chapter ┊ ✦. :: twenty eight
♡ ﹙ mood swings﹚ ❋  ˚  ݂ ꛒ

It was a little past two-thirty in the morning, and Carlisle enjoyed listening to Lydia's gentle breaths as she slept. He cherished the peaceful silence where nothing mattered more than Lydia and their baby. It was just the three of them, and that was fine. There were no worries.

He furrowed his brow as he felt the girl shift in her place and then saw her wake up. He looked at her with tenderness; the girl's eyes were slightly swollen, and she couldn't fully open them.

"Hello, sweetheart," the blond murmured, gently caressing her cheek. "Is everything okay?"

Lydia was more asleep than awake, but still let out a big yawn and looked at Carlisle with narrowed eyes.

"I'm hungry," she murmured with a tone of embarrassment. She didn't like to bother Carlisle, even though he had said that it didn't bother him at all. He was genuinely delighted to fulfill any of her needs and would never deny her anything that was within his reach.

Carlisle smiled.

"Tell me what you want, and I'll bring it to you."

She sighed.

"I want fries and a little vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and sprinkles."

Carlisle couldn't help but let out a little laugh. At least this craving had been more normal than the previous ones.

"Alright, give me five minutes, and I'll bring it to you." Esme and Emmett had gone to the supermarket a few days earlier to stock up on provisions for Lydia. Everyone knew about the girl's sudden cravings and had bought everything they found along the way. They wanted her to feel comfortable and to find everything she needed in case it was late at night or no one was home.

She smiled when Carlisle kissed her forehead before getting up and leaving the room. Sleep began to fade, and it was then that she decided to get up. Now it was more complicated to find a comfortable position to sleep. As soon as she stood up, she felt a strong dizziness and rushed to the bathroom without thinking twice. She hated nighttime nausea, although morning sickness was a thousand times worse. In recent days, they had become more intense, but she found them really unpleasant and preferred Carlisle not to be present when it happened. But it was obvious that he could hear her; after all, he was a vampire.

When she finished vomiting, she rinsed her mouth and splashed her face with water. She stared at her reflection for a long moment before leaving the bathroom and returning to the room. She sat on the edge of the bed when she began to cry. It was then that Carlisle returned and looked at Lydia worriedly. He left the food on the bedside table to approach her.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know," she murmured between sobs. "Suddenly, I just wanted to cry."

Carlisle extended his arms, and she didn't hesitate to approach him and hug him tightly. He simply let her cry while gently caressing her hair.

Yes, her mood was also very strange lately and changed very suddenly. At one moment she could be very happy, singing and dancing everywhere, but the next second, she was crying or angry about the slightest thing that normally wouldn't matter to her.

If there was anything Lydia hated more than nausea, it was these sudden mood swings.

When she felt better, she separated a bit from Carlisle and looked at him with a small smile. He kissed her forehead and wiped away the remaining tears with his thumbs.

"Do you still want something to eat?" Lydia nodded. "Alright, get into bed and get comfortable."

She smiled, showing her teeth, and did as she was told. She sat on the bed and covered her legs with some blankets. It was quite cold, but bearable. Besides, Carlisle had installed a heater in the room in case the cold was too strong.

Carlisle then handed her what she had asked for, and she began to eat while talking about anything that came to her mind at that moment. The man listened attentively and intervened when necessary. However, Lydia was halfway through an explanation of why cats could rule the world when she closed her eyes and fell asleep again. The blond smiled; she had been doing it a lot lately, and everyone noticed. Of course, they were happy for him, for both of them, actually.

He took the empty plates and arranged his fiancée, covering her completely with blankets and tidying up the many pillows around her. Finally, he also settled down beside her and closed his eyes to listen attentively to both Lydia's and the baby's heartbeats.

It was probably his favorite sound in the whole world.

🫀

Graduation day arrived, and the entire Cullen family was present, including Lydia, who inevitably began to cry with happiness. Carlisle just smiled and took her hand.

After the ceremony and taking some photos, Lydia and Charlie Swan stayed chatting for a moment. The police chief had heard that the girl was pregnant, but it had been a long time since he had seen her. However, what surprised him was when she mentioned that she was engaged to Carlisle. Charlie was very happy for her; undoubtedly, they made an excellent couple.

However, Lydia wasn't sure if it was because of the pregnancy or her normal mood, but she felt a little bad for Charlie and for all the hasty decisions Bella had made lately. Although Bella didn't do it on purpose, she would end up hurting Charlie one way or another, and Lydia didn't like that. She felt that Bella was being a bit selfish and not thinking about anyone other than herself. But ultimately, it was her decision, and Lydia couldn't do anything about it. Just keep supporting Charlie if necessary.

Still, she didn't hesitate twice when she asked Chief Swan if she could hug him. Although Charlie felt confused, he gladly agreed.

Nearly forty minutes later, Lydia and Carlisle were in the latter's car. They knew the kids would have a party at home, so Carlisle decided to take Lydia out for dinner to give the recent graduates some space to have fun. Perhaps they could even stay overnight at Lydia's house and spend the next day together without anyone bothering them.

But their plans were interrupted when Edward called Carlisle, and they had to return home because of a vision Alice had. Lydia didn't want to be upset about it, but she was actually very upset. It seemed they couldn't resolve anything without Carlisle, which meant they couldn't spend much time together. She really wished it didn't matter to her, but it did. A lot.

Lydia didn't want to stress about whatever was happening, so as soon as they arrived, she went straight to the bedroom and took everything necessary for a nice bubble bath. She locked herself in the bathroom and enjoyed the little moment as much as she could, as her mind was a complete mess and she couldn't stop thinking about negative things. She hated it. And even though she promised herself not to cry, she couldn't help it at that moment being alone with her thoughts. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she mentally repeated that everything would be okay.

But it was at that moment that everything started to go downhill for Lydia. Honestly, she blamed the pregnancy, as she was sure none of that would matter much in a more normal situation.

First, she began to feel that Carlisle was drifting further and further away from her. She didn't blame him; he was the head of the family

, and they needed him... but she also needed him in those moments. Of course, it never crossed her mind to make him choose between her and his family; that wouldn't be fair. And she feared the answer.

Then, combining work with pregnancy symptoms began to be increasingly overwhelming. Also, without Carlisle at the hospital, most of the responsibilities fell on her. She still remembered when they competed to see who was the best. Now she was the head of that hospital, and she honestly missed Carlisle.

At that moment, she never imagined she would end up pregnant by him, and they would also get married. In the past, she would have made fun of herself.

Finally, she received the worst news in the universe. Her mother had passed away, and it wasn't because of her illness; in fact, it was because of a shooting at a shopping center that resulted in tragedy. But not only that... her father was also there.

If Lydia had felt broken before, now she felt like she was breaking into pieces.

She didn't tell Carlisle. There wasn't a particular reason, perhaps she didn't want to bother him when her family's life was in danger, but at that moment, she just wanted to be alone.

And that's what she did. She persuaded Carlisle to go to her house, where she tried to relax, crying and eating as much as she could. Her mind was so muddled that she couldn't even think clearly, so she tried to vent in every possible way she could think of.

But the worst was yet to come.

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