Sasha didn’t seem offended by her words. Maybe she had gotten used to her harshness. Instead of getting angry, she offered sothing unexpected to deia. "Miss deia, do you want to feel my baby? I think my baby will like you?"
deia froze at the unexpected offer. She glanced at Sasha, then at her belly. The idea of touching soone’s pregnant stomach felt foreign to her.
What was she supposed to feel? Would it be weird?
It had been so long since she was pregnant, so she had forgotten that feeling entirely.
"I ... don’t think that’s necessary," deia said. "Babies don’t like . They probably cry when I’m around."
"Really?" Sasha looked at her in disbelief, but it was nothing more than a mockery. "The last ti I checked, all the kids from your village love you. Jeremy can’t even stop bragging about the train toy you gave him."
"They do?" deia creased her forehead in confusion because she didn’t expect the kids would love her. "Are they crazy or what?"
"What are you talking about, Miss deia?" Sasha chuckled. "All kids love you because you’re kind and sweet."
Is she talking about a different person?
"That’s why, I’m sure my baby will also like you." Sasha continued, "Babies can sense kindness in everyone’s hearts."
She took deia’s hand before she could protest and gently placed it on her belly. "Here, do you feel that?"
The warmth beneath her hand startled deia. She could feel the faintest movent, almost like a flutter under her palm.
Her eyes widened slightly and her muscles suddenly felt more relax.
deia finally rembered what it felt like to be pregnant.
It wasn’t just the physical aspect of carrying a child, but it also brought hope and happiness within. Unfortunately, all of those feelings had been buried by fear and sorrow because she couldn’t protect her own babies.
If only ... she could bear a child without the constant fear of losing it, could she also experience the joy of having a child?
"Miss deia?" Sasha’s voice broke through her thoughts. "Are you alright?"
deia imdiately pulled her hand from her stomach. "Yeah, I’m fine." She paused for a mont. "I think your baby is strong."
Sasha smiled. "Yes, my baby is so strong. It can’t stop to kick my stomach all night."
"Sounds like it’s training to be a fighter already," said deia.
Sasha laughed softly. "Maybe. I just hope my child will grow up healthy and strong, especially in this kind of environnt."
"Don’t worry, it will." deia continued, "But for now, you have to take care of yourself first, because that’s the best way to ensure your child grows strong."
"I will," said Sasha, smiling.
Before the mont grew too heavy, deia straightened up and folded her arms. "Anyway, make sure all of you get settled in the dical bay tonight. The last thing we need is soone getting sick because of the cold."
"Yes, don’t worry about that." Matilda assured, "I’ll watch them all night."
deia stood there for a mont, watching the group as they busied themselves unpacking and arranging their new space.
After helping them for a while, deia walked back to the eting hall to find Lucian. He asked other people to unload the winter clothes that deia had put on the truck and then distribute them to everyone on the base.
Therefore, he was sitting alone in the eting hall, making the new schedule for all the people in the base.
"Lucian, I’m tired." deia hugged him from behind, kissing his neck once. "Can you take over my job as the leader?"
"I’m doing it right now, my love." Lucian said in a gentle tone. "You can take a nap if you’re that tired."
deia leaned against him, resting her forehead on his back. "But you’re working." She murmured, "I don’t like sleeping alone."
After sleeping soundly next to him every night, how could deia ever sleep without her boyfriend again?
Lucian turned around, his arms circling her waist as he gazed down at her with a soft smile. "Here, just take a nap here, then."
Lucian arranged several chairs together, creating a long makeshift bench for deia to rest on. He gently guided her to lie down, letting her rest her head in his lap.
But how could deia sleep when she had to look at his serious expression, which only seed to grow more handso?
She couldn’t help herself but to touch his face. Her fingers gently traced the outline of his face, brushing against his jaw and caressing the thin beard on his chin.
"You’re not tired yet?" Lucian’s eyes softened as he caught her hand in his, his thumb lightly grazing her palm before he kissed it nurous tis.
"Lucian, I’m thinking about sothing," deia said quietly, her fingers still intertwined with his as she looked up at him.
Lucian tilted his head. "What is it?"
deia hesitated for a mont, unsure whether she should keep it to herself or voice it.
"Lucian, I’ve been thinking ...," deia began, her voice quiet as she struggled to find the right words. "Do you ever ... want children? I an, eventually, one day?"
Lucian froze because he hadn’t expected deia to ask such a serious question. His silence gave the wrong impression in deia’s eyes. "You don’t want it, do you? I’m sorry for bringing sothing so useless."
They had only been together for a short ti, and yet, the idea of children had sohow entered her thoughts so quickly. It felt like a big leap, too soon, maybe.
No wonder Lucian would find that question absurd.
"No! It’s not useless!" Lucian took a deep breath before he continued, "Actually, I do want to beco a father. But it’s really up to you. What do you want?"
deia swallowed hard. She sat up, her gaze locked onto his face. He wasn’t pressuring her and he wasn’t against the idea either. He simply waited for her answer.
"What do you want, deia?" Lucian repeated his question. "I know it’s too soon to talk about this, but ... having a child with you sounds like a sweet dream."
Sweet dreams?
deia thought it would be a nightmare.
Her ex used to say that all the ti. The children that she bore were nothing more than a nuisance for him, sothing that needed to be eliminated forever.
"I ... I don’t know." deia turned her face away. "Don’t you think it’s a bad idea to have a child at this ti? With the monsters, the Lost, everything ... What if I fail to protect them?
Like she failed to protect her children back then.
"What do you an by ’I’?" Lucian brought her face to him. "If we decide to have a child, doesn’t that an I’ll also take the responsibility to protect them?" He emphasized his words, his gaze unwavering. "I’m here with you, deia. Always."
deia’s eyes lit up, as if she had just realized that. She was not alone in this life.
Lucian was nothing like the bastard demon lord.
Lucian was better than him.
"I’m not sure I can bear a child or not, but ... can we, at least, try it?" asked deia hesitantly.
Lucian nodded. "Yeah, absolutely. But first, let make sure about sothing."
He held her shoulders, and ensured to look right into her eyes. "I just want you to know that this isn’t sothing you have to feel pressured about. If it happens, it happens. But if it doesn’t, there’s no sha in it. I’ll always love you, no matter what. Do you understand?"
Even though deia had the Elixir of Perfect Fertility, she still felt relieved when Lucian said that.
She had spent so much ti fearing the possibility of failure, but here he was, reassuring her that nothing would change between them, no matter the outco.
"I understand." deia smiled, nodding. "I really ... really understand. But, how about we focus on building the perfect base first, before we decide to have a child?"
Lucian chuckled softly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "That sounds like a good plan. We’ll make sure our child will live in such a good environnt."
"Yes. Yes ... our child can grow up without fear of dying."
Lucian cradled her face gently and kissed her lips. He placed his forehead against hers, whispering, "We’re in that together, okay?"
"I know," replied deia.
Sotis, deia felt his love for her was too strong, to the point of making she want to cry whenever she heard his soft voice, his gentle deanor, and his endless support.
There was sothing about his love that made her heart ache in the most beautiful way. It was overwhelming, yet comforting at the sa ti.
Maybe the reason why she felt that way was because she had never known such tenderness, especially after all the pain and loss she had experienced in her life.
They had only known each other for a short ti, but at so point, deia felt that they had known each other for a very long ti.
Of course it didn’t make any sense, but deia couldn’t shake the feeling that they had shared a connection even before they t.
Maybe it was because everything felt right with him, as if they were two pieces of a puzzle that had been waiting to fit together.
Reviews
All reviews (0)