Chapter 56

8 months, 3 days pregnant.

“This cannot go on. Something needs to be done,” Beth says as she watches the two sisters turn away from each other.

Liliana, looking as if she stumbles upon a ghost, jumps a bit. After which she mutters an apology for disturbing and makes a hasty retreat out the east wing library.

Livia doesn’t look up at her words, but her blank expression turns strained and she flips a page almost angrily in the book that rests on her stomach.

Amaya watches Liliana’s retreating back with a small frown, knowing the young miss had been seeking her out. In the past few weeks, Liliana has been a constant presence at her side. Amaya thought Liliana was an adorable and amusing girl, and she was glad to have a partner to exercise with, but she was beginning to chafe and become a bit stifled.

She wasn’t used to having someone at her side constantly. Amaya wasn’t used to someone just wanting to ‘hang out’ with her for fun or just because. Obviously, Liliana must saw her as some kind of replacement to her sister.

“I already tried talking to her multiple times,” Amaya says in a low voice, “Liliana does not wish to speak about it and always changes the subject.”

Sen sets down a heavy stack of thick books on a table, eyeing them dubiously. They were all encyclopedias made up of everything and anything involving the topic of Wisteria.

“At this rate, Livia will have given birth and become renowned for her knowledge in all things that involve this kingdom before the two of them talk to each other,” He states bluntly.

Livia balls up a paper and flings it at him, “You do realize that I can hear you all, right?” She snaps.

“We are well aware,” Sen says dryly, catching the ball of paper with one hand and throwing it into the trach in one smooth motion without blinking.

“I wonder why Miss Liliana I so un-wiling to even broach the subject. It is obvious that she misses Livia and wishes to return to her side, but it seems something is holding her back,” Beth says with a sigh, cradling her chin.

Amaya leans casually against a desk, forgoing any sort of professionalism as she shrugs her shoulders and begins to pick idly at her painted nails, “Your guess is as good as mines.”

“Maybe there is something else that we are missing?” Beth suggests.

Amaya frowns at the chipped nail on her pinky. Great, now she would have to trim them all or it was going to bother her. She groans in annoyance and rolls her eyes.

“Liliana did mention being sick in the past, but I don’t see what that has to do with this,” Amaya says absently, contemplating which color she was going to paint her nails next.

Maybe she could even rope Livia in as well for a pedicure. The mommy-to-be nails were long and strong thanks to her pregnancy. Amaya had noticed her grumbling at her desk about them, back when she had still been writing. Now it seems that obsession had been traded with another. She couldn’t understand why her employer found interesting in all these dusty pages.

It could never be said that Livia did anything half-assed.

Sen raises an eyebrow when the loud sound of a book falling onto a polished wooden floor rings through his ears and turns her attention to the one she had been thinking of.

Livia sits in her chair with an open mouth and round eyes.

“Oh, shit. I completely forgot about that,” Livia says from her seat as Amaya snorts in amusement. She walks over and picks up the book from the floor, handing it back.

Beth just sighs in disappointment and side-eyes the door of the library where the royal guards stood outside. Surely by this point, they would be used to hearing a lady of such high standing speaking in such a way, right?

Livia scrambles and wobbles to her feet with the help of Amaya.

“I have to talk to Liliana,” Livia states and turns towards the door with a determined glint in her eyes.

Beth's eyebrows draw up in worry, “Is that a good idea? Maybe you should wait a bit longer. Give Liliana more time...”

“No matter how much times past, the facts will remain the same,” Sen states as he steps in line behind Livia.

Amaya eyes the books Livia had been studying with rapt attention and taking notes on before turning, “That may be true, but it is still a lot to take in. It took me a few days to accept it as well.”

Beth turns curious eyes on her, “How long have you known?”

Amaya just offers her a bland smirk, “A while.”

They all fall silent when Livia opens the door and strides through. Only, she does not get very far before her back straightens and her face becomes neutral as she stares at the person standing just outside the library.

"Well?” Lady Greta asks impatiently, eyeing her niece up with a curl of her lips, “Are you going to properly greet your aunt? Or have you forgotten such basic manners while you had been...away.”

Livia isn’t given time to say anything when a guard's hand falls between them. Lady Greta is forced back a few steps and her look of open disgust quickly turns to one of outrage.

“How dare you, sir,” Lady Greta says, glaring at the guard.

“Please step back, Lady,” The guard says in reply.

“I am a guest of this household!” Lady Greta hisses to him, “I can walk freely where ever I please!”

“That may be so,” Sen says, stepping in front of Livia, who scowls up at his back, “But Lady Livia is under our strict protection. After a certain incident, we are no longer leaving anything to chance, my lady.”

Lady Greta puffs up with a pink face and a pursed mouth. Then she seems to take note of the fact that the one standing before her was different than the ones who stand guard outside the door.

“And who exactly are you?” She demands even as her face flushes further, “You are not part of his highness royal guards. How dare you speak to me in such a way!”

Livia none too gently push Sen aside so he no longer blocks her view. The beastman goes willingly enough, but she does not miss how he does not stray far from her. She tries not to take too much offense to this, knowing he was just doing his job, but it was a stark contrast to their dynamic before they arrived in the kingdom.

“He is Sen Cade, my personal guard, Lady Greta,” Livia says to her aunt, “His highness, the king, had personally seen to it,” She adds when her aunt looks as if she was going to continue uselessly flapping her lips on the small affront to her person.

“Is he the bastard's father?” Lady Greta says instead with no decorum. She stares with unflinching pale eyes at Sen, sizing him up. She does so in the same way Lynette had in the past, taking careful note of his finely features face, his solid stature.

Beth inhales sharply at the words. Even Amaya is taken off guard for a second or two before she gets control of her expression. Lady Greta seems pleased with their reactions and she directs an arrogant and mocking smile towards her niece, goading her to react.

But Livia only blinks as she answers calmly, “No, he is not the father of my child.”

Lady Greta's lips curl once more, “Nonsense,” She says instantly, “Is this not the same man who had accompanied you all the way back home?” Her pale gaze returns to travel over Sen's body blatantly. They linger on his broad shoulders, his chest and move further down.

“You had such a handsome and strong man protecting you,” Lady Greta says, almost to herself as her voice trails off and she licks at her thin lips. “A man and a woman together, alone as they travel.” She seems to get caught up in her own mind.

Livia reacts then.

She steps forward, drawing her aunt's attention back to herself, and does not stop until she is right in Lady Greta’s face. Until her round stomach brushes up against her aunt's thin, spidery body, causing the older woman to cringe away.

“Dear aunty,” Livia says icily and without a hint of affection, “Is there a reason as to why you went out of your way to seek me out? You seem to have gone out of your way to stand outside the library like a lurker.”

Beyond trying to eat Sen with your eyes, Livia thinks with a dark churning pit in her stomach. The thick, stifling feeling was not a product of misplaced jealousy or possessiveness. It was just instinct. To lash out at such brazen and unwanted lust. To distract and direct it on to something else until it was gone entirely.

Lady Greta does not answer. She was too busy staring in open revulsion at Livia’s stomach to say anything. That was until she snaps herself out of it and draws herself up when her eyes are unable to stay level with her nieces. Like a snake attempting to make itself bigger in front of a predator.

Her neck strains as she raises her chin high as she hurriedly puts polite space between them. She uses the small height distance to stare down her nose at her niece, ignoring all others and her previous words.

Livia is not the least bit impressed. Her chilling, purple gaze dulls and she absently rubs at her stomach, disinterested.

“It is as I suspected,” Lady Greta says to no one in particular, “You seemed to have forgotten all of your senses. To think you would act and speak in such a disrespectful way to your own family.”

“The only person who has been disrespectful is you, Lady Greta,” Livia states bluntly.

A small, old part of herself, was kicking up a fuss about maintaining a certain image, and ‘being respectful to your elders’, but that part was shrinking by the day. An old remanent of the person Livia had been. The one who would have kept her mouth sealed and took the insults from her family at point-blank range.

Beth makes a strained noise in the back of her throat, while Amaya and Sen remain mute and expressionless, not giving anything away.

Lady Greta is left grasping for words. Her mouth flapping open in her shock.

Livia messages her temples, wondering why she had to deal with such an utterly bogus encounter. She no longer had the patience for such things, nor the energy, at the moment, to maintain her glass-eyed look.

“Y-you dare,” Lady Greta starts to splutter. Her pale, drawn face turns red in her fury.

“You have lost your mind just like your mother!” She shouts suddenly.

“Ah, is that so?” Livia asks blandly, and then steps around her, “If there is nothing else, Lady Greta, then I will be taking my leave first,” She continues on to say.

Lady Greta turns with her, watching as the guards and the servants fall in easy step behind her niece.

“Your grandmother and mother have summoned for you,” she says, recalling why she had sought out the disgraced lady in the first place. Her mother, Lady Giselle, had wished for her to retrieve her nice herself.

“And I have declined their summons this morning,” Livia says over her shoulder, then she nods to one of the royal guards, “If you could see it that my aunt leaves the east wing in peace?” Then her gaze turns to chipped ice, “From here on, I do not wish to be disturbed by anyone. Guests are not excluded.”

“As you wish, Lady Livia,” The two royal guards say. One steps away from the group and walks back to Lady Greta.

Lady Greta's face twists into a scowl, but she says nothing and lets herself be escorted out of the east wing. She realizes too late to take into account the words she had said previously. Surely the guards would not report back her actions to the king? It was just a minor skirmish between family, after all. Lady Greta would be sure to omit her own actions once she reported back to her mother, just to be safe.

8 months, 5 days pregnant.

“So, what are you going to do?” Amaya asks as she carefully applies the back nail polish to her employers' toes.

“About what?” Livia asks, her voice a bit strained.

“What are you going to do about your grandmother and mother? The return of your father? As well as Liliana?” Amaya says, glancing up from her position on the end of the bed on her stomach. Her own nails, now painted silver, were still in the process of drying, so she had to be careful not to mess them up.

Livia opens her eyes and pats at her stomach, letting out a long sigh as it stops contracting. The false labor has returned once again. The pain was manageable, but the timing was not. At least the contractions did not last long and eventually went away altogether, but it was more than a little daunting to think that this was just a weak prelude to the real thing.

“What do you think I should do?” Livia says after a while.

Amaya shrugs, “No idea. You already have Sen keeping an eye on the three witches and have me sticking close to Liliana whenever I can to avoid another confrontation between your mother and her, but beyond that,” the maid shrugs again.

“I could try to talk to Liliana, as I said I would,” Livia says with no real intent behind the word.

She knew she should. And certainly, it was very important that this prolonged avoidance and silence be put to an end before it can fester and turn into something more, but...

“What about the three old bitches?” Amaya asks and sits up awkwardly.

“Sen can only observe them from a distance and only for short periods of time,” Livia says as she begins searching her covers for a small sphere shape, mindful of her still wet toes.

Amaya settles next to her on the bed and admires her silver nails, wiggling them so they glitter in the soft candlelight.

“How unfortunate. You sure you don’t want me to do anything about those pesky little spies of your mother? They have become increasingly bold the past few days,” she says, her tone mild.

It was because of them that all of their movements in the Valentine household have become more restricted. It would be suspicious if Livia’s personal guard kept away from her too long, after all. As well as her personal maid and midwife.

“It’s fine,” Livia says, finding her memory orb buried under her pillow. She grabs it and settles back into the covers, suddenly tired again.

“I have nothing to hide,” She continues.

Especially now that I am without my magic, she thinks dully.

“Has Sen reported anything of interest?” Amaya asks, leaning over to get a better look at the small orb.

“Beyond the arrival of my grandmother and aunt, and the breakfast they had the next day?” Livia says, and shakes her head, “No. They seem to be rather conscious of the royal guards even if they pretend that they are not.”

“Hmm. I wonder what they are planning,” Amaya murmurs, watching as Livia pricks her finger with a small needle before placing it back on the end table to be used for later.

Livia places her bleeding thumb over the memory orb, bringing it to life. The ghost-like memories swirl and dance around each other and the starlight glow of the orb lights up her eyes.

“I have my own suspicions,” Livia says, “But I won’t have them confirmed until Duke Valentine returns to his estate. They will not make a move until then.” Of this, she was certain.

Livia also did not ‘suspect’ anything. She knew exactly what they intended to scheme. She was an un-wed heiress of the Valentine household with a bastard growing in her womb. What her mother and grandmother wanted was rather obvious. The problem is finding out how they intended to go about it. Unfortunately, she no longer had the energy to remain so strung up for a long period of time.

Thinking about all the possible ways her mother can screw her over again was stressful. Wondering about why her little sister was still avoiding her was tiring. And then there was the reason behind her father's extended absence.

There were just so many things to get worked up over, to think on, and plan ahead for.

Only a few months ago, Livia had been at the top of her game, ready to decimate every threat and scheme thrown her way with a blood-thirsty eagerness.

Now it was a struggle to keep her eyes open as her whole body felt like a heavyweight. Her son was growing, and growing, and growing. There seems to be no end in sight.

Her feet were swollen and sore. Her back ached something fierce and as tired as she was, it was difficult to actually fall asleep. She was constantly uncomfortable, even in her own bed, and it was a challenge every night just to find a position to sleep in.

And that was only brushing on the most minor and common problems of pregnancy.

Once, Livia had entertained the idea of staying in the thick of it and pushing onward in her bid for vengeance up until she actually gave birth. Because back then, everything had seemed so easy. Sure, she had to deal with morning sickness, cravings, and all the usual aches, but it was totally manageable. She had thought that would be it. That would be how her pregnancy would progress from then on. That nothing would change.

But then her feet disappeared from her view.

And soon after, her son had made his presence known by launching his foot into her guts, causing her to nearly pee on herself. She could still recall the look that had been on both the informant and Sens's faces when she suddenly let out a garbled scream and got up running.

Since then, it had been downhill from there.

Livia liked to pretend that she was handling everything well. That she was completely cool and that her pregnancy was perfect in every way and progressing wonderfully. That everything was roses and sunshine, and really, it’s no big deal.

But that was all a big fat lie.

Where to even begin in the mayhem and chaos that was now her body!?

Should Livia stress over her aching nipples that felt like sandpaper and were so sensitive? Once, she burst into tears when Noctis had tried to cuddle up on her chest at night. It had hurt so bad that all she could do was cry. Nothing helped! Even the salve that Beth had given her did nothing! Livia only pretended it was fine because if she didn’t, she was just going to scream and likely never stop.

Also, she leaked. Constantly! It was so fucking gross. She wanted it to stop. Now. She had to constantly line her underwear with an extra cloth as well as add it to her breast. Because that was also a thing now. Ha.

Also, did you know that your ribcage expands when you are pregnant!? Guess fucking what! Livia didn’t! No, she had to find out the hard way when she woke up from the searing pain. At least Sen hadn’t been there to witness it. Too bad Livia had been foolish enough to think that it would only happen once.

Ha.

Nope.

And do not get her fucking started with the constant heartburn! Her chest has become hell itself. It was never-ending. And no, it was not always triggered by food. Sometimes, it just happened. Because fuck you.

Who the fuck said pregnancy was easy!

WHO?

Eight months.

It has been eight months since a life has started growing inside of her.

And guess what?

Livia was fucking tired of it!

She loved her baby, she did, but damn if she hated feeling like a breathing incubator. She couldn’t do anything anymore. She was always too tired. Even walking to the library and sitting down to read took up so much energy.

It was ridiculous.

She wanted her son out.

NOW.

Pregnancy sucked. It just fucking sucked, and it left little room for her even to think.

Livia had done her best to soldier through it even when her body screamed bloody murder. She had given it her all to keep up the act that nothing has changed when everything has. It helped to focus on her memories, to write them down, to give her something to do other than to exist with the strange aches and pains.

Thinking on it now, Livia wasn’t even sure why she had been so stubbornly determined to do so. It seemed so stupid and childish now!

So, what if most games skipped over this part entirely? So, what if most games made pregnancy out to be a small feat that anyone could handle?

Livia was not in a game. This was her reality. What exactly was she trying to prove and to whom?

And how could she be childish when she was having a child herself?

Make it make sense.

It was like when people ask if you are okay and you can tell they aren't actually interested in knowing if you really are, so all you say is, "I'm fine," even when you aren't.

It helps no one, in the end.

So, now...now she was just done.

“Fucking fuck it!” She suddenly shouts, startling Amaya, who had been wrapping a small bandage around her thumb. Her scream also causes Noctis to dart up from his nap and disappear under the bed.

Livia pays this all no mind.

She turns to Amaya and says with a serious face, “My nipples have been erected for months now, and they have not gone down. Also, they have grown in size and have become darker and hurt like a mother fucking bitch.

I am leaking from places we will not speak of and currently suffering from heartburn because I dared to think about a cupcake.

And every time you have asked If I was okay or alright, I lied right through my teeth. I'm not, but there is also nothing you or I can do about it, so I just have to fucking deal. ”

The normally cool and shameless Amaya promptly chokes on-air and becomes beet red as she splutters.

Livia nods solemnly, “I know, so you can understand when I say I honestly do not give a damn about what my mother is planning or why my father is suddenly coming back. If shit happens, it will happen. I'll handle it. But right now, all I care about is showing you this funny video I remembered watching, okay?”

Amaya nods her head slowly, a look of awe on her face.

“Good.