•Chapter thirty four•

Just a little mercy.

Mira took a deep breath to calm her raging heart once she reached the cave she had planned to come to. It was still dark, and she had a few loyal guards and maids with her because she just wouldn't survive without their help.

In the time she spent in the castle as a queen, she had learned the strategic places of the kingdom along with the ones isolated completely.

This cave was one of those isolated places.

She knew no one from the kingdom could find her here for up to three or four days. She couldn't even tell whether everything would be fine by then or not because she doesn't even know what she was doing.

She had planned only until this moment. After this, whatever happens will be out of her hands.

Her child... The place she will live at...

She knew nothing.

All she was sure about was that she wasn't going back to Jungkook until it had to be done for whatever the reason may be.

She just doesn't want to go back.

Her presence, love, admiration weren't liked by Jungkook, and she was fed up with trying to do things for a person who sees her as nothing. Well, she was a reason it ended up like that anyway.

She wondered how different things had been if she had been a bit more considerate to take care of Jungkook and his needs when he was taking care of her.

Where had she put her heart when she forced her savior to marry her and pulled him away from his happiness?

The chaotic situation, the apprehension, the loneliness was all caused to her by herself. There was no one else to be blamed.

Unconsciously, she did such horrible things that now she had become someone as evil as her dead father. She had grabbed Jungkook's hand and thrown him off the cliff when all he wanted to do was to give her his hand and save her.

Things couldn't be turned back now.

Taehyung and Jungkook had lost a few precious moments together, and though it made her burn from inside to think of how worse the things had turned out--out Jungkook would now get back to his lover and act like she never existed--it should all be okay.

It should be okay. She has left that place now and has decided to let them do whatever they want.

She has decided to erase these memories along with the memories of her father. She has a child to look after and another boy--her child's father--to look for.

That's all she could do. She would find the boy who she made to impregnate her, ask him about what she's supposed to do, let him know everything about the child, and live with him if he says so or go back to her kingdom.

She wanted to avoid going back to Cyrus at any cost.

The people will harass her all over again for holding the child of someone who left her and curse at her for not being worth everything. After having been to such a beautiful place where everything is accepted and everyone is loved, she hated the thought of going back to her place.

But she would gladly remove all sort of love for Jungkook just so she can live with the father of her baby.

It was difficult to just move on when she hasn't even ended things with Jungkook properly or given him a divorce, but nothing mattered unless she wasn't alone.

She didn't want to be alone.

She wouldn't be alone if she had her child, but what if...

What if something bad happens to it? What would she do if her child doesn't survive like the way the old lady of her kingdom told her?

Putting her complicated, messed up, tangled emotions in one sentence: she would lose all reason to live and end these miserable days that she would have to see.

She would not stand it if anything happens to her baby.

And with all these things she feels for her child, she remembered the terrible things she did to Taehyung.

Why? All they wanted was to take care of her and give her some love. Why did she makes things turn out in such a way that her well-wishers began hating her?

She went too overboard.

She would just do a few little things to make up for the mess she created.

She'd hand over her "husband" and her title as a queen to Taehyung. The people would complain about the rules and she knew they all liked her, but once they find out about the mistakes she committed, they would hate her too and would readily accept Taehyung who even holds the child of their king.

Now that they all knew how protective Jungkook was over the boy and all the harsh and mean ministers have been removed, they won't anger the king.

If Jungkook said he wished to be with Taehyung and was cutting off the ties with her, they will accept it to not be on the bad side of the person who protects all of them.

Taehyung would become the queen. Taehyung would live with his lover.

And she? She could only beg for a little mercy from Taehyung and plead with him to not throw her out of the kingdom after getting crowned in case her child survives.

It was too much to ask for from a person who suffered so much because of her immaturity but the least she could do was try.

Maybe Taehyung would see the child and her situation and pity her a little?

Maybe he'd just let her stay in Atlas for the sake of humanity because her kingdom would harass her child too?

She had been sitting in one corner of the cave with the maids beside her, looking at her pained expression in silence.

Her stomach hurt. The stress and the million thoughts had occupied her so much that she couldn't even think about the pain rising in her abdomen.

"Queen?" They called in a worried tone when she let out a small cry while holding her stomach. "We need to do something now. Please order us to help you... You need to give birth to your baby... "

A sharp pain rose her back as she lay down on the hard rocky ground. She held her tummy tightly and asked, "what if--what if it leaves me alone? What will I do then? I don't want it to go away from me. It's all I have..."

Their pitying eyes didn't help at all. She couldn't do anything but whimper at every wave of pain that hit her.

She had to risk her everything now.

There were only two things she could do.

If the child doesn't survive, she will kill herself.

If it does, she'd go to find the father of the child--who she may fall in love with in the future and who may love her back--and beg forgiveness from Taehyung.

*-*-*-*

Hyeon sighed for the hundredth time when Taehyung began whining about something. His patience was so commendable for he didn't just leave the hut and walk off in annoyance.

"Why is there no food?" Taehyung asks, scanning through the tiny bag in one corner, sitting on his legs. He snapped his head towards Hyeon and looked at him with a pout.

"Didn't you eat all those fruits yesterday?" The alpha asked, slowly getting up and walking to the round and small boy because his ember eyes lured him into walking to him and helping out.

"Why was there only a few?" Taehyung whined, shoulders slumping down and pout growing more. "I'm hungry."

"Just five minutes before you said you didn't want to eat anything," Hyeon stated in a low tone. He was frustrated and tired, but he wouldn't let it show.

Taehyung, heavily pregnant now, just did everything he wished to do. He would eat when he wants to, walk out of the hut without informing at midnights for walking around and order everyone present near him.

The fact that Hyeon was the one around him most of the time didn't make the situation of his alpha friend any better.

Taehyung threw so many tantrums and whined and cried for no reason, numerous times, and it was just too hard to handle.

Taehyung would get irritated when people tried to take care of him and asked him questions to check on him but cried when they minded their own business and didn't pay much attention to him.

He'd skip dinners and wake up at an ungodly hour and make Chohee and Hyeon get some fruit from the forest for him or sometimes make food too.

He would yell when his things were kept here and there even if he was the one who made the place messy.

He would suddenly get moody and start crying and call everyone boring and irritating and wish to go to Jungkook. One time, things got too bad and Taehyung just wasn't calming down, so Chohee thought about taking him back to the palace to the king but he yelled at her for thinking of such a ridiculous thing and blamed her for trying to get rid of him by sending him away.

He would complain when he was sitting down, and complain when he was walking too.

Nothing seemed to be going well for the boy, but all of them understood that it was just because of the absence of his mate.

If Jungkook was the one who was calming the boy down or convincing him when he was throwing tantrums, it would be less difficult and simpler than when someone else does.

And Hyeon always had to be that someone.

"Aren't you sleepy?" Hyeon asked. "It's late, right? It would be difficult to search for fruits in the dark--"

"I need apples..." Taehyung sniffled, eyes welling with tears. "You told me you would get them for me."

At this point, Hyeon considered just going out in the forest and getting himself killed by some animal rather than speaking to Taehyung.

"Apples, right?" He asked, slowly getting up. "I'll go get them. Chohee noona is helping in cleaning dishes today so she won't be here in a while. Wait until I come, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, he stood up, grabbing a lamp from the table. He was about to make his way out when he heard a sniffle and turned around.

"You're going t-to leave me alone here?"

"Didn't you need the damn apples, Tae?" Hyeon deadpanned, not able to stop the slight clenching of his jaw. It was hard to remain calm after having to experience the same type of behavior from Taehyung for so long.

After hearing his slightly upset tone, Taehyung rolls into a ball by bringing his legs close to his huge belly and hugging them, tears streaming down his face now.

"I don't want to stay alone," Taehyung whispered, lowering his head and burying in on his knees.

Hyeon let out a huff of air and made his way to the boy. He crouched down beside him and held his waist and hands to help him stand up, knowing that the boy was unable to do such tasks all alone when having such a big stomach.

"Come," Hyeon muttered, helping Taehyung to the mattress with baby steps. The omega stopped sulking and wiped away his tears with one hand while the other casually rested on his bump.

"You'll wake up in a few hours in hunger anyway so let's get you to bed earlier. There shouldn't be any lack of sleep now."

Thankfully, Taehyung did not fight against it, probably too tired and sleepy himself.

He surely did want to get back to his normal state and hold the baby in his hands after keeping it in him for so long, but he kept thinking about how Jungkook would react to this more than anything else.

It could be only an extreme reaction, either positive or negative. He knew Jungkook wouldn't hate him for anything no matter what so he stopped fearing the future.

If he ends up in Jungkook's arms with his baby, everything was fine.

Hyeon held his shoulders and helped him lower his upper half and lay on the bed. The alpha took a look at his swollen legs and slowly rubbed on them, knowing that these tiny massages on the hurting areas helped Taehyung fall asleep.

"Don't worry too much, okay? Once your baby is born, all these mood swings will end anyway so don't be upset about all these things you're feeling."

Taehyung jutted his lips out. "I wanted Jungkook to see me once before the baby's born..."

"He wouldn't like that--" Hyeon cut himself off, awkwardly clearing his throat because he had just a second ago told Taehyung to not worry about his behavior and was now telling him that Jungkook wouldn't like it.

The omega seemed to understand what he was saying too.

"You don't know my mate," He said proudly. "Even if I annoyed him twenty fours hours of all the days of the year he would still smile and love me."

Hyeon narrowed his eyes at Taehyung. "Are you saying I don't smile and love you? Do you know how much I've done for you?"

"You didn't bring me apples." Taehyung shrugged.

"You told me to stay back!"

Ignoring Hyeon's childish bickering about how he was the best person Taehyung could get as a friend, the omega closed his eyes.

He thought about how good everything was even now with Jungkook and how it would be perfect once he gets back. He didn't know how long that would take, but he would still have his friends by his side all the time until then, and maybe even his child.

His and Jungkook's child.

Thinking about it gave him so much satisfaction.

When he was almost fully asleep, he heard the door open and the cheery voice of Chohee before she joined his side and hugged his tummy and gave it big kisses even when he has told her a million times to not do so.

Hyeon wasn't so touchy, but he still got shy and happy when Taehyung hugged him, just like the way he did right then when the omega tugged him to sleep beside him and hugged him.

He let out a shaky breath when he felt the child move. He felt the pulling sensation in his tummy before the movement of the baby was visibly seen with the change in his bump.

More than he did, it was Chohee who loved these things. She let out a few more cheers and cupped his stomach, wanting to feel more of the movements and occasional kicks which startled Taehyung.

Hyeon was the one who felt the child kick first after Taehyung did. It was so serene and happy for all of them because it did mean progress in the state of the child.

In a way, Chohee and Hyeon loved Taehyung's baby just as much as they loved and cared for him.

"Noona, you're not letting him sleep," Hyeon pushed her away as he reminded her of how the pregnant boy needs sleep.

Chohee calmed down finally and just quickly put out all the lamps in the hut before joining the other two on the bed.

"I want to hold your baby, Tae. Give birth to it quickly, okay?"

Taehyung snorted at that, rolling his eyes. "Like it's up to me. It could happen any time."

"Even tomorrow?" Chohee asked, and it made Taehyung's heart beat faster.

Tomorrow? He thinks. If I do give birth to my baby tomorrow...

I'd finally have the apple of my eyes in my hands.

"Maybe tomorrow too."

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