The movement in her womb made it very difficult to sleep. Elena stroked her belly up and down in hopes of calming them down but they just became more active. Honestly, it was not even a firm movement since she's barely into her fourth month but it was all so ticklish that she just couldn't stay asleep.

“Alright, alright. I'm up,”she groggily told her babies and the activities slowed down. Pushing herself to a sitting position, she managed to get off the bed. Yawning while heading to the kitchen, she continued her daily practice of talking to her children. “You know, Mommy loves her sleep. So the two of you shouldn't be so rowdy. How are you even getting the energy? Aren't you just the size of avocados? Ooo, avocados. I've not eaten that in a while. Remind me to get some the next time we go shopping. I'll let you know when kay.”

Patting her baby bump with a smile, she lethargically grabbed the cornflakes and decided on eating it as is. She didn't have the mental capacity to make her body bend down and get the milk. With her luck, she fall head first into her fridge and be stuck there. Giggling at the image, she was startled when she heard her door opening. It didn't occur to her, though, to investigate it.

Fortunately, it was just Harry with sacks of food in his arms. She could practically feel her body light up from his presence even though her mind felt like there was a cotton wall separating it from her body. Abandoning his box of cereal, she went into him the moment he dropped the bags on the counter. Everything in her melted against him the moment his arms came around her. All was right in the world.

“You're awake,”he said with a laugh.

“Yeah. The babies were acting up,”she said absently as she buried her face in his chest. He's so tall. She barely hit the top of his chest and it was delectably hard. Suddenly, he tensed.

“Babies? Like more than one.”

“No. I'm only having one baby. Why would you think I'm having two?”she said. She had heard so much about multiple births and not all good. So she refused to have more than one. Looking down at her belly, she reiterated. “Only one.”

“Ah, ok. Did you have a good nap? Mrs Goodman didn't wake you up right?”

“Who's Mrs Goodman?” And why was he talking so much? She just wanted to rest for a moment and allow her mind to fully wake up. He was so noisy. But to comfortable too. Yawning, she snuggled closer to him, nodding slightly when his arms came around her.

“My housekeeper. She came by to clean up the place.”

Clean up? The place? As in her apartment? Why would anyone but her, Elena, clean up her apartment-

Her eyes widening when she finally saw her living room, she roughly pushed Harry away and gaped. Her place was clean. Nothing out of place. Feeling as if she was waking up, as her mind finally caught up with her body, she gasped when she looked at Harry.

Harry who was the father of her baby.

Harry who had walked on her that night.

Harry who was the CEO of her former company.

She finally remembered about his unexpected arrival before she'd passed out.

“What- why- how-”

“Els, you alright?” He tried to come closer but she was not having it. He held out a hand, making him stop.

“Wait. I-I can't think- deal. Just- just give me a second.” Ignoring his concerned gaze, her eyes wildly went everywhere. Her sofa, which was looking better than when she had first bought it. Her television, which had a new doily on it. Her counter, which had all the food- “Ooo, avocado.”

“Do you want it? I can cut it for you-”

“No. What I want is for you to tell me why you're here.” She could finally focus on the important matter. His unexplained presence. Scowling up at him, she made herself fold her arms even though she had an overwhelming urge to cuddle against him. She didn't even know where the need came from. She wasn't an overly affectionate person so physical contact was not second nature. This had to be an unforeseen side effect of the pregnancy. Telling herself to be strong, she continued scowling at him. Then something occurred to her, making her look at him in horror and start pacing. “Oh my God. You’re the boss of the company. That means that you have access to my information. That means that you have been stalking me. Oh God. Oh God. I have to call the police. Gail. Stephan-”

“Elena!” Harry suddenly grabbed her upper arms, forcing her to a standstill. Stunned, she just gaped at him. “I. Am. Not. A. Stalker.” The absurdity of that statement brought her out of her stupor. Glaring at him, she propped her hands on her hips, as much as she was able with him still gripping her arms.

“Then how did you know where I live? I know that we did not talk about this when we were- when- that night,”she said, cursing her stutter. It had lessened the impact of her indignation and she didn’t even know why she was stuttering. That night, well day, had been all about sex. They had been two consenting adults and sex was hardly a taboo topic. So why was it so difficult to be so cavalier about it with Harry?

“Alright. I admit to having peeked into your files once or twice-”

“Once or twice? That is entirely an invasion of privacy. Look here, Mr Reynolds, just because you are the head honcho doesn’t mean it gives you the right to just look at my information-”

“First off, you are not allowed to call me “Mr Reynolds”. And, seeing as you were working in my company, it does mean I can just look at your information. Usually, I wouldn’t do that since I don’t care about my employee’s details unless it’s a concern. But in your case, I wanted to check up on you,”he snarled, his burnished skin reddening the slightest in his anger. She was surprised to find that she was not intimidated by his anger nor afraid of it. She, who usually avoided confrontation, was perfectly at ease with pointing out the errors of his ways. And she was not satisfied with his justification.

“Oh yeah? Well, it’s all about the intention. And you did not look at my records for professional reasons, Mr Reynolds. We both know that the reason is anything but about work so I am not taking this bull about “checking up on me”,”she said, changing her voice when she was repeating his words, making it sound more ridiculous than the way he had said them, and creating the quotation marks with her fingers. Then, wanting to defuse the charged air between them, she patted his chest while smiling cheekily at him. “And I like calling you “Mr Reynolds”. Makes me feel like I’m talking to Ryan Reynolds. He is hot.”

“What?” Harry looked down at her, his expression both angry and lost. His icy blue eyes had warmed considerably in anger and looked like the clear surface of a lake. They were also a bit dilated, out of focus. And while she wanted to laugh, she had to admit that she was also concerned for him.

“Harry, are you alright?”she asked, letting her hand cup his cheek. Suddenly, she found herself the laser focus of his cool blue eyes and a shiver ran through her back.

“There will be no talking of other men when you’re with me,”he growled as he leaned down. Elena found herself unable to look away, his eyes capturing hers and drilling his words into her.

“With you? I barely even know you- Harry,”she sighed against his lips when he came close enough to brush his lips against hers. She had missed this, missed him. They had kissed a lot and it was one of the reasons she had capitulated to his magnetism. Feeling herself pressing against him, she was suddenly aware of what was happening. She forced herself to back away only to find that he had curved his arm around her waist and the other hand was at the back of her head. His arm became steel bars when she tried to move away and she was trapped in his embrace.

“I didn’t want to leave,”he suddenly said, resting his forehead on hers.

“W-what are you talking about?”she asked, not caring that she had stammered. This embrace felt more intimate than sex and she was not used to it. Yet, a part of her craved it, this intimacy, this connection with another human being. Settling for relaxing in his arms, she waited for his response.

“That night. I received a call a bit after dawn. It was about the twins. Jason’s and April’s. They were in the hospital, suspected alcohol consumption. I had to go and help Jason in his time of need. But I know this is not a good enough reason for not leaving a note. I’m sorry,”he said, his eyes beseeching her forgiveness. Elena’s heart melted.

She knew he was close to his cousins since they had shared a table during dinner. The men had been joking around quietly, their jokes showing how long they had known each other and the strength of their relationship. She had been talking to the women and drinking like a sailor so she had not been paying much attention when the talk had become serious during some parts of the evening but she had known that Jason and April had a pair of twins, a boy and girl; April had shown pictures. She had not bothered then but now that she was going to be a mother, she knew how serious that could have been for the babies and tears began to fill her eyes.

“Oh man, I’ve made you cry,”Harry said with a groan and she had to laugh while wiping her eyes. He released her and tried to help her wipe her tears as well but was more of a hindrance. She batted his hands away but he was determined. “Let me help-”

“Harry, I can do this myself. Stop it,”she said crossly even though she found his desire to assist cute.

“No. I was the reason so I have to erase these tears.” She knew he was playing with her from his tone, light and lively. Giggling, she put down her hands and allowed him to rub the tear tracks although she had to grab one of his hands when she found his fingers becoming too close to her eye. Savouring his touch, she found his fingers were slightly callused which was surprising. This was the first time she could truly focus on his touch, Before, there had been an overload of sensations, from his lips to his hands to his body. She had not been able to feel the rough texture. She had thought that he stayed mainly in the office. But they were a welcome sensation.

“Elena.” She opened her eyes, not even realising when she had closed them, and looked up at him from under her lashes. The huskiness of his voice was an added sensation and she was becoming aroused. “Don’t look at me like that, baby. I’m not here for that and I don’t want our meetings to be only about sex-”

“Harry, I want it,”she whispered and a wildness entered his eyes. But he still didn’t move. She was becoming frustrated. He was preparing to speak again and she was not having it. Flinging her arms around his neck, she pulled herself to her toes and pressed her lips against his. And, finally, he began to move.

His arms came around her and he pulled her into his arms. He deepened the kiss and she rejoiced. The part of her that had been irritating her, like she was missing something, could finally relax. It was like finding a position in bed where her entire body was relaxed. Only, in her case, she had been missing Harry.

“Oh my God! Elena Harrington, did you pick up a man?”

AN: Hey guys. Hope you're well. So did you like the chapter? How about the story so far? I'm kind of having fun writing so i want to know whether you are also liking it as well.

Also, I've added titles. Whatcha think?

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