After a mont, Evelyn asked gently, "Sweetheart, do you prefer a baby brother or a baby sister?"
Oliver answered without a single second of thought. "Of course, a boy!"
Both Evelyn and Axel were stunned.
"A boy?" Axel asked. "Why so fast?"
Oliver puffed out his small chest with pride, then stared Axel in the eyes, "Because I want to train my little brother. Obviously."
Axel raised an eyebrow, confused. "Train him to do what?"
"Everything, Dad..." Oliver’s eyes glead with confidence as he answered, "I’ll teach him how to ride a horse so he doesn’t fall as Jimmy did. And play the piano. And go hiking. And how to do that ninja roll that Uncle Liam showed ."
Evelyn covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
"Oh, Sweetheart... that is a lot to teach a baby."
"It’s important, Mommy," Oliver insisted, gently tapping her knee. "If I don’t train him from birth, how will he be my follower? Every big brother needs one," he said with his earnest seriousness.
Then he turned to see his father, "Right, Dad?"
Axel let out a soft laugh. "Ah. So that’s the plan."
"Yes," Oliver said firmly. "But, if the baby is a girl, she can’t be my follower because a little baby girl will boss boys like around. And that’s okay."
Evelyn smacked Axel lightly when he started choking on his own laughter.
"Oliver," she said gently, "girls don’t always boss boys around."
Oliver gave her a doubtful look. "Mommy... you boss Daddy around every day."
Axel lifted a hand in surrender and looked at Evelyn. "He has a point."
Evelyn glared at both of them. "I never do that!"
"Yes, ma’am..." Axel answered teasingly.
Oliver grinned, proud of his logic.
Evelyn pulled him into a warm hug, and Oliver snuggled against her chest, still excited, still buzzing with new thoughts about his mysterious future sibling.
As she held him, Evelyn felt a deep warmth blooming inside her. Oliver’s softness against her, Axel’s quiet presence beside them, the shared happiness between the three of them. She felt her heart overflowing.
Last year, her only future was with Oliver. She never imagined she would have a ho like this, a man like Axel, and now another child growing inside her.
At that mont, she felt grateful for everything. For her little family. For the new life about to join them. For the peace she never thought she would find.
...
The day flew by quickly, and soon enough, the news of Evelyn’s pregnancy had spread throughout the entire house.
Every staff mber, every guard, every person who so much as walked past her now knew she was expecting.
She received endless warm congratulations.
From the mont she stepped out of her room in the morning until evening arrived, soone was always smiling at her, bowing politely, or greeting her with overly enthusiastic joy.
She was happy, of course, delighted, but also a bit worried.
It felt as if she had suddenly beco a fragile crystal ornant that might shatter if soone breathed too hard.
Laura and Jimmy were the worst offenders. Axel had entrusted both of them to watch over her, and they took the assignnt a little too seriously.
Jimmy practically forbade her from doing anything that required effort. Even picking up a pillow was considered "too heavy."
Laura, anwhile, had been feeding her almost every hour—fruit, pastries, soups, cookies, vitamins, herbal drinks, and then more fruit.
By early evening, Evelyn feared that if she kept eating, her morning sickness might return simply out of protest.
And when the night ca, she was exhausted in every possible way.
After a long, warm bath and slipping into her soft nightgown, she felt herself ready to collapse.
The bed seed to glow invitingly, calling her na with the promise of comfort. She lifted a foot to climb onto it.
Right then, footsteps echoed from outside the room.
The bedroom door opened, and Axel appeared.
He still wore his dark gray suit from the afternoon, his hair slightly tousled, looking handso enough to steal her breath even though she was already half-asleep.
"Axel..." She greeted him as she walked toward him.
He wrapped his arms around her imdiately, pulling her into a tight embrace.
"Why are you not asleep yet?" His lips pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.
"I was about to sleep just now. But then you ca." She lifted her head and looked at him. "I thought you said you would only co back at ten. Why are you ho now?"
He raised a brow.
"You do not like to see your husband co ho early?" he asked with a hint of teasing. He loosened his embrace and allowed her to start helping him remove his suit.
Evelyn gently unfastened his tie, her eyes filled with affection.
"I am happy you are ho. But earlier, you said the dinner had important people. You ntioned the president, politicians, and high-ranking military officials. You said it might end very late."
Axel watched her quietly as she pulled off his tie and neatly set it aside. Only after she finished folding his suit jacket did he answer.
"You are right. Those people were there." He leaned back slightly, annoyed just thinking about it. "But they were very boring. I could not stand them. Better to co ho and accompany my pretty wife than sit with old n who cannot even smile."
Evelyn burst into laughter and reached up to lightly brush the tip of his nose. "Mr. Knight, you are so funny..."
"I am honest," he argued, completely serious.
She did not press him further. Instead, she nudged him gently toward the bathroom.
"Go clean up and co back quickly. I want to sleep, and I want you beside . I feel so sleepy, my soul is about to leave my body," she said while yawning.
"Yes, ma’am..." Axel let out a low chuckle and obeyed, disappearing into the bathroom with the sa obedient attitude he only ever showed her.
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