NovelEnglishElla
Over the following weeks, we fell into a tentative yet strangely comfortable routine. | wouldn't go so far as to say
that it felt like a real marriage, not by a long shot, but between the baby and the election, Alexander and |
almost felt like...
Partners.
Mostly, Alexander just threw himself into election preparations, while | found myself caught between the
excitement of preparing for our baby and the misery of morning sickness that seemed determined to last all day
long.
Morning sickness. What a joke. Try afternoon sickness, evening sickness, middle- of-the-night-wake-up-and-
sprint-to-the-bathroom sickness.
But Alexander was always there when | was ill. And every night, even when | didn’t see him all day because of
the election, he chfor dinner. At every event, we were by each other's sides, quietly supporting each
other.
Again, it wasn't a real marriage by any stretch of the imagination. If anything, it felt more like a strange sort of
limbo. But in an unexpected way, it was also sort of comfortable. And | found myself smiling a lot more during
those days, although that could have been chalked up to the excitement of preparing for the baby.
The baby preparations, in particular, were going smoothly. The cherry wood crib and matching furniture had
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtarrived right on schedule, and we’d spent an entire afternoon setting up the nursery.
Alexander had insisted on assembling everything himself, muttering about proper safety protocols and refusing
to let any of the pack members help.
Watching him wrestle with the crib instructions, red hair falling across his forehead as he concentrated, had done
something dangerous to my chest.
He'd looked so... domestic. Like a real husband preparing for his first child.
| tried not to think about what our life would be like if that were the case, but it wasn’t easy. Especially not when
his face lit up every t| mentioned the baby or when he would bringginger ale and crackers in the middle
of the night when |
was sick.
Chapter 172
+15 BONUS
The campaign, meanwhile, was going better than anyone had expected. Alexander's approval ratings had
skyrocketed after our public announcement about the pregnancy. Apparently, voters loved the idea of a stable
family man as their Alpha King.
Surprise, surprise.
The photos from our maternity shoot were still circulating on social media, along with candid shots from various
events where Alexander's hand could be seen resting protectively on my lower back. No one knew it was all an
act. Sometimes, | forgot it was, too.
By the t| was five months along, Alexander had taken the lead in the polls for the first tsince the
campaign had begun.
“I think | might actually win this thing,” he’d said one evening, collapsing into bed besidewhile | sat up on
my side, reading a book. I could feel a wave of sickness coming, so | knew it was pointless to try to sleep yet.
| glanced at him. “You sound surprised.”
“I am, a little. When this whole thing started, it felt like such a long shot.” He shrugged. “But the family man
angle is working better than | expected.”
The family man angle. Right. It was so easy to forget sometimes that that was what we were playing at. Sharing
a bed had becso routine that I often needed a reminder that none of this was real.
| forced a smile. “Good. That's what you hoped for when we made the arrangement, isn't it?”
Something flickered across Alexander's expression, too quick forto interpret. But before I could ask about it,
the sickness came, and that was the end of the
discussion for the night.
The following morning, | was passing by Alexander's office when | overheard him talking to Gabriel within.
“We need one final push,” Gabriel was saying. “Something big and public that will cement your image as the
candidate of family values, I'm thinking a massive supporter picnic, right here in our territory. Families welcome,
activities for children, the whole thing. Of course, Ella won't be able to come...”
Chapter 173
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