Episode 100. Pregnancy (3)

Winnie, answering happily, burrowed into my arms. Afraid she might break, I hugged her back carefully, being mindful not to put any pressure on her stomach. She seemed to have gone through a lot of mental anguish; Winnie had lost more weight than I remembered.

“Ah….”

I picked up Winnie, who was already light, and headed for the bed. Winnie naturally clung to me, sticking to me like a small animal finding its way into its nest. For a woman who loves to act tough, she sure likes to be pampered. What?

‘If I drink that, my pregnancy will be as if it never happened.’

‘If you’re reluctant to abort the child, you can go somewhere no one knows and raise it alone….’

I was so dumbfounded. It was written all over her face that she didn’t want to, so who could force her? Staring at the floor with tearful eyes, trying to act strong with a voice that sounded like she was about to burst into tears, who would believe that? When a tender-hearted person tries to act tough, it all shows.

Besides, what reason would I have to dislike the child? Thinking that Winnie had my child, I couldn’t help but find her belly endearing. Of course, everything Winnie said was right. If Monica or anyone else found out about Winnie’s pregnancy, it would become troublesome. I don’t know about me, but the relationship between Monica, Vera, and Winnie, who got along so well, could be broken.

But that couldn’t be helped. After all, this relationship couldn’t last forever as it is. It’s strange to love each other, have sex every day, and hope that a child will never be born. This relationship, maintained by deceiving Monica, couldn’t continue forever.

And above all, I had no intention of aborting. After getting Marie pregnant, I really hated not being able to see that child as I pleased, not being able to call her my child. It was more than just regret; it was a heartbreaking… a sense of loss that I, who had never had a child, couldn’t explain in words. In that situation, there was my child, conceived even before that? I couldn’t let her go, absolutely not. And Winnie too….

“Heu-heung….”

She’s so happy that I said it’s okay to have the baby. Well, I also thought it was just like Winnie to be so dishonest. Making cute, obvious lies was Winnie’s charm. I laid her down comfortably on the bed, and I slowly…

“Ouch.”

“Don’t go….”

I was caught by Winnie as I tried to get up. It wasn’t that I couldn’t shake her off, but I was afraid it might shock her, so I stood there in an awkward position.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other…. Are you leaving already?”

Ugh, Winnie being so honest. Whether it was because she had been through so much mental anguish, Winnie, who had thrown off the mask of acting strong and okay, was acting like a proper child. But seeing that I wasn’t annoyed, I guess I’m really…. I was caught by the bedside and soothed Winnie.

“Now that you have a baby, you should go to bed early. Look at the fatigue in your eyes. Go to sleep quickly.”

“But, there’s still so much to talk about….”

“I don’t have any plans to go anywhere for the time being. I’ll listen to everything when you wake up, so go to sleep first.”

“…Okay. But… stay by my side until I fall asleep.”

Winnie looked tired and exhausted to anyone who saw her. At my words, spoken as if urging her, Winnie accepted the fact and quietly closed her eyes. I had to kneel by the bed, holding her hand like this until she fell asleep, but…. I didn’t feel so bad. It felt like something that couples do. I’ve never had a proper married life, so I don’t know for sure.

“Edward.”

“Yeah.”

“Please comfort Vera Ajumeoni… no, Vera Unni a lot.”

“…Okay.”

I carefully pulled my hand away from Winnie, who had soon fallen asleep soundly, and covered her with a blanket so she wouldn’t get cold. Leaving her with a peaceful expression, I left the Mountberne mansion.

“Oh, you’re here?”

And I met Vera, who was waiting alone.

“Heum, heu-heum.”

I quietly followed Vera Nuna, who was walking ahead of me. I wanted to hug her without thinking, like before, but I had committed a sin…. And so, we returned to the main residence together. Vera Nuna spoke first.

“That took a really long time.”

“Yes? Yes…. I had a lot to talk about.”

It was Vera who brought me to Winnie, and it took quite a while to soothe and put Winnie to sleep. Thinking that she had been waiting outside in this chilly autumn night all that time, I felt even more sorry.

“That….”

“So, did you do anything about it?”

Without turning around, Vera Nuna asked me, showing only her back.

“You’re talking about the baby issue… right?”

“I sent you to resolve that. Of course.”

“We decided to have it and raise it for now. I’ll tell you the details later. Winnie looked so tired, so I put her to sleep and came.”

Heu-eum- Vera Nuna, who turned around, made a strange expression.

“It’s not like the problem is solved just by giving birth. Putting aside raising it, what are you going to say to the people around you? Are you going to raise it as a child without a father?”

“Not at all.”

I could say this with certainty.

“I don’t plan to openly announce it, but I don’t plan to hide it if someone asks. It’s not something that can be hidden, and I don’t want to hide it.”

“…Even from my daughter?”

“…I guess so.”

“How are you going to solve it? Really… it’s not good to do things without a plan, thinking that it will somehow work out.”

I couldn’t argue. It hadn’t even been a few hours since I found out that Winnie was pregnant, so how could there have been room for a plan in my head? I don’t even make plans in the first place…. I just felt that I shouldn’t avoid it. As if reading my mind, Vera Nuna said.

“Well, still, it’s a relief that things have been resolved this well. Winnie is a precious child like my own daughter, so I was a little worried when she was having a hard time….”

Winnie did look like she was having a hard time enough to worry about. Her face was filled with fatigue, worry, and anxiety. The kind and caring Vera Nuna couldn’t help but take care of her. But is it just my imagination that Vera’s expression didn’t feel as good as Winnie’s?

“…If you had said you wouldn’t take responsibility, I would have been very disappointed. A man who makes a Lady sad is not a Knight.”

“Nuna.”

“Yeah?”

Winnie’s words to take good care of Vera Unni came to mind. Nuna is by no means a saintly person. She definitely said she loved herself the most. Seeing Winnie get pregnant first, she couldn’t have felt jealousy, or even envy. However, she was suppressing those negative feelings because they were precious people.

I would have felt better if she had openly shown that she was upset. Acting like she was okay when she wasn’t made me feel even more sorry and grateful. Thinking from Vera Nuna’s perspective, I realized how badly I had acted. Saying that she was the best, and then getting another woman pregnant…. Come to think of it, not just one, but two.

I shouldn’t delay any longer. Before Nuna gets any more upset, I decided to resolve those feelings.

“Why did you call me here and not say anything? Do you have something to say?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, why suddenly. Ah-heut, j-just a moment.”

In this stiff state, her heart won’t be relieved. I hugged Vera Nuna in my arms and touched her body as if to loosen her up.

“Winnie said to take care of Vera ‘Unni’ too.”

“That, that girl, heut, why would she say such a thing….”

Her voluptuous butt that I hadn’t touched in a while. As if she had been waiting for my touch that ended as a teaser, Nuna trembled and made sweet sounds.

“Nuna.”

“Heut, no way.”

As if she had anticipated what I was going to say, Vera Nuna denied it. But without giving in, I stubbornly said.

“Please have my child.”

“Ah, I said no….”

“You asked me to let you have a child last time, didn’t you?”

I still remember. The night before leaving for Mountberne, when the three of us spent time together with Winnie. Vera Nuna seemed to remember too, as her face turned red.

“Th-that was just something I said carried away by the atmosphere, and,”

“I’ll make it real this time.”

“I can somehow get over Winnie, but if I get pregnant too….”

“I’ll take responsibility.”

I looked her straight in the eyes, not letting her avoid me. So that my sincerity would be conveyed. After making eye contact for a moment, Vera Nuna slyly averted her gaze.

“Edward, you really… you shouldn’t do that. Got it?”

“What shouldn’t I do?”

“…How many women do you think could refuse if you looked at them with those eyes?”

“Nuna!”

“Kyaat!”

I picked up Vera Nuna. It’s too cold outside, so if we’re going to take off our clothes, we should do it inside.