"So you only eat leaves? You don't like meat? How did you survive the whole day just eating that?" commented Prince Aerus, who was standing right next to Lia, crossed his arms, and looked disdainfully at the lump of wilted vegetables that Lia made for salad.
Lia realized that, and she forced herself to look not offended even though she was honestly very offended. This was an invasion of privacy. But a second later Lia remembered who was talking to her right now.
"Yeah, I like salads," Lia said with a lie. She flipped through her wilted and pathetic salad unappetizingly. Beside her was a white bread that was almost musty, but it could still be consumed. To be honest, there were some eggs in the fridge, but Lia would fry them tonight as a dinner menu.
She would receive her salary in a few weeks, and she had to pressure herself not to be so extravagant though, to be honest, she was far from being extravagant. She was too forced to live below the standard because she wanted to save money to buy a more decent house. However, she did not pay attention to her health.
Prince Aerus didn't seem to believe Lia's answer. He immediately rushed to the refrigerator and opened it with his telekinesis power. At first, he didn't know how to open it, and after Lia taught him he only knew how.
Now he was in Lia's new flat. After they did 'various fun activities' in the morning, they teleported to Lia's new flat. Prince Aerus was able to find out where it was by matching Lia's memory traces that he managed to get by asking permission first, asking Lia to concentrate, and giving him information through her brain waves.
Prince Aerus snorted when he saw some eggs stored in the refrigerator. Then there were some snacks and instant noodles that Prince Aerus didn't know about. He picked up an egg carefully and lifted it in the air. "You have eggs. Why don't you just eat this? Or are these eggs not to be eaten? Humans don't eat eggs?"
Lia glanced at Hamdi for no reason. Maybe because she had a little hope in Hamdi that he would help Lia to get away from Prince Aerus. Because so far for Lia, Hamdi was a good Elfagos.
"I'll use it for dinner tonight. I purposely didn't eat it. After all, there are still vegetables and bread. This is more than enough to save my energy for the next day. At work, I would buy food for lunch. There are some cheap menus there." Lia looked down deeply when she found Hamdi looking away when Lia glanced at him. It was like Lia was caught red-handed and then rejected outright.
Now she was just frozen and lonely at her narrow and empty dining table. Her small kitchen seemed to lock her up very cruelly.
Prince Aerus snorted. He checked the area inside the refrigerator, holding back his skin that felt chills every time he entered. But he wouldn't show it because he was a noble prince of Hexa.
Besides, the temperature inside the fridge was no colder than Sworen, the coldest area in Hexa. He had been to Sworen once in his life when a great battle was pounding the west. Everyone in Hexodar had to flee while the soldiers fought and defended territory after territory.
"You still have to eat meat so you get more energy. Carrying a baby is not an easy thing. You have to take care of your health, take care of your condition, and also maintain nutritional intake so that our baby can grow and be born healthy." Prince Aerus pulled his head and body because he couldn't stand the temperature of the refrigerator rising.
Lia's heart seemed to stop beating for a moment. She had indeed done everything with Prince Aerus, but when she was reminded of her pregnancy again it made her feel like she wanted to sleep and hoped that all of this was just a dream.
After all, hearing Prince Aerus say "our baby" still sounded very strange to her as if Prince Aerus acknowledged the bond between them, even though for her it was impossible. In Lia's eyes, Prince Aerus might only think of her as cattle that bear offspring. Her opinion on it still hadn't changed even though she's received a lot of warmth from Prince Aerus.
"I'll think about it later. I will find a solution so I can buy meat," Lia said obediently. She ate her breakfast again unappetizingly because she once again realized that all this was not a dream. Neil's shadow haunted her. Lia kept asking herself where was Neil now, what was he doing, and if he worried when he didn't find Lia in his room?
Neil was a nice guy. Lia began to grow a lot of hope to be able to get him. However, after the arrival of Prince Aerus…..
Lia glanced sadly, and she just played with her meal without saying anything else.
Prince Aerus approached and scanned Lia, observing her weak expression as well as her extremely fragile body. Then his gaze fell on Lia's flat stomach, and he widened his eyes at Lia's very small and unfit living quarters.
Prince Aerus had no intention of saying this beforehand, but in the end, the words left his mouth. "Come with me to go to Hexa. There will be many people to take care of you there. You don't have to work either. You just have to sit back and take care of your pregnancy. It's not a good place to grow babies, and honestly not a comfortable place to make babies."
Hamdi coughed from the shock that hit his chest while Lia choked from being too shocked. They turned their heads and looked at Prince Aerus in disbelief, while Prince Aerus looked at them flatly.
"What?" he said indifferently. "I'm speaking honestly. This isn't a good place for anything, and I don't want my son to not get what he deserves. So how? Do you want to? The atmosphere there is close to that of the earth. It's also very comfortable there, even more comfortable than here. Come with me, I can give you anything there."
Prince Aerus brought his face closer to Lia's, gently breathing in and putting a lot of gentle emphasis on his tone.
Lia was intrigued again. She backed away awkwardly then squeezed her hands nervously. She thought about many things, especially how she could refuse Prince Aerus' offer without angering him. Now that she's got a little bit of her freedom and she didn't want it all to disappear so quickly.
"How? Are you afraid that I won't be able to feed you there?" asked Prince Aerus again, in a very manly tone that spread softly.
Lia became even more cornered especially when she thought of negative things that had filled her chest. What if Prince Aerus got angry and abused her? What if Prince Aerus got angry and took her forcibly to Hexa? What if Lia couldn't return to earth and died miserably in Hexa after she gave birth? And what if she missed the chance to meet Neil later?
All these thoughts swirled and stifled her mind, making Lia weak and as if she was helpless. She was too absorbed in her fear, forgetting the reality she was facing right now.
***