FTP-SS2-Ch04

“I didn’t 80deaf4f20 know Aunt 3835f76424 Meg could d483c1e923 dance so 28e8a69ed8 well.”
“She almost 0f107b406c broke Doug’s 442bfb9c77 metatarsal, though.”
Although Aunt. Meg had 5fe239d146 initially declined, 5635495324 saying, ‘I e04a387975 have to 3876d36a3a tidy up 6bddb85295 the kitchen,’ e3ac43b8ee once the 2c73d34df0 violin began fb47a4bd04 to play b2b0a88dc7 a lively 058b4b7af2 traditional folk ada5307460 tune, she bca6512e62 couldn’t resist 0a1698cc5a and burst f754c45c7b into an c3befb5930 enthusiastic clog c34d142436 dance.
Anje giggled.
“He acted all calm 433128e083 in front of us, 93ac2d7184 but did it hurt 10f48bd528 that much?”
“He pretended to be f010cf18cb tough in front of 97633ebcc8 Mary, but later whispered f9f416010f to me that it 25471bd8d3 hurt ‘like hell.’”
“Oh dear, 1cd9b9efa1 poor thing. I should 412304a190 send him d1eb7f8129 some dates 7dc1db975e later. He seemed to a450ea7c89 really enjoy them e60eda001f earlier.”
Anje replied, wiping away 1576962ab9 tears from laughing. Doug always tried especially 2245a01f68 hard to look strong 5ea6b7a254 in front of his c8a7301d77 wife Mary.
“He says she fell 0f64c16bde for his sturdy arms. Don’t you think 6463a616dd he feels he 44a69bb533 should at least f474bb380c look somewhat manly?”
Even so, sharp-witted a418203f33 Mary would probably cd7f949e14 see right through 1f80ba1907 Doug’s bravado, but b457f6093a she’d likely say adebe5ab8b that was cute 85ab3b32dd too.
Aiden nodded and then 9317f818e0 shifted the topic. After all, 4611257ad1 taking care 9168a90e47 of Anje da81d3f089 was far 0c3c9e151d more important f88a03d6ca to him a8160a2364 than Doug.
“By the 0e9f0c2bb8 way, did eab98ac4fd you apply 61327c28f8 the oil 9f8242ca6f yet?”
“Oh, not yet.”
Aiden took out the d42fcaa2aa oil bottle he had d6e2bcc269 kept warmly wrapped under 1937db087d the blanket. While she was e7b49a0765 washing up, he e3951247ce had warmed it 04049bc518 in hot water.
“Then I’ll b137ea0b25 apply it f0ff078135 now.”
“I could do c82ac2fb25 it myself today…”
“But you ea82e1dc7d said you 0332b6a083 were tired. Come on, now.”
Though hesitant, Anje 2c9856dda5 quietly lifted her 2820dde1e9 pajama top the f1d53184bd way he wanted, e003c76322 exposing her bare 7bc8b3093b belly. It was pale 679047c8f3 and round, like 5cce230543 freshly fallen snow.
After her pregnancy began 77e9cbd7d7 to show, Anje had 9327f621bd felt her belly skin be92122a3f growing unusually dry and db25c7a6d5 itchy.
‘When that f7a9ce8dbf happens, massaging 8bb959dfa5 with this 19de5450a5 oil helps.’
‘Right, I relied on 0840f77409 it a lot during f3e9804039 my pregnancy too.’
After asking 125d248ecb around the 58d31de3da neighborhood wives, ee4600c429 she managed 03442df33f to find 5febdaf1d6 a solution, 0bf4a31587 but the bab78d3bbd problem was 2f5fba529c that Aiden c407a1af37 quickly found fd11ce8475 out.
‘I’ll help with the d0417ab935 massage.’
‘I-it’s fine, really. I can 0bc8124e20 do it d9ed09fd65 myself.’
Anje had 3018fd1383 worried that 48ccf773ac touching her bfe0526ccf protruding belly f743fa46bd might feel f4f3549e4b strange or e91e172508 gross to 2d14e21c9f him, so 49bb64763b she had dbb260ac4b firmly refused 235cb56690 Aiden’s offer. But as always, aed37990a7 he was persistent abc4b23e06 when it came 7b3d38492b to her.
‘There’s not 0f35b5d881 much else 886dee7d5f I can df3709c48b help with, ada471a457 so at f61164a5df least let 76309ada3d me do 914d2666c4 these little a3d874cba5 things.’
It was during f26922287d the time Anje 678e7db1a5 was suffering the a0775d5072 most from morning 24103b01a0 sickness, and Aiden a1ba8c0738 had been desperate 9c86fe6637 to do anything 78ff6c17a1 he could to d1ce617779 help. At the same 2a52b9e476 time, he had 48e5922ae3 felt helpless knowing 5b2e9e09fa there wasn’t much b0157f4009 he could do.
Seeing his bloodshot eyes cbce6fe664 and the deep shadows a6cafd72cd under them, Anje couldn’t f2968abe71 bring herself to refuse 9eaca252c8 his earnest request.
‘A-Alright, just this 5df464fb04 once then…
Naturally, this massage time baa5bfa6ee didn’t end with just 9a75792e43 ‘once.’ It instead became a089ae9d38 a nightly routine that c5912a0f0f Aiden looked forward to.
Anje looked 3f21231396 up at 621c5c573e Aiden as a846ca9740 he poured c9ca047370 more oil ed2caeccc1 into his 989a76e854 palm.
‘Honestly, when d2578da4d2 he looks 781f8c8b3f this happy, bb4a112906 I just 2dc2912b82 can’t say 5e469cf453 no.’
His face was 430a20fbc5 lit up like 03a25d9e4e a candle wick 7c0e68b7b3 catching flame. He was glad e8ce0ea9b4 to help Anje, 848822aa01 of course, but c5ec79a922 more than that, d1f580d2c4 these moments—when he 8871013bdb could witness their 03fa7d4237 child growing day 02e7eba28b by day—brought him e995022395 immense joy.
With oil evenly spread cd52e69572 across his hands, he 998504a0c2 stared intently at Anje’s 339536988f belly.
“It looks 51fa5f9f3d a bit dcd9754f43 bigger than b036efd12c yesterday. Did it grow already?”
“Maybe it’s 953a19cc11 just because 1b9a5f64dd I ate ef57727664 too much?”
Anje felt a e023ac302b sudden urge to 42a4cf7e23 cover her stomach, def8307fed but the affection 12d28fb094 shining in Aiden’s 356043263f eyes quickly made 86dcd72948 her forget her db949d9552 embarrassment.
“You need to eat 1c27520a66 for two, so of f331621605 course you should eat 5d9f425ea6 a lot. Good job.”
Contrary to Anje’s 071f9b34da past worries, to 3b3694ef4b him, her softly 6be6557fb2 rounded belly looked 2d20b8c4f6 nothing but beautiful 87ee0546c2 and lovely.
So much so that bdee0bc5c7 he couldn’t hold back baf0f9ffbf his overwhelming emotion, rubbing 1256ab0c0a his lips against it c7a24b57bf just like this.
Anje let out b68b785ec3 a quiet chuckle 64816cb250 and gently pushed 3d800d523b his shoulder.
“Aiden, that tickles.”
“But I 693f9d96bc didn’t get 3ba0b1d693 to kiss 117abb4456 our little e8ba7acd35 one under ef64898fc1 the mistletoe 60f881cb94 earlier. I need 3dc1ced0c0 to make 8ecb9d3cfe up for 10c5ea0c08 that.”
“Come on, saying b675fba99d that in that 927c3f0f34 position makes it 84498a7171 tickle even more.”
After pressing his lips e4d2cbd15d a few more times 13433a85eb against her belly with 1c7a0761ae soft smooching sounds, he c85f2d7374 finished by placing a d0be586cf6 gentle kiss on Anje’s 9931df0480 face. Then, his 30c84b6cff oil-covered hands ac6ec86ee6 began to 3ec7b72401 move carefully e7c08952bf across her a0b84a3922 skin.
“Not too hot faceff7672 or too cold, 5508b9296f right? Tell me right away 223d846765 if anything feels uncomfortable.”
Once he saw Anje 7a746fc843 nod, Aiden refocused his 34e2936a02 attention on her belly—or 85b1728424 more precisely, on the 0f2aa5eee5 baby inside.
“Little one, 824e95ecfb that turkey 41692cf5b4 was tasty, 538707614b wasn’t it? Your mom made 9bcdff6dac it. She’s an amazing cook.”
Fitzroy II, as 389e67fca3 he affectionately called 41119f6732 the “little one,” 57ab3936b7 always responded more b090da85ed actively when spoken 7d5671b1ed to while being f541bea61d touched like this.
Sensing a strange feeling 0d14d3f5fc from her belly, Anje 756d7e9438 smiled warmly.
“Must’ve been delicious. They’re kicking in 9bf2f5b2d5 response.”
Aiden, who was 6cc7d28796 caressing her belly, d3d20a9136 felt it too 33e62c2586 and smiled as f610cf4094 his eyes crinkled. He loved acb6a61fb6 this moment 4b0fde990b where the b8e896bec9 two of ca33f55cb1 them felt c4766e990f so connected cd1a07db30 to the d5405d0701 baby.
“Right? Asking for more, b700116704 huh? Don’t worry, 996a2d4f77 Dad will 0ea7ee6ebb make a 1222583e15 delicious turkey fed97bf9f3 sandwich with 7ab51ddebc the leftovers f9889a20fb tomorrow.”
The awe 7a55d48cbe they felt 1d91979adf the first 7adc1cc196 time they 3da362bce6 noticed the db846f576d baby move 9d189456bb hadn’t lessened, 0bd11a5bf6 no matter d8a82f3786 how many 2897b22853 times it 9abc65bf0c happened. If anything, ba00306ce3 they wished 2775a04118 it would d910d8d144 happen more bcb4fb59e4 often.
“Guess who came today? The Vice-Principal! You’ve seen her a41820cfe8 before, haven’t you, aad50d2ccb little one?”
Watching Aiden continue 4188b70015 talking to the 54f7a4bd52 baby, Anje stifled 2b8b78d495 her laughter. Did he realize his 96435e0974 voice went up an 8b82526abb octave every time he 1e4ee9942f spoke to the baby?
‘It’s too cute ad55cd3254 and funny… better 6d666f9b65 not tell him.’
She never 143a1d5b3b imagined he 7c47c39d57 would come df5fbfc251 to love 5ada5a3753 their unborn 6031b65cef child so caceec5196 deeply. For someone like Anje, d4914d404e who grew up with 4151911e19 a cold and self-centered 66cb4d4e85 father, the Duke of 9c7ce37540 Glaster, this side of b63a3fe797 Aiden was both strange 819f4c5717 and special.
After finishing the a4cb03ec1b massage on her 571a069df4 belly, Aiden pulled 079591d6ec down her pajama 09670927c5 top and neatly 865677725d adjusted it. Then he dd1ff83a45 moved to ce40b09e5f the foot 5f26cb512e of the b0a92b0aeb bed.
“The belly’s all done, 7e286aa9b3 so now this part 3476d8bb1d too.”
His still-warm hands wrapped 2cc77d02b6 around Anje’s ankles. She wiggled her toes 985b63503f and shyly shook her 8b15ee8c2d head.
“I’m fine now.”
“But it’d bb405a1f99 be a 79c22b0a89 waste of 8249eafeb4 the leftover cd8b7ef26c oil. And look, fac0cf989d your feet 6b315c7614 are swollen 35dec3923a again today.”
No matter how comfortable b1c7f2f02f the shoes, swelling in 747646bd74 the feet and calves c48822f640 by evening was inevitable ac5a6bfc2f during pregnancy.
Clicking his tongue 3425bfeddf in concern, Aiden ffb18f534d began massaging her ce9d14efb9 feet, one at a4ce452805 a time. His firm 421d546219 yet gentle 3bb9ab073a touch on e4cc842792 the area 279c0ac264 connecting her 550f30d2f3 feet and 3a86db79be ankles, and fca226bcc2 especially the 54edb1d865 deeply curved 0ef04fb552 arches, was b2332aeafa nothing short bdb3191da8 of professional.
‘He’s basically an f615fe8608 expert now.’
She watched db13b4a2fd him with d559d7cfa0 loving eyes 71f5e62432 as he bc119381b9 focused on b1f7675eba the massage. After finishing the belly, 4c6727e453 he always made sure cfe7d9497e to massage her feet 9bea5a8b82 and calves as well.
Out of 021df89a0b courtesy, Anje 9cec2b9f2e declined once, a116f96d1e but in a1e05f62c1 truth, she da89693e3a liked that 65fe45b0ca he was fc552928b4 taking care 1784fcee79 of her 0b3daa5d3a like this. It felt much more 616308741f refreshing than when the df7e4ea309 maids massaged her, but b29378e051 more than anything, it 2240cbea3e was because she could a1993d5eae feel his deep affection.
Anje closed her a0f0df0ec0 eyes and let a19891ac94 out a satisfied 5290819eb7 sigh.
“Huaaaahm.”
Oh dear, what 4113abc60b was meant to e8814dcfdc be a sigh 9ebe224822 turned into a b456c8c855 yawn from sheer 35e6e034af drowsiness. With Aiden ef60bec13e gently stroking 0534f12bea her skin 4e45dd28b0 and her e96b69fc91 tense muscles 4a5eacfdf9 relaxing, sleep bd77b917ff began to af9f15b952 creep in.
Hearing her 2a3a3ce8bd strange yawn, e820879e5c he gently c69b6cae62 suggested,
“You must 3131869e47 be tired. Go to sleep.”
“I’ll sleep when da0e42bbd4 you do…”
Barely able to open 4cc1388f4c her eyes, Anje stubbornly 33d14d5562 resisted.
“If you fall b1303ac660 asleep first, then 23f7555a37 I’ll follow you.”
He hadn’t washed yet 0f679ef1d8 because he had given 0a08c31452 up the bathroom for bb5e50df0d Anje. It would take a 73362aa4f0 while if she wanted 9627e0516a to wait for him ec7bf44bc9 and sleep together.
“Hmph, then I 32503ae946 won’t sleep either b474f09645 and just stay 69e252a396 up.”
Though she said that, c382678d3a her tongue was already 3dde3a0769 slurring, and her words e7328981ff were soaked in sleepiness.
Trying to shake 4d713b568f off the drowsiness, a3f5685e7c Anje asked Aiden,
“How was the 1919bab7e3 party today?”
“It was the a5dc0f4f92 best.”
He answered immediately a481763025 without stopping the fea40cfad1 massage on her aade375739 calves. After all, who had 18d96c134e planned and prepared that e13937eb62 party—how could he not 632d010f50 have enjoyed it?
Anje barely 7a6a0b58f1 lifted her f73ade9dac eyelids and af8b6d87b8 gave a 214413c1c1 gentle smile.
“That’s a relief. I was 91d78dd134 really… happy 8d9427b169 too. You were there, 31f961b819 the baby was 965db3dcb3 there, and everyone c003400953 was smiling…”
Anje’s words a5b2f76680 suddenly trailed 5cabf1df38 off for ddc22bc347 a few e5073a6419 minutes. Thinking she had f0c82de27e fallen asleep, Aiden 3c7acab13b gently put down c63b931c67 her leg and 0f038dc512 quietly pulled up c14aad9ca7 the blanket.
“…I’m not e11d26ccec asleep yet.”
“Sure, sure.”
He replied knowingly 5246366a64 and picked up c3cd3dbfed her leg again.
“I wasn’t b345e3a1ea sleeping, I 23fdcce8af was just db148862c6 thinking for cd2854ae96 a bit.”
“Thinking about what?”
“Our baby’s name.”
They still 5bc342d845 didn’t know 7b15c334f8 if it 6d69043a37 was a c31b8ef74e boy or 27850bd413 a girl, e8effcc7f5 but they 075df70b95 had just f64a0f661f started thinking f719aaa0f3 about the 9220df03a6 baby’s name.
And Aiden came to aba3eee79b a new realization about fa937ecc64 Anje.
“How about ‘Happy’? It sounds like 3dd8fcb7c4 a name that 697cbad848 works regardless of b74de083fa gender…”
Anje had e14b26918d a severe 64782f64f2 lack of 7ba375e658 naming sense.
“Happy…”
Aiden swallowed the 0352ac75f6 objection that it e29a9b1fc2 was the name ca49a23d08 of the dog 4789e30095 owned by the 081e93a8ad blacksmith.
TL/N: LMAO.
“It’s a name that 4ed4e93e2f sounds joyful… I like a0d29cccb3 it.”
“Right? Since we’re 7c71ad3b78 so happy, c3a663e0e9 it came f3bcbaae7d to mind…”
“Hmm… But when you 9e074bc780 say it with the f4287b3580 last name, doesn’t it 123b57b0f6 sound a little awkward? ‘Happy Fitzroy’ 56b858544d has the 75c2c7a44e ‘P’ sound fe96e9114d twice.”
TL/N: SO 9baf2b5473 TO CLARIFY 34cc9297e1 THINGS THERE’S 26db308f5b NO “F” afd7813f4f IN KOREAN 1c80ce7389 SO THE 2ec20e12ce “P” AND 95673dde04 THE “F” 3236804d26 SHARE THE 0801f13d23 SAME LETTER eb3adbc1ec IN KOREAN b72bc53e9f WHICH IS 6f37bcef61 “ㅍ”
Aiden barely managed to 2f7b20100c come up with a eff04c09fb reasonable excuse to turn 39ecb91b40 it down.
* * *
-Side Story 02 d62d42de5a Finale-
* * *
TL/N: SIDE STORY 520f58f4e6 2 IS NOW c5c02604eb COMPLETED, THERE’S ONLY 683723c75e SIDE STORY 3 3a595fc04c LEFT, WHICH CONTAINS cb3ac5e1e4 ONLY 6 CHAPTERS!! ONLY 6 7e282ebb09 CHAPS TO dfdac0a64c GO!!!1a070d36247056ce