That morning when Ayla woke up Thomas wasn't laying beside her, she was cold and wrapped up in the white linen bedsheets. The bed felt empty and cold like it was before they met, like a never ending ocean of sadness she found herself in. She could feel him getting more distant from her, he was more tense and quiet when they were together and she was beginning to wonder if he was having second thoughts about her which wasn't the case in Thomas's mind. When she finally dragged herself out of bed, washing last nights memories off her body and quickly finding something to wear which wasn't too tight around her bump she couldn't be bothered to do anything fancy with her hair, just letting it dangle around her shoulders wet and tangled.
"Morning ma'am, Mr John and Arthur Shelby are in the dining room,breakfast is ready and on the table" The chirpy maid smiled at Ayla as she walked down the stairs unable to keep her eyes open. She could feel her tired eyes beginning to close as the second maid greeted her with another chirpy voice.
"Is my sister up yet?" Ayla asked the maid waiting for a reply, the maid shook her head
"When she wakes up tell her I need to speak with her" the maid smiled before walking off to carry on with her duties. As she entered the dining room table John and Arthur began with tucking into their breakfast.
"Morning" Ayla's tired voice boomed through their ears. they could see the heaviness of the bump dragging on her back.
"Morning, Thomas told us to keep an eye on you while he was at the office" John said with a mouthful of bacon
"I need to see him" Ayla said but the brothers ignored her and carried on with what they were about to say
"He told us what happened last night"Arthur rubbed his hands together looking for any sign of weakness on Ayla's face
"Yeah well this fool thinks he can handle it all on his own again" John said out of nowhere
"So why aren't you two helping him? I would be down at the office with him but I've got baby sitters. I mean why would he tell me anyway I'm not his fiancee or anything" Ayla poured herself a cup of tea
"He don't want you to get hurt Ayla, especially not while you're holding his baby" Arthur said as she scowled at him
"Thats comforting but I still need to see him" Ayla changed the conversation again hoping one of the brothers would cave in.
"He said he would be back at noon" John said before stuffing an egg into his mouth "He said all you have to do is relax and do whatever you women do" Arthur said making John laugh.
"How is the little Shelby doing anyway?" John took a huge bit out of his toast as he spoke with a full mouth
"I felt my stomach moving last night, a few kicks here and there but apart from that everything seems normal" She took a sip of her tea. Ayla noticed her sister sitting beside her quietly, her skin pale and her eyes tired.
"How are you feeling?" Ayla asked in a motherly tone also pouring her a tea. John's eyes widened at the sight of her and the blush in his cheeks flushing.
"Numb" She said quietly rubbing her shoulders from the breeze coming through the open windows. She tried to throw her sister a smile for pouring her a tea but Ayla could see the fear in her eyes.
"Don't worry Tommy will sort it out, nothing will happen to you. He kept me safe and he'll do the same for you" Ayla said which eased her nerves. Looking up at the two brothers who were waiting for an introduction.
"Arthur, John this is my sister Dilara, She'll be staying with us for a bit while Thomas sorts out this mess" Ayla spoke carefully watching the reaction of the brothers.
"Its nice to meet you" John smiled which earned him a scowl from Arthur. Dilara wasn't in the mood to talk and Ayla could quiet clearly see that.
"Boys would you give us a minute" Ayla said and the boys left the room with a huffing and puffing noise of annoyance.
"It will be okay, it normally is in the end. Look at us and how we turned out." Ayla said as a little smile spread across Dilara's face
"Don't you ever wonder what will happen if things don't turn out okay? I can't see a light at the end of the tunnel. Ever since I was little I had to live by other peoples rules. I was just a runaway bastard. No mother no father. No one. Just me."
"The light is never visible at the beginning Dilara, the further you venture into the tunnel you'll see the light in the distance. Theres no point in running. It won't get you there any quicker. It will tire you out. You need to take it easy, take your time. You'll get there in the end. Ever since I found Thomas I learned that the hard way. You have to forgive the past sins, forgive the people that have hurt you, forgive every scar that has been put upon your body and move on because if you don't it will haunt you" Ayla spoke with such wisdom but something wasn't right.
Her head began to spin and her eyes began to shut. She couldn't control any aspect of her body as the cold hard ground was the one thing she felt beneath her collapsing body. Her name being shouted by not only her sister but now by John and Arthur in a desperate plea to wake her from the deep sleep she was falling into.
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"Open your eyes my dear" an elder woman spoke. She recognised the woman. A face from her childhood. A woman that was killed before her eyes for telling her father the truth. Her eyes fluttered open as light began to fill them.
"Where am I?" Her voice so fragile it didn't even seem like her own voice
"Shhhh my sweet child, its okay. you are a miracle" The old woman sat beside her.
"I don't understand"
"The ice in your heart has thawed, the impossible has become possible, your weakness has been embraced" She smiled but the confusing was still apparent.
"was it vengeance? I killed the king out of vengeance?" She asked but the Romani woman laughed
"No my sweet child it was love, your love for Thomas is strong and his love for you melted the ice. First and only love is rare and you found it despite all the hatred you had formed against the world"
"What's going to happen to me now?" Her voice still filled with confusion
"Thats up to you to decide" she smiled but Ayla hadn't finished asking questions
"What about my daughter? is she happy? is she safe?" tears began to roll down her eyes
"Yes, she is always with you, she lives on through your memory and no one else's, keep her alive. Don't destroy another child now that you have the chance to find that love again. You finally have the thing you been waiting your whole life for"
"Which is?" Ayla swallowed hard waiting for a response she was scared to hear
"A family, cherish this moment, keep each other safe." She smiled at her once again
"And Thomas? Does he still love me? " was the last thing she asked
"Oh my dear sweet child. Only someone blind to love wouldn't notice the love that man has for you. Thomas Shelby has the same amount of feelings as a rock. You cannot get blood out of a stone but you can get sand on a rare occasion. He's just as broken as you are. Fix each other and you'll go far he would tear down nations to keep you and that child safe so don't take it for granted" Her eyes began to disappear in the darkness.
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What do you guys think is gonna happen next? are you enjoying the story so far? It looks like an end is in sight!!! thank you so much for reading!