Chapter 363

Nina

An ultimatum. The word hung heavy in the air between us, like a storm cloud threatening to burst. I felt my eyes widen, my pulse racing. An ultimatum? From Enzo, of all people?

“W-Why?” The word slipped out of my mouth before I could even formulate my own thoughts.

“Because I need to know you’re safe, Nina. When I’m not here, I can’t protect you,” Enzo replied, his eyes still locked onto mine, intense and scrutinizing.

“But I can’t just choose, Enzo. This is my home. And it’s not fair for you to ask me to leave it like this,” I argued, feeling the weight of his words sink in.

“Look, I know it’s not fair. Life isn’t fair,” he retorted, the rigid line of his jaw and the stern set of his mouth the only hints of the emotional storm roiling inside of him. “But if something happens to you while I’m away because we didn’t take every precaution, I’d never forgive myself.”

“Precaution? This is our home. And what about school, my responsibilities here? I can’t just drop everything because you’ve suddenly decided it’s too dangerous for me to live my life,” I shot back, my voice tinged with bitterness. “And don’t say I can just open portals, because it’s already draining enough as it is. I don’t even know if I’d be physically capable of going through a portal once the pregnancy progresses.”

Enzo sighed. “We’ve already discussed this, Nina. You’re pregnant, and it’s a complicated pregnancy. You’re already on thin ice. It’s not just about you anymore; it’s about our family.”

“Enzo, I’m not some damsel in distress. I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for years before you came into my life,” I countered, the simmering frustration boiling over.

“I’m not saying you're helpless. But there are situations beyond our control,” he said, his gaze unflinching.

“That’s always going to be the case, Enzo. There will always be some kind of danger, some kind of risk. We can’t live our lives in perpetual fear of the ‘what-ifs.’”

“But we can mitigate those risks, Nina. Especially now, especially given what we know.”

“Mitigate? Or control?” I shot back, the words slipping from my mouth more harshly than I’d intended.

His eyes tightened at the corners; it was clear that he was restraining himself from saying something he would likely regret later. “You know it’s not about control, Nina.”

“Do I? Because it feels a lot like you’re trying to control my life,” I retorted.

He sighed, passing his hand over his weary face. “I’m not trying to control you. I’m trying to protect you. And the little life inside of you.”

“And what happens when you can’t be here to protect me? What then?” My voice cracked, and I hated myself for it. Hated that I was showing this sort of emotion, hated that my own pregnancy hormones were getting the best of me, hated that I was being backed into a corner like this.

“That’s why I’m giving you an ultimatum,” he said quietly, but firmly. “You have 48 hours to decide, Nina. Either you go to the werewolf realm and stay with your parents, or I quit my job and stay here.”

“You can’t be serious,” I said, but the look in his eyes told me that he was dead serious.

“I am. If you don’t make a decision, I’ll make it for us. I’ll quit my job and stay.”

A sense of defeat washed over me, followed by a final flash of anger. “So now my life has a countdown timer. Fantastic,” I said.

“I wish it didn’t have to come to this. But it has,” Enzo said, his voice tinged with regret. “You have 48 hours, Nina.”

I stared at Enzo in disbelief, and a scoff escaped my lips before I could stop it. “48 hours. Two days to make a potentially life-altering decision.”

“That’s all the time we have,” he retorted, not meeting my eyes. “I need to know if I have to quit my job.”

“But you’re not leaving for months!" I was practically yelling now, my voice steeped in incredulity. “Why do we have to decide this right now?”

“Because I need to be prepared to give the hockey team ample notice. I can’t just drop out at the last minute, Nina. It’s irresponsible, both to the team and to myself,” he argued, his voice steady, almost calculated, as if he had somehow been rehearsing this over the past two hours.

I fell silent for a moment, my mind racing. This wasn’t fair. None of it was fair. I looked at him, really looked at him, and what I saw broke my heart—his mouth set in a grim line, a finality in his eyes that I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“So that’s it then. You’ve made up your mind,” I murmured, my voice tinged with a sadness that took us both by surprise.

He shrugged. “I don’t want to do this, Nina. I don’t want to force you into making a decision like this. But given the circumstances, I don’t feel like we have a choice,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“The circumstances? You mean the pregnancy? Edward coming back? The incident at my dad’s party? Or the burglar?” My voice cracked as I listed off everything that had been plaguing us lately.

“All of that. It’s too much, Nina. I can’t leave you here alone knowing what might happen,” he replied, his tone firm, unyielding.

“I’ve handled threats before, Enzo. I’ve faced danger before you were in the picture. I’m not some fragile porcelain doll!”

“I know you’re not,” he snapped, his own frustration finally spilling over. “But the fact remains, I can’t be here to protect you when I’m gone. And that makes all the difference to me.”

“I never asked you to protect me,” I shot back, but the words made even me wince, and I knew that wasn’t true.

“It doesn’t matter. I already made that promise when I married you,” he retorted, his eyes blazing now.

The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I felt trapped, cornered, as if the walls were closing in on me. “You think this is easy for me? You think I want to be the cause of you having to give up your dreams?” My voice wavered, my eyes stinging with unshed tears.

“No. But sometimes, we have to make hard choices for the people we love,” he said quietly.

I felt a tear escape, trickling down my cheek, the salty trail it left a testament to the bitterness I felt. “Fine,” I choked out, finally breaking the taut silence that had enveloped us.

“Fine? So, what are you saying?” he asked, his voice tinged with something I couldn’t quite place—hope, maybe, or even desperation.

“I’m saying ‘fine,’ Enzo. If this is how it’s going to be, then fine. You’ll get your answer in 48 hours,” I said, my words sharp.

“Don’t do it like that, Nina. Don’t make it seem like I’m forcing you into this.”

“Aren’t you?”

He sighed, a deep, weary sigh that seemed to age him right before my eyes. “I wish there was another way.:

“But there isn’t,” I said softly, more to myself than to him.

“No, there isn’t.”

I felt my lips tremble, my resolve weaken for just a moment. But then I steeled myself, just as I always did. I had been backed into a corner, but I’d be damned if I let him see me crumble. “Then I guess that’s that,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Without another word, I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room, the door slamming shut behind me with a deafening finality.