"Will you be alright?" Jason asked, his eyebrows crunched in worry.
"Don't worry about me," Yanyue replied as she patted his head. "Just go before you're late for your night filming!"
Jason sighed, "Will you stop treating me like a kid? I'm just two years younger than you!"
She chuckled and messed more of his hair with her pats, "That means you're still that little kid who used to hide behind me!"
The man pursed his lips in annoyance but left with a big smile.
Yanyue waved until his car disappeared. As she was about to head inside, she heard a familiar sneer come behind her.
"Unwilling to let him go?"
When she did not respond, Beichen walked over and pulled her up the stairs to their room, which he rarely slept in.
With a click, he locked the door.
Her eyes widened in horror. She would have been the happiest woman alive if someone had told her he was jealous. Possibly, he was jealous. However, she knew that he was not jealous because of love. He was an extremely possessive and controlling man who did not like having his belongings out of his control. His way of displaying his authority over her was to make her feel like a prostitute.
"Your Highness, what do you want?" she asked nervously.
He asked, "Do I need to remind you again?"
She paused and then looked away. She knew what he wanted, but she evaded his question by asking about her sister, "Where is sister? Is she still here?"
Beichen would not let her dictate the conversation.
"Flirting with your brother-in-law in front of your husband," he mocked, "you're so bold."
"I didn't do anything like that," she responded steadfastly. As she answered, she seemed to remember having the same conversation with him multiple times.
Beichen's eyes grew darker. Would kissing be it if smiling and touching were not considered flirting? He thought.
Perhaps she would have kissed his brother goodbye if he did not appear.
He reminded her, "Did you forget how you became the Princess Consort?"
She replied quietly, "I haven't forgotten..."
"Good," he said, "because it's too late now!"
Then, he pressed her on the bed and engulfed her lips. He had forgotten what happened the night before when he forced her. At this moment, he just wanted to show her who she belonged to.
Yanyue wanted to scream, but her voice was stuck in her throat, and all she could remember was what the nurse told her at the hospital that morning: "He stayed up the whole night to watch over you."
She struggled to interpret his action, but an inkling of reason in her heart wanted to believe that he cared for her and her baby. Otherwise, a workaholic like him would not have sacrificed his eventful schedule to stay at the hospital with her.
So, instead of resisting his advances, she loosened her body and let him devour every inch and corner of her to his content.
He trailed from her lips to her neck, leaving red marks visible on her skin. Then, he pulled her shirt apart by force, revealing a bosom that was milky and voluptuous.
He nipped on the crescent moon birthmark on her left chest and then wandered down to nibble on her perked pink buds. She squirmed in pleasure and pain.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
"Ah Chen, are you in there?!"
It was Wanyue. She impatiently tapped the door again after no response. One only knew how jealous she was when a servant told her that Beichen went into the Princess Consort's room.
Beichen released his mouth and hands that were fondling Yanyue's soft cleavage. He frowned and got off her with an annoyed sigh.
Yanyue was panting from the intense play he had just done.
She got up and straightened her clothes, which Beichen had messed up during their brawl. Even though they were legally married, she felt guilty and embarrassed with someone outside.
Beichen opened the door. Wanyue's heart burned with jealousy when she noticed her sister's flushed face behind the man. How could she not know what these two had done? She wanted to go and slap her sister, but she managed to hold her anger in front of Beichen.
She feigned a cry as she threw herself into the man's arms. "Ah Chen, you said you would be back, but it has been a while now. Do you know how much I miss you?"
"I'm sorry," the man said casually, "let's go."
As they walked away, Yanyue noticed a victorious grin coming from Wanyue.
Her heart throbbed in discomfort as she looked at the pair walking away, arms in arms. Did he kiss and hug her sister like he had done to her? She suddenly felt betrayed even though she knew she should not be because she was nothing more than a toy he was playing with.
*
"Ah Chen, stay with me tonight!" Wanyue hugged the man on his back to prevent him from leaving her alone.
Beichen turned around to a pouty and dejected Wanyue.
"Go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."
Wanyue clenched her hand in anger. She was not reconciled. No matter how gentlemanly a man was, he could never restrain himself from a naked woman's body.
She stepped back from him and took off her clothes, piece by piece.
"Ah Chen, I want you," she said seductively.
The man's soft gaze became deep, looking at the naked woman in front of him. As a man, he was happy that the woman he loved took the initiative, so taking advantage of his hardness from earlier, he leaned down to try to kiss her lips.
However, as soon as he smelled the heavy perfume on her body, he lost the will to go further. All he could imagine was that light lavender scent and deep brown eyes of that woman in the north chamber. He also felt his bugle dwindling.
He gritted his teeth and was frustrated at himself because his body did not desire this woman to whom he had promised his life.
He sighed in resignation, then went to the closet, grabbed a robe, and covered Wanyue with it.
"Be good; I have work to do," he said.
Then, he kissed her forehead and walked out the door.
As soon as Beichen left, Wanyue's face wrinkled in a fury. She grabbed the vase on the table and threw it on the floor to vent her anger.
Even though Beichen was never an intimate or emotional man, she observed that he had changed. Before, he would shower her with gifts and spoil her like a little kid, but recently, he seemed very detached from her. She was afraid that Yanyue would seduce him.
Unwilling to picture the horrible outcome, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.
"What is your rate?"
*
Yanyue was sitting at her desk, brushing over her stomach, which had grown bigger now that she was in her second trimester. She could not move around as much as before, so she spent most of the day lying down, reading, or drinking tea in the greenhouse. However, cooking for Beichen remained an activity she enjoyed. He still did not know that she cooked all of his dinners during the rare times that he came back.
In front of her was a glittery purple suit on a mannequin.
Jason's acceptance speech was coming soon, so she was working on putting the last finishing touch on his suit.
Even though it was safe for her to return to work, Grandma Lu monitored her movements daily, so all thoughts of sneaking out to the company vanished. She had to call Anxia to bring the suit to the Eastern Palace.
There was not much to fix, but she had altered some designs on the sleeves to make them less bulky.
"It should look good on him," she said in satisfaction as she scanned the suit one final round.
When she achieved the desired result, she wrapped a white sheet over the mannequin to protect the outfit from collecting dust.
After that, the driver drove her to the hospital for her prenatal care checkup. She was excited about this appointment because she would be able to find out the gender of her baby.
The women waiting in the OBGYN lounge were all with their significant others, happily chattering away about their babies. Some husbands were so caring that they massaged their wives' legs while waiting.
Yanyue felt out of place looking at the lovable couples. This was the first time she overtly envied the other women.
"Yanyue!"
It was Yanfeng. Why was he here in the OBGYN ward? she thought.
Yanyue greeted the lively man, "Good afternoon, Yanfeng."
Yanfeng held her hands and smiled broadly. "I'm so happy to see you!"
Yanyue raised her lips awkwardly. It was not that she did not reciprocate his emotions. She was also happy to see the man, but his overly intimate action surprised her. However, his hands gave her a warm and familiar feeling, so she did not mind too profoundly.
As they were chatting, Yanyue spotted Beichen guiding Wanyue into the lounge.
Yanfeng noticed the woman's change in mood. When he saw what she was looking at, he understood why her smile had disappeared.
His face turned ugly at the two people walking towards them.
"Sister," Wanyue said excitedly, "are you also here for a prenatal checkup?"
"Yes," Yanyue answered simply.
Wanyue looked at Yanfeng and said, "Are you here to accompany sister, cousin?"
Yanfeng perceived the suspicious tone of the woman and slightly rolled his eyes. Since she wanted to play, then he would gladly show her.
He scootched closer to Yanyue and replied with a cheeky grin, "Yes, we're so close that her baby would even call me godfather in the future."
Yanyue turned to look at the man. He was lying, but why did he say that?
Wanyue smirked lightly.
"Cousin, are you sure you're satisfied with being a godfather?"
"That depends on Yanyue. If she wants me to be something else, I can gladly cooperate," replied Yanfeng, looking at Yanyue affectionately. He knew he was putting Yanyue in a bad spot by suggesting an affair, but he was doing this purposefully; he wanted to see how Beichen reacted to his probing.
He continued, "Since President Lu would probably be too busy watching another baby, I think I should do my godfather duty well in the future. The kid needs a father figure... after all."
Beichen gave Yanfeng a glare. He smirked and casually said, as if he were not bothered by his children calling another person their father, "President Yanfeng is kind. However, there is no need for your volunteer because I can take care of my child."
He made sure to emphasize the word "my."
Yanfeng raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so, President Lu? But as I see right now, you would rather leave your wife to accompany your mistress to a hospital checkup. Since you can't even attend to your wife's needs, I doubt you would have time for your legitimate child."
He stretched the word LEGITIMATE as a response to Beichen's earlier emphasis.
This got on Wanyue's inverse scales. She despised it when people called her child illegitimate. If it were not for Yanyue, then her child would not have gotten such a despicable label even before he was born.
"Yanfeng, are you implying that my child is a bastard?" Wanyue asked pitifully.
Yanfeng remained calm and said plainly, "I didn't say it; you said it yourself."
Wanyue lowered her head dejectedly.
"Cousin, how can you say that about your nephew?"
"Eh, cousin, if you disagree, then maybe you should not have stayed with a married man. Now, you're even pregnant without a husband. You're making our Yang family look bad," Yanfeng ridiculed.
"It's my fault for staying with the man I love!" Wanyue started to weep sympathetically in Beichen's arms.
The man patted the woman's head to calm her down. Yanyue's chest felt stuffy as she watched the caring scene.
Wanyue clenched her teeth in anger, but she must remain a sensitive woman in Beichen's eyes to earn his favor.
She spoke weakly, tears falling, "Beichen, I'm ashamed of myself. I shouldn't stay by your side anymore!"
She pushed the man away and ran back out of the lounge.
"Wanyue!" Beichen yelled after her. Before leaving, he warned Yanyue and Yanfeng, "If something happens to her or the baby, you will pay!"
Yanyue's eyes widened in fear. She settled her hand on her stomach as if to protect her baby. On the other hand, Yanfeng remained calm as the river. He knew his cousin acted pitifully to gain Beichen's sympathy, so he was not afraid she would hurt herself.
He smiled in delight.
"Finally, the annoying couple is gone!"