"Calm down, brother. You are going to kill yourself with anxiety soon. Helen will be fine."
The man who spoke was seated on a cosy couch, relaxed with his arms spread across the head of the couch as he watched his older brother pace back and forth in the room.
He smiled and shook his head, reaching for his glass of wine a second later and taking a sip.
Naturally, he tried to comfort his brother and calm him down but he also knew that it was an expected response from him.
After all, his wife was in labour.
He was definitely not going to be chilling and drinking wine while he waited.
"You won't understand, Mace," the man said as he stopped for a second to speak to the younger man on the couch.
"Give it a rest, Asher. Helen is in good hands. It's the same midwife who handled the birth of your daughter, isn't it?"
Asher considered what his younger brother, Mace, said and nodded his head, affirming his question.
Mace took another sip of his wine before placing the glass on a stool in front of him.
Mace shrugged, an expression that Asher couldn't quite place which it was — nonchalance or confidence in the midwife, he didn't know which of the two to take from this.
Asher brows furrowed and then a deep, loud sigh followed.
He examined his brother for a bit and shook his head.
"I don't expect you to understand me, Mace," he said. "Well, not until you find a wife and have a child of your own."
Mace feigned a grimace and held his chest as if wincing.
"Ouch…! That hurt, brother. Low blow."
Mace acted out of his way to cheer and calm his brother down but Asher was just too tensed up to even process his brother's moves.
Mace sighed.
Seeing that it was not working, he stopped and turned his focus to the wine he was drinking.
Asher, on the other hand, was restless, continuing to go back and forward impatiently.
After a while, Mace's eyes lit up.
It was as though he recalled something.
It was something he really wanted to know about but the words to ask got stuck in his throat.
"Um…" he let out, trying to figure out how to go about asking this question.
Asher turned to him. "What is it?"
Mace paused for a few seconds, but his curiosity was more than his fear of how his brother would react.
"What about Mira?" Mace asked. "If I recall correctly, her due date is supposed to be—"
Before Mace could complete his statement, Asher had closed the distance between them and covered his mouth.
"Shh! Shut up!" he warned his brother.
Almost as if he had sensed it, the door to the room, where the two brothers were, creaked open immediately after.
Their attention soon shifted from one another to the door as one of the servants of the house entered.
Her face was bright and full of joy with lips spread into a wide grin.
"Lord Asher!" she called out and bowed in deference to Asher.
Seeing that Mace was also present, her heart skipped a beat as she didn't notice her other lord.
"Lord Mace…" she greeted and bowed likewise.
"What is it?" Asher asked, hurriedly getting off his brother's body and walking towards the maiden.
He held her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly like he wanted to shake out the answer to his question.
"Lady Helen, my Lord—"
Asher was impatient.
He wanted her to hit the nail on the head.
"What happened to my wife?!"
The servant was shaken and sweating as she could barely gather herself together.
"Lady Helen has delivered, my Lord!" she blurted out under pressure.
"She gave birth to a healthy, strong boy."
"Yes!"
Asher punched the air in jubilation as his worries instantly disappeared from his body.
His anxiety was replaced with the immense joy of being a father.
He turned to look at Mace with a grin on his face.
Mace, hearing the news, had risen to approach his brother.
He was happy for him and also excited to have a niece or nephew to be an uncle to.
"Congratulations, brother," he said as he hugged Asher, patting his back.
"Thank you, brother," Asher replied.
Immediately, Asher turned to the servant and gestured for her to go ahead of them.
"Lead us to her quickly."
"As you wish, my Lord," the servant bowed and proceeded to leave the room.
Asher was about to hurry along and follow when he felt Mace's hand hold him back.
He looked at his brother briefly, the edges of his eyes wrinkling with curiosity.
He didn't understand why Mace would do such a thing.
"What about Mira, Asher?" Mace asked with a serious tone.
Asher's excitement died down and his face became solemn.
He didn't know what to say at this point.
He breathed out and then looked Mace in the eyes.
"I will go see her from here."
Mace's face remained listless.
He said nothing in response to Asher's reply, causing the latter to feel like Mace was not happy with his answer.
"What would you have me do, Mace?" Asher asked, tension slowly rising between the brothers.
"Helen is my wife for heaven's sake! I can't just leave her alone."
Mace shook his head. "I understand you, brother. I totally get that you cannot be in two places at the same time. I understand that you owe a duty to Helen as her husband but…"
He paused and walked toward the door, sparing his brother a last glance before he would depart.
"You should have at least sent some of the servants to help her out, you know. Don't forget, you are also the father of her child."
The door shut behind Mace as he left, leaving Asher in thoughts.
However, Asher was forced to shake it off and walked out speedily to catch up with the servant from earlier.
******
Somewhere else, away from Asher's mansion…
"Mama, he is so handsome," a young, beautiful woman expressed with a warm smile on her face.
The old lady, whom she was referring to, approached her and stared lovingly at her and the baby in her hands.
She pinched the baby's cute cheeks and smiled.
"Just like her parents," she said, looking at her weary daughter who was completely worn out from the delivery.
"His mother is beautiful and his father is also handsome."
The face of the baby's mother twisted with disdain at the mention of her father's child.
The old lady noticed this and rubbed the back of her daughter.
"Mira dear, no matter how much you dislike him… Asher is still the father of this cute, little bundle of joy in your arms."
Mira looked at the woman, tears gathered in her eyes as she struggled to convey her current emotions through words.
It was difficult but she succeeded.
"I don't need him, Mama," she declared before casting a motherly look on her sleeping baby. "We don't need him."
The old lady shook her head and kissed her teeth.
"That is not a decision you can take alone," she replied, also shifting her eyes to the baby.
While the two women discussed, the baby made a flicker of movement with his eyes.
He was struggling to keep his eyes open but he just couldn't.
In his vision, everything was blurry but he managed to make out the outlines of two figures and he could also hear voices around him.
After struggling to remain aware of his environment, the baby finally gave in to the natural urge to sleep but one question lingered in his mind as his eyes shut one more time.
'Where… am I…?' Xander wondered.