•Chapter forty•

I don't think I'll survive otherwise.

Mira was the only one that was able to do any help to Taehyung. From the very moment after the contractions began to now when there was progress in the birthing of the baby.

Hyeon and Chohee were very cautious of her, not letting her touch Taehyung without having a reason to do so.

All she was permitted was the ability to speak. She knew not as much as a doctor did, but she was keeping in mind the things her own doctor told her when she was giving birth.

Taehyung was way calmer than she had been. He didn't scream or do anything that could waste more of his energy.

Mira was glad things were going well.

She was glad that she was able to do just something to help Taehyung out.

But the fear of everything that was going to happen still remained in her heart as she proceeded with her deeds. It was slowly dawning upon her that she really was left all alone.

She had no one who would give her side.

She wasn't a fool to think that Jungkook would just open his hands for her if she went to him. He will give her the punishment he probably yearns to give, the punishment that was lawfully supposed to be given to her.

He didn't have any reason to stop himself to do so now. 

Unless he was given a reason to not give her a lawful punishment, he would make sure she suffered. 

At this point, she would have gladly just gone off and gotten put inside the prison just for having a roof above her head and food to fill her stomach if things were just about herself.

But she had a child.

And she wasn't even living for herself anymore.

If it wasn't for her baby's survival, she would have ended it all.

She had to do something for staying with her child, and her heart burnt every time she saw Taehyung cling to Hyeon. He was doing it out of pure pain and had his hands tightly wrapped around Hyeon's neck. 

How many hopes she had from this man after the way he had been to her in the past...

She realized that she had made one mistake twice. Jungkook accepted her just to save her and she misunderstood that sweetness and dubbed it as love. Hyeon held her and spoke to her softly just because he was soft-hearted like Jungkook, but she thought that he forgive her and accept her when she goes home.

How could she be so dumb? 

He was growling at her now and glaring at her. 

Had she not done anything for people to see her worthy of apology? 

Taehyung completely refused to even hear her out and Hyeon just blandly said he was glad their child didn't survive because it was Mira's too. 

Jungkook looked at Taehyung with love and care. 

Hyeon was doing the same thing. 

Mira didn't have a right to be mad at anyone.

She wanted to just think that they were close friends and that's why Hyeon just told her that he doesn't care about his daughter, but the look in Hyeon's eyes made Mira doubt his true feelings towards Taehyung.

Was the past repeating itself? Did the one she like, like Taehyung again?

She was honestly just so tired of all this now that she just cared about her daughter now. It didn't fucking matter if she got someone's love if she had her daughter by her side.

She missed the tiny being already. She wanted to quickly go back and bring the child to her arms, warm her up by keeping her close to her chest.

"It fucking hurts!" Taehyung hissed, arching his back more and trying his best to not squirm around. He wanted to harshly kick his legs in anger at how hard and rough the floor was and how he felt like every bone of his body was breaking.

It wasn't even ending.

The pain was just getting more and more.

He buried his face in Hyeon's neck, back stiffening with another contraction of his muscles as he mumbled a chain of curses.

Chohee softly patted his wet face with a cloth to wipe off his sweat. He looked at her with hazy eyes, his lower lip wobbling.

"I need m-my..." Taehyung started, gasping in the middle of his sentence. "K-kookie..."

Mira's heart hurt when she heard him say that. 

Wasn't it because of her he was even in such a state? He was pregnant because of her and was giving birth without his lover because of her too.

She wished she could go back in time and make her dumb self realize what she was doing, but there was no chance of doing so.

"Oppa, a few months back I found a portrait of you on the King's shelf, " Mira started, hoping that Taehyung wouldn't ignore her attempts to calm him down. She was trying her best to not anger the omega by not being very informal while addressing Jungkook.

She didn't want it to seem like she was very close to Jungkook.

Taehyung didn't look at her, so she continued, "he had written a huge para about how beautiful your ember eyes are."

She carefully adjusted herself between Taehyung's legs--finding it a little difficult because Taehyung found lying on his side more comfortable and had curled himself in Hyeon's arms--and paid attention to her task of slowly soothing the area of his lower stomach, just like the way her doctor did to her while keeping an eye out for any progress of the child; there were none for now.

It looked way too painful, and it kept reminding her of how she had struggled, bringing back all the damn pain she felt. 

She was so damn tired herself because she had given birth not a long time ago.

But she kept all that aside.

That's not what she should be thinking about right then.

"There were so many more, many written in a very shabby way--probably when he was too young--and all I ever find when I search is things about you."

She let out a sigh silently and smiled softly because the male omega was surely listening to her. She could feel the burning glare of Hyeon but didn't turn towards him.

He hated her, she could tell. Whenever she was reaching out for a pat on Taehyung's stomach, Hyeon would growl at the back of his throat.

She ignored it all.

Taehyung thought over the things Mira was telling him. 

He wondered again like he had done several times by now, how long has Jungkook loved him? Was his love so pure since the beginning that he never wished to stop loving him?

How didn't he ever have a wish to come up and tell him his feelings? Was it just because he was scared of getting rejected? Or did Jungkook think he would be obliged to form a relationship with him as he is the king?

Taehyung whimpered softly. He could feel how his walls were stretching. He wished to do no more of all these things.

Mira wiped off his sweat with her silk cloth before looking at Taehyung again. She didn't want to sway him from his main action of giving birth, but wished to say him one thing that will give him the determination he requires,

"When Jungkook will hold your child, he'll see you in your child always, and it would add on to the million reasons he will love his child as a father."

Unless he turns out to be someone who wishes his child doesn't survive, she thought, eyes welling with tears as she looked away to gather herself for a moment. He isn't like that. Jungkook will definitely love his baby because he showed love to a child which wasn't even his.

"Keep going," Mira muttered, pulling herself out of her thoughts.

Taehyung gasped when his walls stretched. He let out a cry which got muffled in Hyeon's shoulder and arched his back, tears freely rolling down his cheeks.

He grasped onto Hyeon's shirt. Hyeon's eyes blew open and he cradled Taehyung to his chest.

"You cannot give up," Mira said. "We're almost there, oppa. End your pain quickly."

Taehyung groaned, squirmed, bit onto Hyeon's shirt, and did everything he could to push. He spread his legs more in hope of reducing the pain but nothing fucking worked.

He gasped one more time when he pushed but the child hadn't come out fully yet, making it clear that more effort was required.

He let out a breathy cry one more time when Mira informed him that it was working.

He could feel it too. The feeling felt so weird that he couldn't describe it.

"Come on," Chohee encouraged, rubbing his side soothingly, shedding tears herself. 

Hyeon wasn't looking anywhere other than the ground. He was so scared to look that he had curled up around Taehyung and was only concentrating on calming the boy because every scream broke his heart more and more.

"H-how?" Taehyung asked, not making any sense of what answer he needed, but they understood what he wished to know.

"Just a bit more effort and we're done here."

He gave in all the effort he could. 

With all his might for one last time.

And it gave him just what he wanted.

Taehyung forced his sticking eyelids apart to keep his eyes open, keeping his numb legs as still as possible so he doesn't hurt the baby. 

He heard just a small cry which made him stop thinking about his pain and concentrate on the child.

His child was born.

Finally, it was born.

The cries became louder after Mira patted the child's back. 

Taehyung got the confirmation that his baby was alright. He didn't have any wish to explain to Hyeon that the child wasn't crying because of anything Mira did.

Mira gave Hyeon a warning glance when he started to reach out to grab the child. "You know what to do now? She's still connected to Taehyung; do you know what you're supposed to do to separate them that you're trying to take her away?" 

Taehyung's heart skipped a beat knowing the gender of his child. He looked at Chohee who smiled brightly back at him. 

That's all his body could take though. Neither did the sleep nor did the little food he had help him to stay up any longer. 

He so wished to shoot to his feet and grab his daughter, look at her and take shower her with love; he just couldn't do so with his worn-out body.

Hyeon panicked when Taehyung fell limp, now stopping himself from glaring at Mira with bright red eyes and holding Taehyung up, trying to wake him up. 

Mira carefully finished the rest of the work, so glad that she had been all alert during her giving birth time to remember every little thing the doctor did. She looked around for a cloth to cover the child, taking up a rather clean shirt that was within a reachable distance. 

Not until she brought the shirt close to herself did she know it was Jungkook's. More than any jealousy or anger that her "husband" had been sending things to Taehyung for his health, she was glad it was Jungkook's cloth. 

The scent of the father will surely calm the distressed child. She had already used her own cloth to wipe off the baby so she used the shirt to wrap the child up. 

After all of that was done, she wondered what to do now. 

The baby was deep asleep and hadn't opened her eyes even once yet. Hyeon was staring deeply at an unconscious boy in his arms while Chohee was keeping an eye on Mira after cleaning Taehyung and dressing him back up. 

Mira had the child in her arms, glancing at them. 

She looked down at the baby and found it fast asleep. She missed her child after doing this and wished that she had also been as peaceful as was after giving birth. 

Taehyung was sure nothing was wrong with his baby, and that's why he was in a peaceful state.

But her hopes of everything being alright had broken just a few minutes after her daughter was born. 

She was still left to do things for her child though. 

She couldn't just go back with empty hands. She couldn't see the devastation of her child before her eyes. She couldn't let her baby die of starvation and poverty. 
She thought about what she did just like she had done several times already. 

What was she supposed to do now?

She could try to make her own house somewhere here or live in an abandoned house like the way Taehyung did and take help from the villagers for their food until she could do something for a living. 

But... unlike Taehyung, after Jungkook reveals to the people of the kingdom what she had done to him, they would hate her. 

She could just not survive without help. It wasn't possible. She would take months to learn something so new, and the people would refuse to give her a job if they hated her. 

How would she earn then? 

She was not going back to her kingdom to make her own child's life a nightmare too. 

Just...what was left for her to do?

She needed money somehow. None of the people had enough money for her to steal from them; the only ones who did have money were the kingdom palaces. 

The only two kingdoms palaces she would be allowed to go to would be her kingdom and Atlas' palace that she left. 

If she shows her face anywhere in Cyrus' cursed kingdom, they'd make sure she doesn't leave because after the king had left, they were just searching for someone who could be a substitute until her brother could come of age. 

That would mean enslaving herself and tying herself and her baby to those pathetic ministers who was done such bad things to her already.

She didn't have a heart as strong as her mother to see her daughter get beaten up for no reason.

She wasn't going to let her child live the life she lived.

She wasn't ready to even take the risk of doing anything close to covering herself or dressing up like a man to enter Cyrus; her trauma would not let her do such a thing. She knows there is no way they won't know who she is. 

That left her with just one option... 

Steal from Jungkook's castle. 

And the only problem she would face is that she had to get there somehow in such a way that Jungkook wouldn't imprison her when he sees her.

She was so glad for whatever Jungkook has done for her and will forever be in a debt to him, but this little stealing of money will make no difference to the king.

Before Jungkook could understand what was happening... She would have to leave the castle with the money.

"Why are you just holding the child like that?" Chohee questioned, her arms reaching out to hold the child. "Give the child to me."

Mira first nodded, looking down at the peacefully sleeping child who seemed much calmer than how her own had been. She slowly turned around, looking at the green herbs lying on the ground as she gave the baby to the beta woman.

Chohee was so relieved that Mira hadn't tried to play any dirty tricks.

Chohee walked ahead and sat down near Taehyung's unconscious form, keeping her eyes on the child only. The baby looked so red and adorable that it made her smile and wonder how happy her friend would be to wake up to see this pure soul's face.

She was so happy.

Just as she thought about how much glee this child would bring to them, she heard a sharp slicing sound.

Her happiness wasn't supposed to last very long. She should have none of that.

She shouldn't have trusted that Mira wasn't going to do anything wrong.

She snapped her head up when she heard a thudding noise, eyes widening when she finds Mira sitting on Hyeon, pressing some green thing on his nose.

She had a huge cut across her abdomen, Hyeon had clawed her as a reflex when she suddenly pressed the green herb on him.

Chohee recognized the green thing as the herbs that make people unconscious, the ones she had brought just for the times when Taehyung was in too much pain and couldn't stand being awake.

She thought Mira had changed for good...

Oh, how wrong she was.

"Mira!" She yelled, wishing that she could just jump to her feet and help the struggling alpha under Mira, but she had a newborn in her hand, and she had to be very cautious.

Fear rose in her and she did manage to get on her feet, but it was too late already.

Hyeon fell limp on the floor, his hand which was clutching Mina's wrist loosening up and exposing the red bruises under it which was the effect of his strong grip on her.

Mira was bleeding heavily due to the wound in her abdomen, making her after-birth pain get so much worse.

But she wasn't someone to give in to pain.

"S-stop this..." Chohee growled, securing the baby in her hand. "You said you weren't here to hurt any of them!" 

"I won't hurt them even if I end up dying," Mira stated, knowing that she wasn't breaking that promise of hers. "I will hurt none of them. Just give me the child--" 

"No!" Chohee yelled, terror filling her to the brim. The child whimpered in her strong hold but she still feared to loosen her hands.

What if Mira took the child away?

"Just go away from here! I'm not going to let you take the baby--" 

"Look," Mira started painfully. "My child survived, and she's a tiny girl just like the one you're holding right now. The only difference is that the child you're holding is completely fine and has her future set as the King's firstborn while mine is blind and has to struggle just because of me, just because my mistakes stop people from helping her out too." 

Chohee was shocked at the news, but she still held her ground. 

Mira approached her as slowly as possible, clutching the herbs in her hand. 

"I won't mind if I was killed for all that I did, but I don't want my child to suffer." 

"So you're gonna make another child suffer?!" Chohee just wished to grab something and stab the girl. She hated how she was all defenseless. 

That's when she remembered something. 

The guards outside were here to protect Taehyung. 

"Help!" she yelled. Before she could scream again, Mira stuffed the herbs in her mouth, holding her by her waist so she doesn't fall while holding the child in her hands. 

"Why won't you listen?" Mira sniffled. "All I want to do is protect my child. I'm not doing anything to this angel you're holding as well. I'm just going to go give her to her father and lie that she's mine. I'll run away with all the wealth after a few hours, as soon as possible. The child will be safe in her dad's and mom's arms and mine will be in mine." 

"Y-you aren't d-doing right..." Chohee muttered, still having a death grip on the child. Her eyes couldn't focus on anything and she was close to falling limp. 

The herbs were way too strong.

"You'll hurt her," Mira said, unwinding Chohee's arms from the baby and taking it away softly. She was going to do no harm to any of Jungkook's family members anymore. 

Chohee fell to the ground, completely passed out just like Hyeon. 

The guards knocked on the door after hearing the noise the beta made. Their actions got harsher when Mira didn't respond to their call. 

"Stop," Mira ordered in a loud voice, putting a stop to their bangs on the door. She glanced at Taehyung, who was furrowing his eyebrows in his unconsciousness. 

Taehyung opened his eyes in the slightest bit, looking right at the hazy figure standing before him, his eyes were unfocused. 

"I promise I won't hurt your child." was all he heard before he passed out again, and Mira was now left to do her work. 

She had to face these guards first. 

It should be alright.

She was still a queen to them, after all.

She took the risk. She's been taking just too many risks.

She opened the door and faced the group of guards that were looking right at her before glancing inside the room.

They were taken aback when they found him unconscious.

"You were here to take care of him, right?" She held the squirming, tiny child within her outer, thick robe. The guards noticed the child anyway. "He was very weak. He fainted along with all his friends. Go to him and feed him something. In about a day or two, take him back to the palace."

"Someone called for help... Whose child is this, madam?"

"Yes, that girl did. She was asking me to help her when she was about to fall, but before I could do anything she fell unconscious. This child... It's Taehyung's."

"Master's?!" The guards were so shocked at the revelation.

"Yes, it is his." Mira sighed. "I'm going to take this child to the palace because she needs to be taken care of which cannot happen here. You stay here until Taehyung wakes up and help him get back to the castle, okay?"

There didn't seem to be anything wrong with that order. Mira had hidden her actual intentions well under that facade of worry towards Taehyung.

Whatever the queen ordered seemed very reasonable and right, so they went ahead and decided to listen to her.

"The villagers were asking us to leave," The guards informed their queen.

"They know we're here?" Mira nearly panicked. What was she going to tell them if they ask her what she was doing with the child?

"They do. They're waiting there to talk to you because they're worried about Taehyung."

Fuck, fuck, fuck... What now? They won't let me take the child just like this if Taehyung has told them everything about the past.

What should I do?

She walked out quickly, even when she had no plan prepared. She asked a few guards to follow her.

She gulped when she made eye contact with a few angry villagers who growled when they saw the child in her arms.

"Give us the damn child, woman!" One of the ladies yelled at her, stomping forward. She raised her hand to hit Mira, but the guards around Mira stood before her to protect her, sensing danger to the queen.

"Don't you know you're speaking to a queen?!" The guard yelled. "How dare you speak like this?"

"They're all unlearned people," Mira said to the guards, not wishing to say stuff like this, but she knew there was no lie she could tell these people to push them away from herself. She had to leave quickly. "I don't think I should waste any time here and neither should you. They could mean a threat to Taehyung, for all we know." 

"What do you mean?!"

Mira didn't respond to the yell of the villager. 

"Keep them away from me. If they do turn out to be trustworthy people, you could let them meet Taehyung." 

"Alright, your highness," they said, glaring at the people who they now saw as a threat to Taehyung as well after seeing their harsh and rude behavior towards the queen who was only trying to do good to Taehyung.

"I'm taking it to the king who would immediately be able to help the child. They are Taehyung's family and will take care of this baby--"

"She's going to spoil the life of the child!" The villagers cried. They tried to shoot towards her and grab her when her guards pushed them away and kept them back. 

Just a few hours is all I need... Mira thinks, looking at all the mess and about the million drawbacks of her actions that she wasn't acknowledging. 

If Taehyung oppa gets up early, if he tells these guards the truth, they'd bring him to the castle instantly. These stupid villagers could also set out right away to go to the palace and let Jungkook know about what I'm doing. 

However, they will still take time. Neither do they seem like they are going to calm down soon and plan of going to the castle nor do they have a good mode of transport to travel to the palace. 

I'll reach there much before they do.

I need to just lie to get into the castle and to keep Jungkook busy by handing him this child with who he will feel a connection and grow confused as he has already concluded that I wasn't giving birth to his child. 

In this time, I will either steal the wealth myself or make my maids do it. 

That's all it will take. Just those fifteen to twenty minutes, and I will get away from there before the truth comes out. 

As she had expected, all these villagers were doing was yelling at her and yelling at the guards. She walked away to her carriage, settling inside and looking at Taehyung's small hut as the carriage moved ahead. 

"Head to the cave first," she told the coachman as she first wanted to see her daughter once and make two of her ladies-in-waiting tag along with her to help her in the stealing, "then to the kingdom palace." 

Her heart stammered in her chest. There were so many ways things could go wrong, and what she thought was the worst thing was that she didn't even know what she was doing. 

She didn't know how things will happen. 

She looked at the innocent being in her hand that she was going to use as a tool to attain her desires. 

"Nothing will happen to you." Was all she could say to reduce her guilt. "You will end up with your father in the end, so you don't have to worry about anything." 

x-x-x-x