Chapter 54: Chapter 54

The moment Talia got up, I stood up. She looked green in the face. Before I could turn around, Li Changying wrapped her arm around my wrist and tugged me. I stared at her, my eyebrows raised.

"Hmm?"

"She can take care of herself" The Chinese demon rolled her eyes. I scoffed, pulling my hand away from her grip. Her lips parted at the action; she glared at me. Did she think that I would abandon my pregnant mate?

"It doesn't matter. She's my mate" I grunted back at her and stared at Hades who nodded his head at me.

Giving him one last look, I walked out of there. I pushed the washroom door only to see Talia hunched over the toilet, puking her guts out. My stomach clenched at her. I leaned down and rubbed her back.

I sympathetically sighed, “Baby, what happened?”

“I don’t know...” She gasped, wiping her mouth before making a sound and puking even more. I scrunched my nose. Was it the morning sickness? But I thought her pregnancy was abnormal to have those kinds of stages.

“Let’s just go to the hospital.”

She breathed, coughing few times before wobbling to stand up. I immediately held her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist. Talia looked pale, her cheeks flushed and lips were glistening with saliva.

“I want to sleep.”

As much as I wanted her to take to the hospital, Talia needed to sleep it off. If it doesn’t stop, I’ll call the doctor. With that thought, I hummed and bent down to pick her up.

She squeaked, “Lukas! What are you doing?”

“Carrying you to our room.”

“Everyone will see.”

I scoffed, “I don’t care about others. You are in no position to climb all those stairs.”

She chewed on her lips and peeked out of the washroom. I had no idea why she cared about others. They were not the one suffering at the moment.

“I think I can manage” She scooted away.

“Don’t fight me on it, baby.”

“But-”

I cut her off, “Shush. Let me take care of you.”

She let out a whine as I scooped her in my arms, her hands immediately going around my neck. I held her carefully, letting her hide her face in my chest. When she clutched on the lapels of my suit and buried her face in it, I let out a chuckle.

“It’s not funny” She pouted.

“You’re cute.”

“Hmph”

I walked out of there, feeling several eyes on us. Hades gave me a knowing look. Persephone didn’t hesitate to stride towards us, a worried look on her face. When she closed the distance between us, Talia lifted her head.

“Talia?! My goodness, you look pale! Do you want me to send you some of my special herbs?”

Talia blushed, shaking her head, “I will be fine. I need to sleep it off.”

“Okay but if you still feel queasy, you know where to find me.”

Talia hummed and hid her face again. I met Persephone’s eyes. She gave me a warning look; her hips cocked at side.

“Take care of her.”

“I will.”

***

I sat patiently beside Talia, taking her hand in mine and noticed it was warmer. My face turned at that. What might have caused her to vomit all of a sudden? She gripped my hand, not letting me out of her sight.

Just as I was about to tuck her, I heard a knock on the door. It was Li Changying. She was carrying a tray in her hands. I pressed my lips together. What was she going here? I thought to myself. Talia didn’t like her one bit, and there was no way she would talk to her.

“Hey” She whispered, still standing at the doorstep.

I tried to stand up, but my hand was pulled back. Talia was asleep, but her grip was still tight. My lips twitched at that. I pressed a kiss on her forehead.

“Just a second baby.”

I pulled my hand away and walked towards Li Changying, my nose flaring, “What are you doing here?”

“I come in peace. I bought some chicken soup, and warm bread for your mate” Li Changying sweetly said, pointing in the direction of sleeping, Talia.

“I appreciate it, but I don’t think she wants to eat anything.”

“But I worked so hard on it” She pouted, batting her eyelashes.

I tried not to roll my eyes at her lies. There was no way she made it for Talia. Instead of calling her out, I accepted the tray. It was better than prolonging my conversation with her.

“Thanks. But you need to leave now.”

Li Changying pressed her lips together, a frown on her face, “What’s your problem, Lukas? I am struggling here, but you are treating me like nobody!”

My jaw clenched as her words sank in.

Tightening my grip around the tray, I met her eyes, my teeth gritted together, “My problem is you can’t accept that we are not a couple. There’s nothing between us! You are degrading yourself and your reputation by following me around.”

She gasped, “How dare you?-”

“I’m not done yet! You need to get through your head that I have a mate, and we are expecting a child together. Talia is my equal and my Queen, so I expect you to treat her the same. If not, then we are going to have serious problems, Miss Li Changying.”

Her face fell. Obviously, she didn’t want to spoil our relations. The King, her father, respected me and our relationship between the two kingdoms. He wouldn’t appreciate her behaviour, and she knew that as well.

The Chinese demon nervously giggled, tucking her hair behind her ear, “It was not my intention at all Lukas. I’m happy for both of you.”

“Good. Maybe say that daily so you can convince yourself and behave in that manner” I gave her a look before shutting the door on her face. She was not worth it.

***

Talia was getting worse. She did not eat anything substantial from the past two days. I tried to feed her, but she puked two times and finally gave up eating anything solid. My heart twisted at that. If anything I know how much she loves food.

Due to her condition, we were not able to attend any competitions. Hades and his mate were cooperative and provided everything we need. Persephone even bought her herbs, but nothing worked so I decided we should consult the fairies. They seemed to know enough then all of us combined.

They refused to step into Underworld for some reason, so we were leaving. Lord Yama decided it was enough vacation for him. So Talia and I were the only ones going back to Hell. I informed Dean through text message so that he can prepare for our arrival.

“I feel so guilty” Talia mouthed as I stuffed our clothes in the luggage.

“Why is that baby?”

She made a face, pulling a pillow over her lap, “I thought we would spend a nice vacation here. You were so excited to court me and I ruined it”

Fortunately, she was able to sit up. Her nose was still stuffy, and she still heaved at the sight of food.

“Stop that! Nothing is ruined. I can court you back at our palace.” I mumbled.

She made a content sound, her cheeks bright red, “I love it when you say that”

“Our palace?” I mused.

“Mmh makes it feel real.”

“Give it few more days baby I’ll make you fully believe it.”

“I can’t wait” She fondly smiled.

***

Hades and Persephone stood out of our room, ready to bid us goodbye.

After Li Changying showed up to our room, I did not see her after that. Small wins honestly. Maybe she finally took a hint. Either way, I was happy about it.

As Talia was sick, I stayed by her side and did not bother to meet anyone else. My mate needed me the most.

“I am going to miss you Talia” Persephone softly sighed, wrapping her arms around my petite mate.

Talia giggled, “You are welcome to come along with us.”

“Then, I’ll miss her!” Hades chimed in. I rolled my eyes at him. He was such a sap when it came to his mate. But then again I was the same way with Talia so I can’t tease him about that.

“Maybe you both can visit us someday” I turned towards Hades.

“We will! As soon as we get everything sorted out here.” Persephone pointed at all the decorations in the room. The Ball ended the night before, and the after-party is always wild. Everything was messy in the hallways.

Talia hummed, “I’ll hold on to that!”

“Sure! Take care, and don’t hesitate to call me. Lukas has my number” Persephone said, turning towards me.

“I will take it from him” Talia perked up.

My lips twitched as I remembered how she fought me to have a phone. Good times.

“Goodbye brother” Hades hugged me one last time before we disappeared into the portal.

***