Chapter 4: Shadows at the Edge
1045 Words
The following days blurred into a careful dance, Sophia hadn’t expect to learn so soon. She woke each morning battling waves of nausea that left her pale and drained.
The doctor had told her it was normal, but normal felt exhausting when paired with Damian’s unchanging expectations.
He still left for the office early, returning late each evening with the same sharp hunger in his eyes.
Tonight he came home at ten, the scent of whiskey and expensive cologne clinging to him.
Sophia had tried to stay awake on the couch, rapping herself with blanket, but her eyelids kept drooping.
Damian notice that immediately and he crossed the room and crouched in front of her, tilting her chin up with two fingers.
“You look tired,” he said, with low voice.
“I am,” she admitted softly, offering a small smile. “The nausea was bad today. Maybe we can just watch a movie and relax?”
His jaw flexed. For a moment he seemed to weigh her words, then stood and extended a hand. “Come to bed at least. I need to feel you.”
Sophia let him lead her to the bedroom trying to please him.He undressed her slowly, almost methodically, his touch lingering but lacking the playful fire of previous weeks.
When they lay together, he pulled her close and entered her with deliberate, controlled strokes long and deep, as if testing how far he could push.
Sophia bit back a wince when discomfort flared again, focusing instead on breathing through it and giving him the moans he always craved.
When they made love to an extent,Damian paused, breathing ragged. “You’re not into it tonight.”
“It’s not that,” she whispered, reaching up to touch his face. “My body is just adjusting. The baby”
“Don’t start again” he cut in, voice sharper than she have ever heard in bed.
He rolled off her and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. “I know you’re pregnant, Sophia. I’m not a monster. But I’m still a man. I can’t switch it off just because you’re growing my heir.”
The word “heir” landed heavily again. Sophia turned onto her side, curling toward him despite the ache in her body.
“I’m sorry. I want to give you everything I always have. It’s just taking longer than I thought.”
Damian exhaled through his nose, then pulled her against his chest in a gesture that felt more concerned. “We’ll manage,” he muttered.
He didn’t initiate again that night. Instead, he fell asleep with his arm draped loosely over her, leaving Sophia staring into the darkness, wondering when their passion had started feeling like a duty she was failing.
The next afternoon she met Mia at a quieter café instead of their usual rooftop spot somewhere more private where she could speak freely without worrying about being overheard.
Mia arrived looking polished and concerned, immediately ordering Sophia a soothing herbal tea.
“You sounded off in your texts,” Mia said. “How bad is it really? Is Damian pressuring you?”
Sophia hesitated, then let the words spill out in a tired rush. “It’s getting harder every night.
Last night he was clearly frustrated when I asked to slow down. He keeps saying he understands, but I can feel him pulling away emotionally and physically… God, Mia, he still wants those long sessions.
I push through because I love him, but afterward I feel guilty and sore and scared I’m hurting the baby.”
Mia reached across the table and took both of Sophia’s hands, her grip warm and steady. “You poor thing. You’re doing so much already growing a life while trying to keep your husband satisfied.
Most women would have broken by now. Tell me more about what he says when you say no. Does he get angry and Cold?”
“He was angry, Damian literally couldn't go a full day without hot prolonged sex.He called that his greatest weakness. It like an addiction he refuse to control”. Sophia said,with a weary laugh that didn’t reach her eyes. “I used to love that about our marriage. Now it feels like a chain I’m dragging while pregnant.”
Mia listened with rapt attention, nodding sympathetically at every pause. Her eyes, however, held a calculating gleam she hid behind concern.
“That sounds incredibly difficult. You’re such a strong wife, Soph. If it ever gets overwhelming, remember I’m here.
Sophia squeezed Mia’s hands gratefully. “You’re the only one I can talk to about this. Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
They parted with a long hug, Mia promising to check in daily.
As Sophia headed back to the penthouse, a small part of her felt lighter for having unloaded her worries.
She had no idea that every vulnerable detail she shared was being carefully catalogued by Mia.
That evening Damian came home earlier than expected, carrying a small bouquet of roses his version of an apology, perhaps.
He kissed her more gently than the night before and suggested they order in food instead of her cooking,for a few hours the tension eased. They watched a movie on the couch, his arm around her shoulders, and Sophia allowed herself to hope the adjustment period was just a phase.
But when the credits rolled and he turned to her with darkening eyes, the familiar hunger resurfaced.
“Just tonight,” he murmured, already sliding his hand under her blouse. “Let me have you the way I need.”
Sophia swallowed her hesitation and nodded. She gave herself to him again long, slow, and deep ignoring the growing discomfort and the quiet voice in her head warning that something precious was slipping away.
As Damian finally found release and pulled her close afterward, whispering “Good girl” against her hair, Sophia stared at the ceiling, one hand protectively over her stomach.
She loved him. She would keep trying.
But the shadows at the edges of their perfect life were lengthening, and she was beginning to wonder how much longer she could keep dancing to Damian's constant s*x demand.
- Writer
