The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn saw Lily's expression and wondered what Lady Greenan was thinking.

"Is anything the matter?" Emmelyn asked her.

Lily batted her eyes and looked at Emmelyn with a grin. She liked Emmelyn for being blunt. It was a breath of fresh air to her. Most other ladies that she knew were too shy to speak their minds.

"Uhm... actually, when the crown prince came here a few months ago, he said almost exactly the same thing," Lily explained. "He was jealous of my husband for having so many adorable kids and he wanted to have his own children too."

Emmelyn pressed her lips and let out a gasp when she heard Lily's reply.

Aww... Mars was so adorable, she thought.

They were truly alike in so many things.

They both planned to scheme the other party during their initial agreement, and now they also both wanted the same thing, unknowingly.

They were truly pot and kettle.

This was too sweet.

"He said that?" Emmelyn asked Lily in disbelief.

"Yes, he did..." Lily gave Jorei to Emmelyn. "Here, do you want to try holding a baby?"

Emmelyn's eyes went round when she heard Lily's offer. She was excited but also scared at the same time.

What if she held the baby too tightly that she crushed him?

"It's okay. You will do it naturally once you hold him. I will be here to help if you feel uncomfortable," Lily said to reassure Emmelyn.

"Ah... okay." Emmelyn's eyes were gleaming with excitement when she took Jorei from Lily's arms.

Gosh... this baby was quite heavy!

He was really chubby and adorable. Emmelyn almost wanted to bite his round and red cheeks. They looked like ripe cherries!

"Oh, my god..." Emmelyn was almost in tears. She didn't know holding a baby would make her feel this way.

Subconsciously she looked at her slightly-protruding tummy and imagine what her baby would look like after it was born.

Would it be a boy like Jorei...? Or would they have a baby girl?

Who would it take after?

Emmelyn surely would love to see a mini Mars around their castle. Oh, he would be so cute beyond words.

He might have his father's eyes and hairs. They were two of her favorite things about Mars Strongmoor's physical appearance.

"Thank you..." Emmelyn whispered in gratitude when she returned Jorei to Lily. She felt grateful that Lily gave her the opportunity to have a taste of what it was like being a mother.

Now, she couldn't wait to welcome their own child to this world.

Oh.. now she couldn't wait to see Mars and talked to him about it.

Hmmm... maybe they should change their plans and have more children??? Now two seemed too few.

Lily could see Emmelyn's excitement and she smiled to herself. It was always good to witness people in love celebrate their union.

Lily was especially happy that Mars and Emmelyn decided to get married in Southberry and that Athos and she were invited to be part of the couple's big day.

"By the way, are you pregnant?" Lily asked Emmelyn after she took her son back. She finally noticed the small baby bump on Emmelyn's tummy.

It was so wonderful!

Three months ago Mars was talking about how much he wanted to be a father, and now he was expecting his first child already??

Lily pressed her lips in surprise and patted Emmelyn's shoulder warmly. "This is amazing!"

"Yes, didn't Mars tell Athos that we are expecting?" Emmelyn asked back.

Lily shook her head. "No, he didn't. Maybe he intentionally didn't tell us. Some of us believe that it would be better to keep news about the baby a secret to avoid being jinxed."

"Oh.. I didn't know that about your culture," Emmelyn said. Mars never told her about it.

She knew he intentionally kept it from outsiders but he told his family and close family friends. So, Emmelyn didn't know why Mars didn't tell Athos and Lily.

She decided to ask the prince about it later.

"Ahh.. well, it's just different here. Where are you from by the way?" Lily asked Emmelyn. She quickly answered her own question with a laugh. "Well, no need to answer now. Let's go have breakfast. The men are all having breakfast in the main dining room. You can have breakfast with me and the little ones. We can talk about everything over food."

Emmelyn remembered Lily mentioned last night that the bride and groom shouldn't see each other until the wedding.

She understood that must be the reason why she didn't have breakfast with Mars and the others this morning.

Well.. it's good to have a woman friend for a change, she decided. Having been surrounded by testosterone for days made her appreciate the gentleness shown by Lily.

They walked together to a beautiful terrace on the east wing. There was a table with several comfortable chairs there and the servants had started preparing food for them.

Seeing all those mouthwatering dishes made Emmelyn licked her lips. She was happy that her appetite seemed to return.

They ate breakfast happily and chatted about girly stuff. Emmelyn still didn't tell Lily who she was but she gave her enough information about her life. She told Lily that she was an orphan and came from a country far away from Draec.

Lily was very sympathetic. She still had her whole family and now she was living in her own country of origins. So, her life had been very nice and easy.

She could imagine how hard it must have been for Emmelyn.

"I'm sorry to hear about your family," Lily said in an apologetic tone. "I know nothing can replace them, but I hope you can build your own family to make up for what you have lost."

"I hope so," Emmelyn replied.

She still needed to tell Mars about Killian. Her family wasn't entirely wiped out. She still had her brother.

Gosh.. if only things were different. She would love to have her brother take her down the aisle and give her away to her husband.

However, it was not her priority now. First, she must make sure that she could talk to Killian and become the bridge of peace between her brother and her husband's family.

At this point, was there any need to continue their grudge? Getting their revenge wouldn't bring anyone back from the grave.

***