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Oh how angry Niek had been when she told regional TV that she was Bear Blaze's pregnant girlfriend.
Especially when it was also picked up by the national news. He had yelled at her for ruining his reputation and making the group less popular.
Silke had never heard him rage at her like that before. He had grabbed her arms so fiercely that his fingerprints were on her arms like long-lasting bruises. To punish her, he stayed away extra long at signings and ignored her for several days during the performances.
Silke felt so alone and did not understand exactly why she received that treatment.
Surely it had been an accident, she had no experience with the pushy press, had she? And she was his pregnant girlfriend, right?
Wasn't he happy with that too?
She was very sad and therefore extra tired because the hassle cost her extra energy, in addition to the worrying.
Only when someone from the record company noticed that it was a good publicity stunt and a new boost for the band's image, Niek calmed down a bit. He could use the image of the rebellious son-in-law more instead of the adolescent rebel. The members of Face of Anger were also getting older and although they had come to fame with their band just after puberty, the audience had aged along with them.
Silke wondered whether she had lost Niek's love with her thoughtless action and did not know whether she was able to take that back or do anything about it. It gave her a lot of stress and she felt how her breathing became increasingly shallow.
‘Silke?’
She looked up at Niek, who, with his long dark hair and the leather clothes he had performed in, stood in front of her in the hotel room in Limburg where they had performed that evening. When he moved, the many buckles on his clothes tinkled. His beautiful blue eyes with long lashes looked at her searchingly. He came closer and knelt next to her. She sat with her legs folded under her and rested on the cushions of a large chair. He took her hands which felt cold and kissed them.
‘I'm sorry,’ he said. ‘I'm sorry. But I was so afraid that we would lose everything, and I wouldn't be able to take care of you and our child anymore.’
She looked at him sadly.
‘And then it helps if you ignore me and hurt me?’ she asked softly with a hurt tone in her voice.
‘No, no, honey,’ he said, looking at her pleadingly. ‘I panicked, but I love you to bits.’
Silke sat up and tears fell from her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to hold it back, she just couldn't.
‘I love you too Niek and that should be the most important thing in our lives, right?’
‘Sure,’ he kissed her hands. ‘You're absolutely right. I'm a loser too!’
She laughed through her tears.
‘Yes,’ she said.
He hugged her and kissed her lips.
She held him tight for a moment and closed her eyes, things were good between them again. She was so relieved and felt the tension slowly leave her body. ×