


    I opened my mouth to plead with her, to exin everything, but just then, something caught my attention. I heard it—a rapid, shallow fluttering, like a hummingbird trapped in a jar. My eyes widened as I focused my hearing deeper... past her thundering heartbeat, past the rush of her blood... there.


    The baby’s heartbeat.


    But it wasn’t just fast. It was frantic. Struggling.


    My powers bristled beneath my skin, instincts roaring to life. Something’s wrong.


    "Easter," I rasped, fighting to keep my voice calm as terror wed at my chest. "Wait—please. Your baby... something’s wrong with your baby. I need you to calm down so I can—"


    She let out a humorlessugh, bitter and broken. "You think I’m that stupid, huh? That I’d believe another lie from you? God, Jacob, I thought... I thought you were kind. I thought you were... different."


    "Easter, please—"


    But she was already out the door, Rose perched on her hip and Donut hanging limply from her hand. I followed her, my bare feet pping the porch as I sprinted after her into the warm, fading afternoon.


    "Easter, please, just listen to me!" My voice cracked with desperation as I reached for her. Across the street, a pair of elderly neighbors paused, curiosity flickering across their wrinkled faces as they watched the scene unfold.


    Easter turned, her eyes glistening with tears. "Stay away from me!" she screamed, clutching Rose tighter against her chest. "I’m done being treated like a fool. I won’t let you humiliate me anymore!"


    More people began to slow down along the sidewalk, their murmurs prickling against my heightened senses. I could smell their confusion, their curiosity... their judgment. But none of it mattered. Only her and the frantic little heart inside her womb.


    "Easter, please!" I begged, my chest aching. "You don’t understand, I can hear—"


    "Enough!" she yelled, stepping backward off the curb and crossing the street toward her house. "Just... just stay away from us, Jacob!"


    Then it happened.


    She let out a strangled scream, her free hand flying to clutch her stomach. Rose let out a frightened whimper as Easter crumpled to her knees on the pavement.


    "M-mommy...?"


    "My stomach..." she gasped, pain twisting her beautiful face. "It... hurts... oh God it hurts—"


    A dark wetness spread across the concrete beneath her, glistening under the streetlights. My heart stopped.


    Her water... it’s too soon. It’s too soon.


    "Call an ambnce!" someone shouted.


    "Get help! She’s inbor!"


    A crowd gathered, their voices rising in a confused, fearful chorus. My instincts raged within me, desperate to protect her, to help her, to scoop her into my arms and make everything right. But I couldn’t—not like this. Too many eyes. Too many questions.


    I backed away quickly, slipping between two gawking neighbors and bolting into my house. My hands trembled as I mmed the door shut behind me. I closed my eyes, took a steadying breath, and let my power flood through me. My body shimmered, fading into invisibility. Then, with a silent exhale, I teleported.


    I reappeared right next to her, invisible to everyone around. She was doubled over, sobbing so hard her whole body shook, one hand clutching her swollen belly as if trying to hold herself together. Little Rose clung desperately to her neck, her cries piercing the quiet like shattered ss. Beside them sat Donut, his blue eyes wide with worry, his tail flicking anxiously as if he, too, could feel the heaviness of their pain.


    "It’s okay... it’s okay, Easter," I whispered, though she couldn’t hear me. Gently, I ced my hand against her swollen belly, feeling the panicked fluttering of the baby’s tiny heart beneath my palm. I closed my eyes and pushed my energy into her womb, wrapping the baby in a protective warmth, steadying its frantic breathing.


    "Hold on little one... hold on," I whispered, feeling tears prick my own eyes.


    The wail of sirens pierced the chaos as an ambnce screeched to a stop by the curb. Paramedics leapt out, rushing to Easter’s side.


    "Ma’am, it’s okay, we’re here. Let’s get you to the hospital."


    I stepped back as they loaded her onto the stretcher, Rose still clutching her hand and sobbing softly.


    "Mommy... mommy don’t cry... it’s okay... it’s okay..."


    One of the paramedics gently took Rose’s hand, helping her into the ambnce beside her mother. Donut sat frozen on the sidewalk, tail twitching nervously. My chest clenched as I bent down, scooped him up, and teleported him into my living room, setting him down gently by his bowl. He meowed up at me, confused, as I filled his dish with kibble.


    "Stay here, Donut. Guard the house."


    Then I vanished again, reappearing silently in the back of the ambnce, still invisible. I knelt beside Rose, watching her tiny hands clutch her mother’s fingers desperately.


    "It’s okay, princess," I whispered softly, brushing an invisible hand across her hair. She shivered faintly at my touch, her sobs quieting to hups as my calming energy seeped into her little mind.


    Eastery with her eyes squeezed shut, her breath ragged as tears streamed down her cheeks. The baby’s heartbeat fluttered weakly in her womb. I reached out again, pressing my palm lightly against her belly. My power glowed warm beneath my skin as I steadied the child’s frantic heart.


    <i>Hold on, little one... hold on for her...</i>


    The sirens wailed around us as we sped through the city toward the hospital, the shing red lights painting Easter’s tear-streaked face in sorrowful hues.


    My heart ached as I looked at her—this woman who didn’t know her own strength. Who thought so little of herself. Who believed my love was impossible.


    She thought I was mocking her. That I didn’t care.


    But the truth was, I would burn the entire world down before I let anything happen to her or her child.


    And as I knelt there, invisible and silent beside her and Rose, I vowed to myself that no matter what happened next, I would tell her everything.


    The truth about her memories.


    The truth about her past.


    The truth about me. No more secrets.


    And most importantly...


    The truth about how I have loved her from the very first moment I saw her. Back then, I didn’t even understand what that feeling was—I just knew that something in me shifted the second our eyes met.


    I shouldn’t have wiped her memories. Gosh, I wish I hadn’t. There had to have been another way to ease her nightmares, anything but this. Because in taking away her pain, I also stole our memories—every smile, every quiet moment, every spark we shared. And now, here we are, both of us paying the price for my stupidity. My short-sightedness cost us everything that mattered.