Chapter 264\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Lily\u2019s voice piped up from where she\u2019d been watching the movie. \u201cWhat\u2019s happening?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah went over and picked her up. \u201cAunt Athena is going to have a baby.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s eyes went wide. \u201cA real baby?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA real baby,\u201d I confirmed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I see it?\u201d she asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet, sweetie,\u201d I said. \u201cThe baby is still growing in my belly. But when the baby comes out, you can see it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen will it come out?\u201d she asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a few months,\u201d Tristan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a long time,\u201d Lily said, but she looked excited anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Liam had toddled over during the commotion. \u201cBaby?\u201d he said, looking confused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah laughed. \u201cYes, baby. Aunt Athena is going to have a baby.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He seemed to think about this for a moment, then went back to his toys, apparently deciding it wasn\u2019t as interesting as his truck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We all laughed, and the tension I\u2019d been holding broke completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah had a million questions. When was I due? How was I feeling? Had we told anyone else yet? Did we want to know the gender?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek asked more practical questions about work and whether we\u2019d need to adjust schedules.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion mostly just watched me with this soft expression that made my throat tight. I could tell he was still processing everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The conversation flowed easily after that, everyone sharing stories and advice. It felt right to have them all here, to share this joy with the people we loved most.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Around seven\u2013thirty, we were all laughing at something Derek had said when suddenly three phones went off at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan\u2019s, Orion\u2019s and Derek\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
The laughter died immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They all pulled out their phones, and I watched as their expressions changed from joy to something much more serious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d I asked, feeling dread creep up my spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan looked up at me, his jaw tight. \u201cThere\u2019s been a breach at the northern border.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMultiple rogues,\u201d Orion added, reading from his screen. \u201cThey\u2019re calling all fighters to report immediately.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek was already standing, his whole demeanor shifting to something harder, more alert. \u201cHow many?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least fifteen,\u201d Tristan said, his eyes scanning the message. \u201cMaybe more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFifteen?\u201d Sarah said, her voice rising slightly. \u201cThat\u2019s a coordinated attack.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to go,\u201d Orion said, standing up. \u201cNow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped. This couldn\u2019t be happening. Not now, not when everything was finally good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan came to me and cupped my face in his hands. \u201cI have to go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d I said, even though every part of me wanted to beg him to stay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be back as soon as I can,\u201d he promised. \u201cStay here with Sarah and the kids. Don\u2019t go anywhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBe careful,\u201d I said, gripping his shirt. \u201cPlease be careful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI will,\u201d he said, and then he kissed me hard and fast. His hand went to my stomach for just a second. \u201cI have everything to come back\u00a0<\/p>\n
to now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion was already kissing Sarah and the kids goodbye. He came over to me next.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLock all the doors,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t open them for anyone except us. Understand?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pulled me into a quick hug. \u201cI love you, little sister.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love you too,\u201d I said. \u201cPlease come back safe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways,\u201d he promised.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek was at the door already, his phone to his ear, presumably getting more information.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then they were gone, the door closing behind them with a finality that made my chest ache.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah and I stood there for a moment in the sudden silence, the kids still playing obliviously in the corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll be okay,\u201d Sarah said, but I could hear the worry in her voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have to be,\u201d I said, placing my hand on my stomach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because we were having a baby.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And he had to come back to meet our child.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 264 Chapter 264\u00a0 \u201cThank you,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d Lily\u2019s voice piped up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26421\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}