To Love A Villain-Chapter 187: A New Side

>>Amber (In Aurelia)

It didn’t take long for me to get pregnant. But while I was excited and all, there was a change in Hael.

He became ever more protective of me.

I would usually go shopping by myself for minor stuff, or for the cafe, I went with my employees but during my pregnancy, Hael took me everywhere.

And I decided to take full advantage of that.

We shopped a tons for baby clothes, for ourselves, we even went on more dates. Anything I would name, he was going to get it for me. It didn’t matter if I woke him up in the middle of the night and told him I wanted apple pies.

He’d go down in the kitchen and bake me one.

I will not deny it, I was very cranky during my pregnancy but he remained patient with me.

***

I jolted awake, my body feeling heavy and my head still groggy from the nap. For a second, I didn’t understand what was happening. Everything felt... off. My hand drifted to my belly, and then it hit me—a sharp, intense pain rippled through me, starting from deep within my abdomen. I gasped, my whole body tensing as the pressure built.

Oh no...

I tried to take a deep breath, but it only came out in a shaky exhale. Another contraction hit me, harder this time, sending a stabbing pain through my lower back and legs.

No, no, no... This is happening. It’s happening now!

I struggled to push myself up on the bed, my heart racing. The pain was blinding, making it hard to move, to think, to do anything but breathe through the tightening grip in my body. I felt the panic rise in my chest as I realized—this wasn’t just any pain. This was it.

"Hael!" I screamed, clutching the sheets, my voice coming out desperate and raw as another wave of pain tore through me.

The contractions were unbearable, coming faster, stronger. My body felt like it was on fire, every nerve ending alive with an intensity I hadn’t expected. My hands gripped my belly as I tried to focus through the chaos of it all.

"Hael!" I screamed again, my voice shaking

I jolted awake, my body feeling heavy and my head still groggy from the nap. For a second, I didn’t understand what was happening. Everything felt... off. My hand drifted to my belly, and then it hit me—a sharp, intense pain rippled through me, starting from deep within my abdomen. I gasped, my whole body tensing as the pressure built.

Oh no...

I tried to take a deep breath, but it only came out in a shaky exhale. Another contraction hit me, harder this time, sending a stabbing pain through my lower back and legs.

No, no, no... This is happening. It’s happening now!

I struggled to push myself up on the bed, my heart racing. The pain was blinding, making it hard to move, to think, to do anything but breathe through the tightening grip in my body. I felt the panic rise in my chest as I realized—this wasn’t just any pain. This was it.

"Hael!" I screamed, clutching the sheets, my voice coming out desperate and raw as another wave of pain tore through me.

The contractions were unbearable, coming faster, stronger. My body felt like it was on fire, every nerve ending alive with an intensity I hadn’t expected. My hands gripped my belly as I tried to focus through the chaos of it all.

"Hael!" I screamed again, my voice shaking

>>Hael

I was in the junior lab, surrounded by eyes as I carefully inscribed the final symbols on the teleportation scroll. The junior mages were silent, their attention glued to my hands as I worked, each stroke of the quill infused with precision and magic. I could feel their anticipation, the weight of their awe pressing on me like a quiet storm, but I remained focused.

Just as I finished the last rune, I heard it—Amber’s voice. It wasn’t just any call; it was a scream, laced with pain and urgency, cutting through my mind like a sharp blade.

"Hael!"

My blood ran cold. I dropped the quill, the scroll forgotten, and stood abruptly, my heart hammering in my chest. The junior mages flinched, startled by my sudden movement, but I didn’t have time to explain. All I knew was that my wife needed me, and I had to get to her now.

Without hesitation, I summoned the teleportation spell. White energy crackled at my fingertips, and in the blink of an eye, the lab vanished around me. The cool air of the tower rushed back as I materialized in our room.

"Hael!" Amber’s scream pierced the air again, her face contorted with pain as she clutched her belly. She was doubled over, her breaths coming out in sharp gasps.

"The baby is coming!" She cried, her voice trembling.

For a split second, time froze. My eyes locked with hers, and a surge of fear, excitement, and panic washed over me.

The baby was coming—our baby.

I moved on instinct. Rushing to her side, I gently but firmly grabbed her, trying to ignore the terror in her eyes. I had to stay calm. I had to keep it together.

"Orenya, hold on," I said, trying to keep my voice steady as my heart raced. I looked around, assessing the situation. Teleporting her in this state could be dangerous—it wasn’t safe for the baby. I couldn’t risk it.

"We’re going to fly," I whispered, already moving toward the balcony with her in my arms.

"Fly?" She groaned, her voice strained with pain.

"I’ll use my magic to make a shield around us, you’ll be fine." I held her close, cradling her body carefully as I stepped out onto the balcony. The wind whipped at us, the open sky stretching out before us like an endless expanse. Amber’s grip on me tightened as another contraction hit her, her whole body trembling.

"I’ve got you," I murmured, wrapping her in a protective cocoon of magic. With a thought, I lifted us into the air, the world falling away beneath us as we soared into the sky. I focused on controlling our flight, my magic swirling around us like a warm current, keeping her steady despite the winds.

We flew fast, faster than I ever had before, cutting through the air like an arrow. The city passed below us in a blur, and Amber clung to me, her breathing ragged and pained.

I could feel the tension in her body, the urgency in every second, and I pushed us forward, heading straight for the hospital.

"Almost there," I whispered to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her pain-filled eyes met mine, and I could see the trust she had in me, even through the fear and agony.

Within moments, the hospital came into view, and I descended carefully, my magic guiding us as we landed just outside. Nurses and healers rushed to meet us, their faces wide with shock as they saw me carrying Amber.

"The baby’s coming!" I shouted, and they sprang into action, ushering us inside.

***

>>Amber

The moment Hael took my hand, I felt an unusual warmth pulse through me. For hours, I had been writhing in pain, the contractions tearing through me like a storm. But suddenly, just like that, the pain faded.

My body relaxed. It felt... easy.

"Hael?" I whispered, trying to make sense of it. The sharp agony of childbirth vanished, replaced by an odd, weightless calm. I squeezed his hand, feeling the warmth of his magic linger there. "Hael, what did you do?"

He didn’t answer, just continued to hold my hand, his brow furrowed as though he were concentrating intensely. The room spun around us, a blur of nurses and healers, but all I could focus on was Hael and the sudden lack of pain.

"Push!" I had to focus on what the doctor and nurses were saying. I had to push. But it wasn’t that hard anymore.

Hours passed like that

And then... it happened.

Our daughter was born, "It’s a girl!"

Everything felt too quick, too surreal. I stared in disbelief as the nurses moved around me, wrapping our tiny daughter in a soft blanket and placing her in my arms. She was perfect, so small, and I felt tears prickling in my eyes.

But just as I marveled at our baby girl, something else happened.

"Hael?" I said again, gently shaking his hand, but this time I noticed something off. He wasn’t moving.

I turned to look at him, and my heart lurched. His face had gone pale, his eyes unfocused.

"Hael!" Panic surged through me as I tried to shake him awake. "Hael, are you okay?"

For a moment, he didn’t respond.. My heart raced with fear, but then—thank the lord—his eyes fluttered open. He groaned softly, looking like he’d just gone through a battlefield. His face twisted in discomfort, and he glanced down at his stomach, placing a hand there.

I watched him, confused, until he slowly sat up. He blinked, his pupils dilated with shock as he looked between me, the baby, and his own abdomen.

Then he blurted out, "It can take women how many hours to give birth?"

I blinked, still processing everything. "It can take up to 18 hours, Hael." I stared at him, half in disbelief at what just happened and half wondering if he was serious.

He just shook his head, his eyes wide with horror. "My God... eighteen hours?" His voice was filled with genuine fear, and he sat down, rubbing his temples like he’d just survived a near-death experience. "My God..."

It took me a second to understand what had happened.

Then it hit me: He took my pain.

I glanced down at our daughter, sleeping soundly in my arms, and then back at Hael, who looked like he had just run across the world and back. He was in shock, rubbing his stomach, and I realized the magnitude of what he had done.

He had taken the brunt of the childbirth pain, the hours of agony, and felt it himself.

I felt a soft laugh bubbling up from my chest, but it was more from relief than anything else. I reached out and took his hand, squeezing it gently. "You did it," I whispered, smiling softly at him.

But Hael wasn’t done processing. He looked up at me, his face still pale, and then shook his head fervently. "We’re not having any more kids," He declared with finality, his tone dead serious. "No. Never again. I’m not going through that again!"

His eyes were wild, like a man who had faced the worst kind of torment and barely survived. I couldn’t help it—I laughed. But this time, it was a full, joyful laugh. Not at his expense, but at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

He had taken the pain, and he was the one acting like he had been through hell. And yet, my heart melted for him in that moment.

I looked down at our daughter, her tiny chest rising and falling in peaceful slumber, then back at Hael, who was still trying to come to terms with his ordeal. And despite his horror, despite his clear determination that we wouldn’t be doing this again, I felt a warmth bloom inside me—a deep, overflowing love for this man who had just given me the easiest birth imaginable.

"Oh?" I teased, my heart light. "Does that mean if we do have more kids, you’ll take the pain again?"

Hael shot me a look, a mix of disbelief and exasperation. "Absolutely not," he said, though there was a softness to his voice that told me otherwise. He leaned back in the chair, still shaking his head. "No more kids, Orenya. I’m serious."

But I couldn’t stop smiling. Even though he had just gone through the most intense pain of his life, he had done it for me, without hesitation. And that knowledge filled me with a love so deep I thought I might burst.

I reached out, brushing my fingers across his cheek. "You’re amazing, you know that?" I whispered.

His eyes softened as he looked at me, the exhaustion still written all over his face. "You’re the one who’s amazing," He murmured, his voice quiet but full of emotion. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead gently against mine.

And then we both looked at the little life that had just come into this world.

Our world