Jade Fern Grove chafa

She moved—the soft shuffle of it drawing his attention, though he did not look to her. Not until she spoke of Germanicus—the implication of why she felt he had chosen Eshe. A scowl darkened his features and he straightened, jaw opening to say something—and then struck shut. “You think Germanicus changed my opinion of you?”

He let the statement hang there—pushing past the way she fell back and forth between trying to push him away and admitting to missing him—because that…

“If Germanicus changed how I looked at you at all it was that it showed me how resilient you are. Brave.” His eyes lingered to the swell of her stomach and he swallowed. “Loving.”

He released a shuddering breath—gutted. “I didn’t choose Eshe because of your past… I tried to have a relationship with Eshe because I knew you didn’t love me.”