"What's going on in that beautiful mind?"

~All Of Me (John Legend)

°~°~°

Bernice was nearing the end of her third trimester. Her due date had been confirmed for a while and as she looked like a jumbo balloon ready to pop, her anxiety for her baby’s birth crept as well as the major doubts in her body and how she would look after labour.

Kenyatta was more than adoring, positive and a great confidence booster as he remained by her as much as she would allow. He was strict and adhered the rules Bernice’s doctor gave her more than she did. Which meant, no matter how much she begged for intercourse, he would deny it. There was even a time when he refused she burst into tears then went on about him not desiring her anymore despite the massive hard-on he grew from all her teasing.

Aiden, however, was swamped with homework from school. He never once understood why homework became a regular thing when it started out as a punishment to students. It made him want to fight whoever thought up the awful idea. He was happy to have Ken help him though, he always offered and at times ended up taking over the work completely. Not because Aiden couldn’t do the work himself, but because he got so bored of the work he had no motivation to do it since he was waiting for the response to his request to skip forward to a higher grade… again.

“Mummy, was I this big in your belly?” Aiden asked as he laid with his mother in her king-sized bed.

Bernice laid there in thought before she finally answered, “bigger. Yuh head did too big.”

“You’re a bully.” He deadpanned as his hand come up to measure his head’s with, “I have an average sized head, I refuse to believe it was that big when I was being born.”

His mother scoffed, “tell that to the nice they had to use and cut mi pum pum fi yuh come out.”

“You’re nasty.” The eight-year-old commented on her rawness with his nose scrunched at the visuals in his mind.

Ignoring him, Niecy poked at her bulging stomach, her face replicating the disgusted look on her son’s face, “imagine if this did full a pus like waa pimple.”

“I’m done with you. I’m going to play Fortnite.” The child muttered as he climb out the bed, Bernice started laughing at that as she tried calling him back, but he didn’t even spare her a glance as he slipping on his house slippers.

It was then Ken entered the bedroom with a tray filled with breakfast enough for two, “your food in the kitchen, Aide. I didn’t know you were up yet. And as for the beautiful pregnant woman I brought you a slice of the cake Aiden and I baked last night while you were asleep.”

“No.” Aiden protested and stomped right on over to Ken, eyes assessing the tray, he took up the slice of cake into his hand and bit into it, “she doesn’t deserve cake.”

This had Ken snort as he watched Aiden march out the room and partially slammed the door behind him. Eyebrow quirked in curiosity and amusement, Ken looked to Niecy, “what did you do this time?”

“I kinda put the imagery of childbirth in his head as well as put out a slight hypothesis about if my belly was filled with pus instead of a baby.”

Snorting a laugh, Ken walked over to the bed sat beside her with the tray, “he’s right, you don’t deserve cake.”

“Unuh just soft.” She scoffed, “in my days we did rough and it did hard fi sick my stomach.”

Ken cocked a brow at that as he took up his sandwich and bit into it, “I don’t peg you for a tomboy.”

“Well, before mummy took my from my biological father I use to play with the boys in the community. Played cricket, football, climbed trees, jumped fences, I also fought a lot with boy and let me tell you I never lost not even one fight.”

Nodding, Ken leaned his back against the bed head as he chewed, “so you can buss my ass if I ever step outta line? Good to know.”

“I wouldn’t fight you.” She told him as she adjusted her body to look at him

This had Ken’s brow arching higher than before, “coming from the woman who knocked the shit out of her husband the first night I was here.”

“He stuck his dick in my stepsister. You’d never do that. You have taste and standards.”

Ken laughed at that as he swallowed and leaned in to her lips, lightly pecking them, “you’re right. Anyone after you is a downgrade. I’m not looking for that.”

“Yea?” Niecy smiled giddily.

Nodding, he kissed her again, “you know it. You’re everything I need and more. Now it’s time for you to eat.”

“I don’t wanna.” Her lower lip jotted out as she blinked.

Sighing, Ken rolled his eyes, “we’re not going through this again.”

“Through what?” Niecy’s brows crinkled innocently, but her devious nature would not be forgotten.

Bernice ate less and less as the time went by even after being told she need to consume following a certain diet. Somehow, when Ken brought her food while Aiden was at school, his sweet Niecy seduced her way to having him down her throat, a moment of weakness sense her mouth became something he more than enjoyed.

Giving her a knowing glare, he took up a piece of her prepared sandwich as he placed down his, “don’t give me that. You damn well know what you did last time. You need to eat more. You legit didn’t eat dinner last night.”

“The baby is fine. I really don’t feel hungry.”

“Baby, for me then?” he asked softly with a light nudge of the sandwich towards her lips. Bernice eyed the turkey sandwich in his hand and pouted deeply. It looked delicious, but she just didn’t have the appetite. Maybe it was because she was worrying about them, worrying about her divorce.

That if Kenyatta found out that Giovanni refused to sign the papers and that she and him were on good talking terms, he might just leave her.

Kenyatta and Bernice had been together official basically ever since they first had sex. It was weird for Niecy since she was use to dating for a while first then it would be the male asking her to be his girlfriend. With Ken it was definitely different, they didn’t go on dates other than the one she took him out on and that was after they had sex. The courting question didn’t pop up from either of them. Which meant technically they weren’t together, right?

It scared her either way. It scared her that Ken might leave the moment her learned Giovanni and her weren’t divorcing in schedule. She wanted it badly to happen, but her husband wasn’t letting up. He was becoming more attentive, the smallest shift in her tone would be detected and he would navigate off that or ask her on what he could do to help. He asked about her pregnancy, he asked about Aiden, he even picked up Aiden from school some days.

He was being what he was suppose to be, but from a distance, of course, since Bernice wouldn’t allow him to see her other than over video calls.

“Baby girl.” Kenyatta coaxed her out of her momentary zone out, “what’s on your mind?” He asked, placing the sandwich back unto the plate, then moved the tray unto the side table.

Niecy’s eyes watered as she looked up at him through her already damp eyelashes, “hold me?”

Without question or hesitation, Ken adjusted his body to lay next to hers. She instantly turned her back to him as fast as she could and when his slender arms wrapped around her, a bit of her anxiety relieved itself. A shiver ran up her spine followed by the hairs standing at the back of her neck when she felt his lips plant a delicate kiss to her shoulder, “who do I have to kill to make you happy?”

“Ken.” She chortled at his question as her heart fluttered.

Chuckling, he kissed her again and began to sooth her pregnant belly with gentle rubs, “what’s got you like this? I thought I was doing a good job making you happy.”

“You are…” she whispered, “you’re amazing. I never thought I’d ever catch in an argument with anyone about what was best for me. Still can’t believe you spanked me for not wanting to go to my doctor’s appointment.”

Resting his chin unto her shoulder, he smiled remembering how that morning went, “I’ve never seen you wetter.”

“And you still didn’t fuck me.” She complained, “I swear, if wicked was a person.”

Ken made a humph sound at that, “I promise you when you give birth and heal up you’ll be exhausted, but sexually satisfied whenever Aiven decides to give a break.”

“So, you’re not planning to leave when I give birth?” she asked softly.

Ken shook his head, “naa. You own my soul. Remember how you made me sign over my very existence to you?”

“When dat?” she asked confused, but laughed when she heard his response, “that time you begged me to fuck you after I made you squirt for your first time in front of your husband. Good times, good times.” He told her, then furrowed his eyebrows as he recalled not hearing about him once ever since the event took place, “where is he by the way? Haven’t heard about him since you said the documents were finalized.”

Silence.

This would be the best time for Bernice to tell him, but the words didn’t leave her mouth. Ken sighed at the uneasy quietness and pushed himself up to sit, “he’s your husband and father of your children, Niecy. I know you must have spoken to him.”

“I—… I have. But I haven’t met up with him and—”

“You don’t need to explain, if you’re going back to—” he started, but Bernice but him off said speed and turned her own body around and sat up at her own pace with Ken offering his hand to help of course.

As he looked over his shoulder at her, Bernice felt her heart skip a beat as it always did whenever his dark eyes met hers, but this time a tinge of guilt and fear caused the action as his stare held a knowing sadness, “it’s not like that, I promise. I love you both, but I learned falling in love a second time with someone else makes a lot more sense than the first. If he was doing what he was suppose to, he wouldn’t have been staying in the hotel, you wouldn’t have been here taking care of me and Aiden… I wouldn’t have fallen in love with you… I think.” She whispered the ending as she thought about it, “honestly, I don’t know if he would’ve still had me if he was good either way. I… I love you more than him. For once I’m being taken cared of by someone I don’t have to pay.”

This had Ken’s eyebrows crease, “huh?”

“When I was pregnant with Aiden I had to hire someone to take care of me and help around the house. I lost my father around that time, my mother wouldn’t talk to me and Leanna’s modelling career was too hectic. I h—had no one. Giovanni would pick arguments and leave without telling me where he was going. Nick was finally in a relationship, so I didn’t bother him, especially because his girlfriend didn’t trust him with me.” Wiping away the escaping tear, Bernice laughed dryly, “I almost lost Aiden two times. Giovanni was the sweetest thing before I got pregnant, but somehow, for some fucked up reason I—I loved him… and I stayed when he showed his true colours.”

This was where she brought her hand to the side of Ken’s face, his eyes were red as they sting with his own tears—something that hadn’t happened in years for him.

Niecy sniffed and swept the tears from her cheeks once more, “I think God sent you so I wouldn’t go back to him, Ken. I’ve cried and I’ve prayed when my darkest thoughts took me for a sign that he wasn’t it for me, then I met you and from the first time you touched me—when you checked to see if glass got into my skin after I knocked him out—my skin tingled and my heart raced. I thought about it all night and wondered if that was the sign, but then I realized Aiden pointed it out from start when he took such a liking to you.” This tugged a small smile from her, “that boy likes no one, not even him daddy.”

“Niecy.” He sighed as he cupped her caressing hand into his and brought her knuckles to his lips, “I ain’t best with words like this, but you’ve saved me from my darkest parts too.”

“I love you, Kenyatta.” She whispered as her tears fell even more, “but he won’t sign the divorce papers.”

Ken cradled her wet cheek in hand and used his thumb to sweep away the tears as he nodded, “I won’t say I don’t want that divorce, but it’s fine, okay? Don’t think about it now. We don’t need you stressing. After the baby is born and you’re all good that can be dealt with. Right now I want you good.”

“I just w—want this over with, Ken.” She cried, leaning into his palm.

Adjusting his body hip to hip with Bernice, Ken took her in for a kiss, a slow, delicate one to help calm Niecy down, “it’s okay, baby. I’m not leaving you. As long as you want me, as long as you need me. I’m here. I promise.”

“I love you, Ken.” She told him as their foreheads rested against one another.

Light pecks from her lips, to her nose, then to her forehead, he whispered, “I love you too and I will love you even more if you eat something today, okay?”

“Okay.”

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