Chapter 67

Carla pulled herself up from the chair she was sitting on and went over to the refrigerator to get another juice drink. She walked slowly as she was now heavily pregnant. Her face was getting fuller and she looked fat which she hated. She wondered if Liam saw her in a different light but she had no idea, his attitude towards her hadn't changed and he seemed to care for her more now than ever. He would wake up very early in the morning and prepare breakfast before going back into their room to wake her up with kisses.

" Ugh " She muttered irritably when a glass cup shattered on the floor, barely escaping the cup from leaving a cut on her face.

Liam came in then and his eyes widened as he saw her struggling with the shattered cup.

" Carla! " He shouted and rushed over to her side in seconds.

She rolled her eyes, thinking he fussed over her too much. He was always treating her like a kid, like she was made of porcelain doll which she hated so much.

" Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?? Let me have a look " He said hurriedly and took her hands in his while searching her face intently.

She snatched her hands away from his in disgust " I'm fine and I didn't get hurt anywhere so you can relax "

Liam sighed, not surprised at her behavior, he was used to it now " Okay, just be careful, okay? " He said softly.

" You really need someone who can help you with stuffs like this, a maid perhaps " He continued in the same soft and light tone.

" I don't need anyone's help and pity Liam, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, I'm not a kid! " She screamed and Liam winced, expecting the reply from her already. She seemed to be getting irritated more and more these days and she had added weight but he loved her still. She had started to feel self conscious of her body. She would neither get dressed before him nor let him make love to her again because she felt she had become ugly and had lost her shape.

" Are you sure? " He asked, staring deeply into her eyes.

" Yeah, I brought it upon myself! " She screamed again

" Carla! " He shouted back. She went still for a minute, shocked that he shouted back at her. She was being a bitch she knew, but couldn't stop herself, the baby in her consumed most of her strength which got her annoyed. As if that was not enough, she had become as fat as a cow, looking uglier each day.

Liam felt sorry for screaming at her but he had no choice, he had to make her see reason that she was beautiful and would always be. He had no idea what put the notion in her head that she became ugly but he was ready and willing to change her mindset on that.

" We made the baby together Carla, it's our baby, a proof of our love to each other " He said calmly, silently hoping and praying she would succumb to not fighting him anymore.

Her eyes welled up with tears, yeah she had gotten emotional too. She cried for little or no reason at all and Liam was literally shown hell when he refused to do her bidding. She hurt him countless times, found joy in it, lived for it but he didn't let go of her still.

" But the love is fake Liam, it's all fake " She said and bursted into tears.

He sighed and walked over to her in silence. Cradling her in his arms, he comforted her by murmuring soothing words in her ears.

" Shhh it's okay, it's fine " He said softly and caressed her hair.

She whimpered softly against him and struggled slightly to get herself comfortable. Finally she stopped struggling when she seemed to have made herself comfortable and fell asleep within minutes.

He heaved a sigh of relief and carried her bridal style upstairs and into their bedroom. He laid her on the bed gently and went to shower. When he came out, wrapped in only a towel, he saw her sitting up on the bed, sobbing. Where was the sleeping woman he had tucked into bed before he went to take his shower? What's the thing with pregnant women and trouble anyway? He asked the heavens but received no reply of course.

He rushed to her side immediately " Hey what's wrong? " He asked frantically.

She shook her head in a way that meant nothing was wrong but she continued crying.

He tilted up her chin to stare into her eyes " Please talk to me, Bella " He pleaded.

" I'm not happy with myself " She replied and her voice shook from weeping.

He frowned slightly, wondering what on earth she meant by that " You're not happy with yourself? I can make you happy sweetheart " He said softly, in a bid to cheer her up but it wasn't working, at least not then.

" I've been such a bitch lately, haven't I? " She asked sadly and looked up at her husband, tear eyed.

Liam automatically shook his head " No, of course not, you've been so wonderful lately and I'm so happy that I couldn't wish for a better situation "

" Is that sarcasm I hear in your voice? " She asked and cried harder.

Liam looked up at the ceiling, thinking of how to pacify the heavily pregnant woman.

She looked up when she didn't receive a reply " Be honest Liam, please " She stared up at him, her eyes so wide and innocent that Liam knew he couldn't refuse any of her requests.

" I don't want to lie to you baby so yeah, you haven't been yourself lately, so different from the Carla I know. You have turned into an angry, sad, harsh lady but I understand perfectly that it's because of your pregnancy so I dare not complain. We made the baby together, remember? So I'm cool with everything " He everything in one breath and exhaled a deep breath.

" Oh dear " She whispered and raised her hands up. Liam got the message and placed her on his thighs. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent. God, how much he had missed her natural sweet smelling scent. The only time she allowed him to get that close to her was when she was asleep.

" Have I been that bad? " She asked in a hushed whisper and her arms went around him.

He nodded, not able to bring himself to talk

" I'm sorry " She whispered and was on the verge of starting another crying session but Liam held up a hand to stop her.

" Hey it's fine, you're just making the situation worsen if you keep crying " He said softly and wiped off the tear that had escaped one eye.

She nodded profusely " I know... And I'm sorry for putting you in a tight situation lately "

" It's okay Bella, it's okay " He said and caressed her cheeks.

" No it's not, I've been such a bitch lately and it pisses me off now that I thought back to how much of a bitch I've been but it's not entirely my fault " She sniffed.

He listened attentively without a word and waited for her to continue in which she did after some minutes of silence.

" It's the baby's fault too " She blurted out and blew into the tissue that was handed to her.

Liam tried to maintain a straight face but honestly, he didn't try enough because he bursted into laughter before he knew what hit him.

" The baby's fault?? " He managed to say amidst laughter.

She nodded and stared at him ever so innocently " Yeah "

" Tell me Bella, how is it the baby's fault? " He teased and pinched her cheeks lightly.

" Because he made me this way! " She whined.

He was enjoying her tantrum and found out he liked it, he thought it was cute.

" Really? And how did you figure out it's a he? " His eyes twinkled with mischief.

" Because I can feel it! " She said and pouted.

He nodded, amused " Yeah you can feel it "

" Come on " He said, gently pushing her to lie down which she did without protest.

" You have to sleep " He said softly, playing with her hair.

She nodded " I know but I can't seem to get any "

" Why? " He teased and she shrugged.

" I have no idea why I can't seem to get any sleep " She answered quietly.

He smiled at her confidently " I'll help you sleep within minutes, okay? "

She nodded and smiled up at him.

" Story? " He asked

" Hmmn hmmn " She shook her head in a no.

" Song? " He asked again.

She nodded her head this time and mumbled " Yeah "

He winked " A song it is then "

And he sang an old song from high school and she was asleep within minutes. He cuddled her close and he slept too.

**************

" Hi Mom " Carla said into the speaker of her phone.

" Hi darling, how are you? " Georgia asked from the other end.

" I'm fine and you? " Carla asked pleasantly.

Georgia chuckled wryly " I'm good too honey, how are you holding up? "

By that question, Carla knew her mother meant her pregnancy.

" I'm cool Mom, I'm holding up just fine " She said reassuringly.

" Anything you wanna ask me? Worries or anything at all? You can tell me anything you know, Carla? " Georgia asked and she waited eagerly for Carla's reply.

" Is this how you felt when you were pregnant too, Mom? " Carla blurted out

Georgia giggled " It depends Carla "

" On? " Carla prompted curiously.

" The body, our bodies differs from each other baby " Georgia explained gently.

" Really? " Carla asked even though she already knew the answer, she just wanted her mother to tell her more.

" Yes darling, we're all different . It wasn't that way with me though, I was agile as ever when I carried you in me, your father was always there to support so pretty much did everything together "

Carla nodded, suddenly glad she had a man like that in her life too. Liam was everything a lady could ever ask for in a marriage.

" Thanks Mom, I really appreciate this " She said gratefully.

" Anytime darling, anytime " Georgia replied and the line went dead.

Carla sighed, thinking about the day she would finally be free from all this. Putting all her worries at the back of her mind, she stood up and went upstairs into their bedroom. She felt a need to take a shower even though she went to shower not long ago.

She got out of her clothes and stared at her reflection in the full length mirror. She had just some few months to go, then she would be finally free from all the shackles. Shackles? The voice in her head questioned irritably by her choice of words. Yes, she repeated, it was all shackles holding her from living her life freely. Just like how she had envisioned before she got trapped in the marriage. Got trapped or you signed up for this? The voice sneered and Carla rolled her eyes anyways, even after knowing the voice said the pure truth. Whatever, she fired back and pushed the voice out. She showered and went into the living room to wait up for Liam.