Simple tasks had turned arduous for Aselia. Even walking was difficult at times due to swollen feet and her ever-growing belly. She had never been so dependent on anyone as she was on Xiran those days. Even though she would refrain him from massaging her feet every night, he would still do it.

She would call him a thousand times and he was always there for her. Frila had offered to move in with them but Xiran didn’t want her to give up her blooming career just to be their helper. Instead, he hired a housekeeper who would help them with cooking and cleaning and later could serve as a nanny for the kids. Her name was Salia.

"I look like a balloon," Aselia was standing in front of a mirror and observing herself. Even her breasts had enlarged and disfigured.

"You look flawless," Xiran pecked her neck from behind, his hands holding her enlarged belly as their eyes met in the mirror.

"You have gone blind my dear husband," she visibly sighed and Xiran grinned and asked:

"Should we head out?"

"Yes!" She replied as Rony came sprinting towards her and nuzzled her belly. Recently he loved doing that understanding that she was carrying her kids.

"My boy, we will be back soon," she ruffled his fur and he whined.

Xiran swept her up in his arms before carrying her to their car and strapping her in. They were going baby shopping. Hitting the engine off they went.

"Leia! You will need a car after the babies are born. Let me know which one you like so I can buy it for you," he remarked, taking a left turn. His hair was neatly tied in a man bun today and they were the longest Aselia had ever seen them.

"Xiran you can’t keep spoiling me and squandering all your money. Let me use mine sometimes too," she insisted, not wanting to become a burden. His lips thinned out in displeasure at her words.

"Leia! You are my wife and this is my obligation as your husband, it’s not spoiling. And even if it’s spoiling I will do it because who else am I supposed to spend this money on if not on my beloved wife," he declared.

"I understand but I don’t want to be dependent on you for everything. I have always been independent and I want to keep some of that. Don’t take that away from me," she softly requested.

"I would never dream of that, Leia. But your money is solely yours to spend wherever you desire and as your husband, I have duties which I will never shirk away from. We have this whole city at our disposal, you can invest your money in some business and I will gladly guide you," he presented a plan and Aselia liked it.

"Sounds like a plan, once we are done with this, I want you to sit with me and pan it out," she took a deep breath, holding her belly.

"It will be my pleasure," he blew her a flying kiss before stopping the car in front of a kid’s clothing store. Getting out of the car he helped Aselia out and keeping her hand intertwined with hers they made their way inside.

---------

Next, they decided to set up the kid’s room. Aselia’s former room was chosen to be used as a kid’s room for now. Xiran wanted the baby room to be on the ground floor but they only had one room there.

The house which was perfect for them now began to seem a bit small and he decided to build them a large house near the beach as Aselia had always wanted.

"Let’s go with aquamarine for it’s a gender-neutral colour and we can always change it later," Aselia suggested while observing the colour palette.

"Sure," Xiran was deep in thought about building a house for his wife and kids. He decided to talk to Rivan and Rumail so the work could start as soon as quickly and it would be ready soon for them to shift in.

"I want the cots in this corner and their cupboards in that corner," Aselia presented her opinion and Xiran vehemently nodded.

They then spent the next few days decorating the room for their kids. It was freshly painted, floral patterns and animal stickers were pasted on the walls. Stuffed toys, rockers, cots, a wooden rocking chair that used to belong to Xiran’s mother and all other essentials were neatly arranged.

"Who would have thought such little beings would need so much stuff," Aselia quipped, after being exhausted from the whole ordeal.

Xiran handed her a smoothie as she took deep breaths and stood with one hand on her back. He gathered her in his rock-solid arms and carried her to the rocking chair. Settling in it he seated her in his lap.

"I will rock my wife and kids," he began to rhythmically sway the chair back and forth. Aselia sipped the smoothie while nestled in his comforting embrace.

"Sing for us, please," she requested, wanting to hear his melodiously angelic voice. And a mesmerising smile appeared on his handsome face as he began to sing a beautiful song for her. His greyish-hued eyes danced with fondness and her heart warmed up, all the fatigue evaporated and she was lost in the magic of his voice.

His hand rested on the stretched skin of her belly, the twins were also calmly listening to their father singing. Soon her eyes began to droop, his wings blanketed her and the twins as he removed the empty glass from her hand while she slept peacefully in his arms.

He tenderly kissed her forehead and sat rocking her a while before carrying her downstairs to their bedroom. He tucked her into the bed and slipped beside her, enveloping her in his embrace once again.

The next morning, Xiran woke up early with his phone ringing. He rubbed his eyes to check the caller ID and it was Chief Warise. His calling this early only meant that there was some emergency.

"Hello! Warise, what is it?" Xiran sleepily asked, covering Aselia with the blanket.

"Sorry to disturb you this early Señor but I was unable to reach Señor Rivan or Black Hawk and the matter needed urgent attention. There has been an attack on one of the bars and we haven’t been able to capture the culprit. There are multiple deaths," he reluctantly told him.

"What? How did that happen? I am on my way," Xiran wasn’t at all pleased. He didn’t want to leave Aselia alone in this condition even for a second, so he left Irlana a message to be here with her at her earliest convenience.

He then went to wake up Salia, their housekeeper and left a string of instructions with her before kissing his sleeping wife and heading out. He wore a grim expression, for once he hated his city getting attacked again even though the security was so tight and secondly, Aselia was so close to her delivery now. He wanted to get this matter resolved as soon as possible and head home.

Aselia stirred with a slight discomfort in her abdomen and lower back. Thinking it was just fatigue she ignored it and tried to curl up with her husband, but his warmth was nowhere to be found. Her eyes shot open, feeling his side of the bed empty.

"Xiran!" she slowly called out, thinking he must be in the bathroom. He would always hear her due to his heightened sense of hearing. But there was no answer.

The cramping feeling grew and this time hit her a bit harder. All the instructions of Dr. Wanstine and the prenatal sessions she had held with Xiran came swirling back to her.

"Salia!" She called out in a panicked state and the girl came rushing inside and asked:

"Ma’am, are you alright?"

"Where is Xiran?" Aselia frantically questioned.

"Señor received an urgent call so he went out, is everything ok? Can I assist you with something?" she inquired, leaning closer to Aselia.

"I think I am going into labour, I am having cramps, I need my husband," Aselia was on the verge of crying now, as pangs of pain hit her in torrents. Salia seemed a bit shocked too, her eyes widened but she tried to remain in control.

The outside door knocked and Salia after comforting Aselia went to answer it. It was Irlana and Salia sighed in relief.

"So glad you are here, I think ma’am is going into labour and Señor is not home. She is panicking," Salia informed her, Irlana didn’t waste a single second and rushed towards Aselia’s room.

Throwing open the door she dashed to Aselia’s side, who was frantically calling someone while clutching her belly, her face grimacing in pain.

"Hurry!!!" she called out before ending the call and turning to Irlana.

"Aselia! Are you alright? Are you having contractions?" she tried to ask in a calm tone so as not to panic her.

"I think so, I am having cramps and the time interval between them is decreasing," Aselia hoarsely answered. She was dejected and didn’t want her husband to miss the birth of their first children.

"Let’s get you to the hospital then, I will call everyone, don’t worry. Salia get the bags in the car, my driver is outside," Irlana quickly took the matter into her hands and helped Aselia out of bed so they could get to the hospital in time.