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P5 - Chapter Forty-four

May 15th -16th, 2021:

Qibli was doing better. He was allowed back at school but under strict conditions. No one was allowed to tell anyone about what had happened until police could identify his attacker. Meanwhile, I kept expecting Fjord to pop up around every corner seeking revenge, but that was never the case.

Sunny also recently discovered that Daisy was a pretty well-trained guard dog despite her age and size. That explained how she woke Qibli and me up the day Cobra broke into his house and how she sank her teeth into Cobra's arm, not budging. It made me look at her a little differently. Her previous owner, someone she had probably known since birth, must have been someone important to Daisy.

But that new important person was now Qibli.

I stood in Qibli's backyard, filling balloons with helium. It was extremely warm outside, which made the day perfect for the gender reveal. Qibli was taking a shower and Daisy ran around and rolled in the dirt and barked in happiness. Smolder was struggling to build the tables beside me while Thorn was inside making food for the party.

Ostrich was being babysat by Kinkajou today so we wouldn't have to worry about her and could focus on the decorations.

The gift table was up and so were a few tables for guests to sit at. There weren't going to be too many people—just the ones who were close to the family.

I glanced at Smolder who was busy building the sixth and last table. His hair was messy, but he was slightly smiling to himself.

He's excited, I realized, tying my balloon full of helium to a string. He wants this baby, and he's happy to have one with Thorn. The wind blew through the ponytail my hair was in. The sun beat down on us, and Daisy's distant barking could be heard.

"It's not that Qibli hates you," I blurted, catching his attention. Smolder chuckled.

"I know," he gently said.

"He just wants to protect Thorn," I continued, moving the cluster of balloons I made aside to start a new one. "He's paranoid because he's afraid you'll hurt Thorn or it may not work out, but this baby will legally bind you two together regardless of your outcomes."

Smolder thought about that, and then he smiled. "Qibli's smart. I don't blame him for wanting nothing to do with me, but I'm determined to make things work between Thorn and me, and I'd never hurt her. She means the world to me."

I smiled back. "Well, Thorn's lucky to have you, and Qibli will see that sooner or later."

At that moment, Deathbringer strode outside with a cocky expression. He eyes me and my balloons and then the rest of the backyard.

"So, the gender reveal is today?" he asked, crossing his arms. "So far so good, from what I can tell."

"Did you come out here to help or to give us your unwanted opinion?" I demanded, rolling my eyes.

Deathbringer grinned. "What's with the saltiness today? Is it because I told you guys I'm moving out or because you're on your period?"

I scoffed. To be fair, I was upset that Deathbringer was going to move out and that may have made my judgment a little clouded, but it was so unexpected when he announced it. I didn't think it'd affect me as much as it did, which was embarrassing to admit.

"Whatever," I muttered, turning back to blowing up balloons. "Either help us or go inside."

He shrugged. "I'll help." Deathbringer crouched down beside me, taking the balloon from my hands and trying to make himself helpful.

I gave him an exasperated look. "Since two people blowing up balloons is only going to slow down the process, I'll leave you to it." I stood up before Deathbringer could object and headed into the house.