Flower on the ash

" Where is Zeus?" I asked Alex in between our meal. I didn't see Zeus since he left with Alex for a walk as per Grandma's instruction.

" He should be with Grandma." he replied.

We both ate our lunch together in the room and chatted with Grandma about our marriage. The ceremony would be held in this ancestral house only with a few relatives and friends from both the side. Later a party will be thrown, inviting all the formal guests. When Alex made sure for the hundredth time that I was feeling well now, we left to go back. It was 6 p.m. till we reached our house. Alex parked the car and we all entered the house, Zeus walking beside me.

" Want to eat dinner?" Alex asked me and I shook my head.

" No. I'll just have a glass of milk before going to bed." I said to him. I wasn't feeling hungry as I ate lunch late today. Zeus came to me and started to cuddle.

" I'll go for a night walk with Zeus." I said to Alex.

" Aren't you tired?" he asked me.

" No." I replied in one word and stood up.

" Wait then. I'll also come." he said.

We three walked out and a cool breeze passed. Alex chose to walk at the back of the villa. We walked on the cemented road, lamps glowing at either side to show the path. Since I am living with Alex, I never got the chance to roam in this side. I always walked in the front garden with Aunt Zhao or Zeus. As we walked further, I saw a big swimming pool shining under the moonlight.

" I didn't know that there was a swimming pool here." I said to Alex looking amazed.

" How much time will it take for him to fully recover?" I asked him.

" About three or four months. He had made rapid progress in his health." Alex said and stopped to pat Zeus's head. "Zeus and our child will swim together and play." he said and caressed Zeus's head. I smiled looking at them.

I am very happy to see Alex is caring for this child so much. Me and my baby are really very fortunate to have a man like Alex in our lives. I'm looking forward to see mini-Alex or mini-me soon, taking small steps and running here and there. Alex stood and again started to walk. There were many fruits on the trees but from a certain point, only thick bushes could be seen. Alex saw me looking there and spoke.

" That area isn't cleared yet. There's a small cottage between the woods but no one lives there." he said and I replied with an 'oh'. We walked around for sometime and then went back. The area was quite big to exhaust a person with only one stroll around in a day. Alex went to tuck Zeus in his bed and I went towards our room. I grabbed my nightdress and took a quick bath. When I exited, I saw Alex had already come in.

" You can go and take a bath." I said to him and he nodded his head. Before he could enter, his phone rang. He started to talk on the phone and I went downstairs, to the kitchen. I heated the milk and poured it into two mugs. I took the mugs and walked over to our room. Alex had already bathed and was sitting on the bed, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. He was only wearing his night trousers. I put the mugs on the table and walked over to Alex, taking his towel in my hands.

" Let me do it." I said to him. He let go of the towel with a smile carved on his face. I gently started to rub his hair.

" You have magic in your hands." he said after I rubbed his head for about five minutes.

" You are a sweet talker." I said to him. He praises me a lot.

" But I am telling the truth. Come here." he said and grabbed my hand. He stood up from the bed and locked me in his arms and kissed me on my nose.

" You are really magical." he said but before he could say further his phone rang again. I peeked on his phone's screen. He looked annoyed and was going to decline the call when he saw it was Jordan's call. If I remembered correctly, he was the man who came with Alex to protect me and was present in the police station too.

" What?" he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

" Ok. Do you remember what I told you last time?...Ok...Bye." he said and ended the call and looked towards me.

" The police said that Sophia will be imprisoned for three years." he said.