How It All Falls Apart (Part 1)
Subconsciously twirling the band that had made a permanent home on her ring finger, nerves bubbled inside of her chest as she laid flat on her back. She stared up at the plain tiled ceiling, mentally counting her breaths to keep herself from falling apart, inhaling deeply on three beats then exhaling slowly out the mouth on another three.
It wasn’t working.
All she could do was feel the panic in the pit of her belly, the anxiety that constricted her chest as she grew numb to the strange wet and coldness against her heated skin and a familiar voice that sounded too far away to comprehend.
“Are you ready?”
She couldn’t hear the question she was asked.. she couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of her pained heart as she wondered to herself.
How did she get here?
———
Light filtered through the floor length windows, the unusual rays of the winter sun casting on the two figures that lay tangled together under the sheets. Anna was the first to wake, startled by the early afternoon hour. They rarely slept in this late. But it shouldn’t have surprised her with the all nighter they had pulled, starting off by taking full advantage of the jacuzzi in the suite after Anna revealed the very racy slip completed with a garter belt she wore underneath her dress all evening.
Harry’s heart had stopped and his throat became instantly dry at the sight she presented him with. It was an expression she would never forget.
Anna raised her head that had been on his chest as they slept and smiled at the sleeping man that made her heart flutter with just a single look. After twisting around carefully to untangle some of the covers to a more comfortable position, she lifted a hand to trace his prominent features, momentarily pausing when he stirred. A single finger sloped down his long nose and over the faint freckles on his cheek, the sparkles from the sunlight hitting directly on the new diamonds on her finger making her giddy.
Last night had been absolutely amazing. From the sweet and thoughtful start and fun middle, to the champagne and chocolate covered strawberries they shared while soaking in the jacuzzi before spending the rest of the night making love until the morning hours. Anna sighed deeply as the memory of the night flashed through her mind like flipping through a photo album, each picture holding such emotion.
She never knew she could ever feel such a strong love for another like she did Harry.
Anna pulled her hand back when a low rumble erupted from his chest and his nose twitched. She softly chuckled when he fell still once again, shaking her head at the way he could fall asleep within seconds. Something sparked inside of her and she bit her lower lip as she contemplated on the proper way to thank him for a perfect evening.
With a small smirk lifting up the corners of her mouth, her hand traveled from his chest down to his lower belly where she innocently stroked the small patch of hair underneath his belly button. Her eyes focused on his sleeping form to look for any sign of him waking up, when she saw nothing but a peacefully slumbering Harry, she grew bold and inched her caress across his hipbone and down to the top of his thigh, soothingly tickling the flesh she found there. A flutter of movement behind his lids caused her to stop her action and once she got the sense he was still dead to the world, her nails lightly scratched his skin, creating goosebumps.
“Mmm..” Harry moaned with his eyes still shut but Anna caught the sheet that covered her active hand and his lower region stir abruptly, a seductive smile adorning her lips at what that meant.
“Harry..” she whispered.
“Hmm..” he hummed in reply to her sweet honey voice.
“Are you awake, my love?” His brows furrowed together when her whispered breath fanned his face, her hand gliding towards his growing erection.
“Mm-mm..”
She giggled quietly and circled the head of his cock with a finger before running it down his entire length that was now fully erect. A grunt followed a low moan with her light feathered touches. When she wrapped her hand firmly around his cock and began an excruciating slow pace, a sharp inhale came from him, his lashes still resting on his now flushed cheeks.
“Are you awake now?” She asked against his cheek before tracing the shell of his ear with the tip of her tongue and tugging on his earlobe.
“No,” he groggily mumbled, his harsh breaths increasing in time with her pace.
“Hm..how can I get Captain Wales to open his gorgeous blue eyes?” She teasingly asked, removing her hand and ignoring his incoherent protests. It didn’t take long before she pulled the covers up and slipped underneath them further until they were completely over her head, his wide smile being the last thing she saw before darkness.
——-
Anna inwardly scowled at the memory of them wasting another full day in that bed, well past the time they were supposed to check out and Harry had to book another day after receiving a phone call from the concierge.
That’s probably how she got here, she thought.
How incredibly naive of her to think everything was going according to her plan. How stupid of her to believe her and Harry were in the same place.. that they wanted the same exact things. How did she not see it when all the signs were right in front of her?
It was written all over his face just days ago.
———
“Well, hello there, little guy. Aren’t you precious?” Anna cooed as she knelt down.
“Save that for the actual baby,” Harry joked as he shut the heavy door.
She looked up and laughed before bowing her head once again to scratch behind the dog’s ears. Lupo’s tail wagged happily and his tongue hung out the side of his mouth as he panted, a big smile on his furry face.
“Oh goodness..I want to take you home with me,” she said, leaning her face down to accept many wet kisses.
“Alright, Lupo.. Quit trying to put the moves on my woman.” Harry patted Lupo’s head and lightly tapped his behind to make him trot away. He turned to Anna and assisted her with standing back up, scowling at her snickering and muttering about him being jealous of a dog.
“Oh, hey. I thought I heard something out here,” Kate said, her heels clicking against the marble floor announcing her presence.
“Yeah, your mutt trying to make a home in my fucking bed.”
“Ha! He doesn’t have to try too hard, I’m sure. Did you ring? I didn’t hear it.”
“I told Wills we were on our way and he said not to bother with the doorbell.”
“God, no,” Kate laughed, tiredly.
It was then that Anna noticed the sleep deprived mother. She had always known Kate to have a perfect hairstyle the times she had seen her, but now she witnessed even a duchess had her off days, taking in the disheveled up-do with strands of hair falling to frame her delicate face.
Kate stifled a yawn. “Excuse me.. He’s finally gone down for a nap after a long struggle.”
“Teething?” Anna asked, already knowing the answer. She remembered the same appearance from years ago with Kathie when Benny was going through the same stage as George.
“Teething and screaming-”
“And pooping like a horse,” Will finished as he entered the foyer.
“Takes after his pops, then,” Harry said, chuckling at his brother’s middle finger being the only response.
Anna placed a hand on Harry’s bicep and squeezed, silently warning him to play nice. “Should we come back another time? You both could use the rest while he’s sleeping.”
“No, no,” Kate waved her over. “Come. He’ll be awake in a matter of minutes anyway.”
Kate was absolutely right. Not even five minutes passed of the foursome sitting in the family room before wails filled the couple’s home, Lupo’s ears perking up at the intrusive sound.
“I got him this time, poppet. Why don’t you fix up the tea?”
Anna stood up. “Would you like some help, Kate?”
“Sure,” she smiled kindly, linking arms with Anna as they strode into the kitchen, chatting along like they were longtime friends, leaving Harry behind without a second glance back.
“Great, leave me with the mutt,” he called out. Loud panting was heard to his left and he chuckled when he saw Lupo’s dark eyes staring up at him. “You’re such a good boy,” he said as he scratched his ears the same way Anna had been. “But let’s learn to keep your paws to your own kind, yeah? Maybe I’ll fix you up with a bitch sometime soon..”
By the time Anna and Kate had returned, both carrying a tray filled with full cups of tea, sugar, and tiny silver spoons, Will was wiping spit up from his blue collared shirt while Harry bounced a happy baby on his knees.
“What happened here?”
“He threw up on Will,” Harry informed his sister-in-law with a grin. “I love this kid.”
Anna had witnessed Harry around kids before during his charity events, going as far as fangirling along with the many admirers of his as he threw or kicked a ball around with a bunch of little ones. He always looked so natural and content as he laughed and played with them. It pulled at her heartstrings every single time.
But watching Harry bounce his nephew on his knees and pull funny faces to get a loud belly laugh out of him, she felt something that she couldn’t pinpoint.
“See, all he needed was his handsome uncle to get him into a good mood. Right, Georgie?”
Adorable squeals left the little boy’s mouth as he excitedly waved his chubby arms in the air, his hands balled up into tiny fists. Anna made way to sit beside Harry again and looked on with a warm smile, laughing along as they watched George’s joyful screeches increase in volume the higher Harry bounced him.
“And up we go.. Up we go..”
“Hello, there beautiful boy.” George’s attention went to Anna when she leaned closer to Harry’s side and he made a dash forward to grab hold of her curls in his fists, forcefully tugging them. “Oh.. yes, pleased to meet you too.. We can shake on it this way.”
“No, no, no, George!” Kate softly said as she tried to break his fist to release Anna’s hair. “I’m so sorry!” She quickly apologized despite Anna’s wave of telling her it was alright. “Do nice, Georgie.. Nice..”
George stared with mouth agape as he heard his mum and dad recite the same word over and over while Kate took his hand and repeated the motion of caressing Anna’s hair.
“Ah, it’s quite alright, little man,” Harry said. “She’s used to a Windsor pulling on her hair.”
“Harry!” Both Kate and Anna scolded as the two men laughed at his sexual innuendo. Anna felt her face heat up, mentally formulating a murder plot.
“What? It’s a Windsor thing, ain’t that right, Will?”
Kate looked over at her husband behind her shoulder, threatening him with a death glare. Will lifted his hands in front of his chest and shrugged his shoulders. “You’re on your own, Harry. I like sleeping in my own bed with both eyes shut.”
“Oh, come on! Although, with your lack of hair, I would assume Kate’s the hair pu-”
“I would zip my lips if I were you,” Kate sternly warned as she took her seat across from the pair once she was confident George had settled down enough to not cause any more harm to the guests.
“Maybe it’s just a result of when Windsor met Caro.”
“Oh, good god. Please, shut up.” Anna groaned, covering her embarrassment with both hands.
“You’re just digging the hole deeper,” Will clicked his tongue, shaking his head at his younger brother. “You don’t even need a shovel, you’ve got a bulldozer for a mouth doing the work for you.”
“You’re in big trouble when we get home.” Harry yelped when Anna pinched his arm, an amused infant catching Anna’s eye as she reached for him.
“Would you like to sit with me, handsome boy? Your meanie uncle doesn’t deserve such beauty on his lap.”
“That’s not what you said last night,” he muttered, cheekily grinning when she rolled her eyes while Kate and Will shared a hefty laugh.
“There’s no saving you, little brother.”
Anna giggled when George eagerly stretched his chubby arms out for her to grab him just before he leaped at her. ”Oh, I know.. Sometimes I wanna leap far away from him, too.”
Harry’s scowl quickly transitioned to a dreamy smile, watching as Anna cooed and spoke to his nephew with such a motherly nature. With a hand placed over his heart, his felt his chest expand when she lifted the infant over her head and made airplane noises, flying him around in the air. He had never seen his baby nephew laugh so hard before where his cheeks turned beet red.
God, he fell even more in love with her.
His eyes landed on a knowing married couple, smiling brightly back at them before beaming at his love. And that was the way Anna found him staring at her when she glanced over at him.
———
“Are you feeling okay, Annalisa?” A concerned voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Yes,” she lied, sniffling. “Y-yes.. I’m fine.”
“Shall we continue? You’re looking quite pale, dear. If you need to use the restroom, I can clean up here and wait a few minutes.”
“No, no, no. Let’s just— yeah, let’s just do this.”
“As you wish,” she heard, the wet and coldness returning as a hard device applied pressure to her belly.
Instead of focusing on the screen that was turned for her to view, the only thing that was occupying her vision was the memory of Harry’s reaction 24 hours ago when she had told him the news.
A reaction she wished she could mirror.
———-
Two words. Thirteen letters. Three syllables.
One meaning.
She was royally fucked.
Literally.
The words that had slipped so easily out of the doctor’s mouth resounded in her head over and over as she made the journey home, legs trembling the whole way. She didn’t bother with the umbrella as the rain came down hard on her, soaking her to the bone, nor did she pay mind to her hair that clung to the side of her face as pedestrians gave her a peculiar look.
She didn’t care.
When she walked through the door, dripping from head to toe, Harry instantly leaped off the sofa and tossed the laptop to the side. “Anna?! What the-”
“Hi,” she weakly greeted.
“Baby, what on earth are you.. are you okay?!”
“No,” she whimpered, the tears that she had withheld for so long streaming down her pale and sickly face.
“Christ.. Wh-what’s happened? Wait,” he said, jogging into the bathroom to grab a towel and the sleepwear she had pulled off that morning.
When he returned just a few short seconds later, he began to peel the wet clothes that clung to her skin like a magnet. “Here, let’s get you out of these clothes before you catch a cold.”
As soon as he got her down to her knickers, he dried her off as best as he could so he could get her into the warm and dry clothes and move on to towel off her sopping hair.
Hugging her close to share his body warmth, he rubbed her arms up and down soothingly.
“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” She shrugged in reply, her hands straight down at her sides. “Are you just coming back from the clinic?”
“Y-yes,” she stuttered out, her teeth beginning to chatter from the bitter cold.
“Fuck, you’re still freezing. Let me get you a blanket.”
“N-no.”
Startled by Anna stepping back from his embrace, he studied her intently.
“Anna..”
Panicked eyes met his and fear instantly tore through his insides. He was recalling her briefly mention about having to get to an appointment at the clinic to renew her birth control last night while he attended a short meeting. Certainly, given the time, she wasn’t lying about just returning from it since he had been home for just under twenty minutes before her shaken arrival. If she was coming back from seeing a physician.. did that mean something was horribly wrong?
“Anna?” He asked, clearing his throat when it came out scratchy. “Is everything alright?”
“No.. erm.. yes..”
“Are you sick?”
“No.”
“Did you get hurt?”
“No.”
“Did those fucking pap-”
“No, Harry.”
“Well, then.. what is it?”
Her hand subconsciously rested over her still flat stomach, Harry’s eyes catching the meaning behind the simple act.
“Anna..” He breathed, nervously. “Are you..“
She gulped and nodded slightly, fresh tears welling her eyes.
“Pregnant.”
Wild Winter's Day 