Chapter 55 - Daddy Ron I

Ron couldn't bring himself to say anything. His ears constantly rang with a resounding buzz, drowning all the other sounds. He was prepared for Amelia to give birth to his child, so Fleur's situation came as a surprise. He felt confused, scared, and hurt, unable to understand why Fleur didn't tell him about it.

Heck, it was Fleur who wanted to do it with him back then. It was she who willingly told him to spill inside her. Why is she pregnant?

"Gave birth? Where?" He asked absentmindedly.

Apolline Delacour let out an uneasy sigh, her voice faltering as she spoke. "I-In ze private room, Monsieur Weasley. Fleur did not mean to keep zis from you. Sh..."

"Take me there," Ron requested, somehow unaffected by the women's Vela heritage. Although his heart only knew turmoil at that moment, he maintained calm on his face. "I wanna see for myself."

Apolline agreed right away. Since Ron knew about it already, keeping the matter hidden further was too disrespectful. Moreover, there was also a selfish desire in her heart. She didn't want her precious daughter to remain a single mother.

"Follow me."

The time it took to reach the unguarded private room was short. But to Ron, it felt like a long walk as his thoughts paced a thousand per second. He only woke up when Apolline opened the door and waited for him to enter.

"Maman, vat took you so long? I—"

Ron heard Fleur's sweet voice and walked right in, passing by Apolline who closed the door behind them. His gaze was only fixed on the lone bed in the center beside the window, the warm sunlight was pouring down on everything, especially Fleur's flushed, beautiful face.

"R-Ron!" Fleur panicked and tried to hide the baby in her arms using the quilt.

Red hair! Ron got a peek at the baby's hair.

His burning heart was suddenly overcome with a giddy sensation. A sensation he couldn't make sense of, but it made him excited somehow. My baby?

"Fleur…" He approached the bed with all but a smile on his lips. Pride? He felt something like that while staring at Fleur's pale, spotless face—a little flushed, her long silver blonde hair wavy like a waterfall on her back as she sat there with the head of the bed inclined. "Is it ours?"

"Maman!" Fleur looked at Apolline in panic, hoping to be saved.

Yet Apolline just shook her head. "I told 'im, Fleur. Zis eez for ze best. You are not a normal girl, ma fille. You are part Vela—eet eez crucial to 'ave a strong man like Monsieur Weasley by your side for a life of tranquility. Eet eez for ze sake of your daughter's peaceful existence as well."

"Daughter?!" Ron lost any hint of frustration, replaced with an unexplainable joy. "I have a daughter?"

Fleur's thin, delicate browns creased together. Facing defeat, she slowly moved the quilt away from her lap and revealed the sleeping baby girl swaddled in soft cloth. "I-I'm so sorry, Ron... I know zat you didn't wish for zis. I didn't intend to impose zis burden on you. Zis is not your fault. You shouldn't feel obliged to bear zis burden."

"Burden?" Ron frowned at her words.

What burden? He had already accepted being a father. Although Amelia's situation was different, this Fleur situation didn't change his mind either. Even less so once he saw that otherworldly cute face of his daughter, her lush red hair far brighter than your average Weasley.

"Blimey, Fleur, if you didn't look so lovely at this moment, I might've given you a good smack on the head for calling our daughter a burden."

With that, Ron reached for the little girl. He carefully, delicately took her in his arms and hugged her against his chest. Her little button nose, her small pouty lips, closed eyes, her little hands and fingers. It evoked an intense desire to protect her in his heart. To protect her mother too.

"Were you planning on raising her alone?" Ron asked the young mother of his child.

Fleur blushed seeing Ron acting so intimately and kind towards her and the baby girl. Somewhere deep inside, it relaxed her worries. "I was, Ron. Maman was ready to 'elp as well. We have a grand 'ouse in ze countryside where we'd live."

Ron nodded firmly. He even agreed with the plan since he was still a young man. By common sense, this wasn't his time to become a father. This was his time to date around and fall in love, at the peak of his youth. Yet, once he looked at the face of his daughter and then Fleur, it was easy to make up his mind.

"Would you say no if I wanted to take the responsibility for this? What happened that time was a game of two, not one. I'm as much responsible for this life as you, Fleur." Ron spoke earnestly, pausing briefly before continuing with determination. "I would... love to be her father."

It felt like spring had bloomed. Fleur's face lit up, gone was all the hidden fear or anxiety. Her beautiful blue eyes flickered with hope and desire. "Are you sure, Ron?"

Forgive me, Hermione. I'm letting you down with this selfish desire. Ron thought of his official girlfriend at that moment, his heart heavy with mixed feelings. But I don't want to be the cold-hearted git you might think I am.

Ron knew what accepting Fleur and this baby girl entrailed. Amelia wanted to keep their child's father a secret and only wanted a child of her own for personal reasons. Meanwhile, Fleur's case was an accident, a consequence of their combined decision.

I'm going to hell for this.

"If you're alright with having me there for you and our daughter, Fleur, I'd be thrilled. I'd love to take on that responsibility and watch her grow up right in front of us," he resolutely proclaimed. He knew it sounded awkward coming from a young man like him. But his records spoke for his prowess.

So charming. That was all he could think of when Fleur smiled at his words. This was clearly what she wanted from the start but was too afraid to ask.

But before she agreed, she looked at her mother again. "Maman, could we 'ave a moment alone, s'il vous plaît? I would like to ask Ron something."

"Of course." Apolline merrily left the room.

With just the three of them left, Fleur scooted a little to the side edge of the bed and lifted the quilt from the empty corner, inviting Ron over. "'ave a seat."

Carefully, gently, he sat down on the bed first, then raised his feet on it, and finally lay back against the inclined side of the bed. Baby still in his arms, he made sure to not sway her as much as he could.

A moment later, he was lying on the bed shoulder to shoulder, waist to waist beside Fleur. Her maternity glow was too charming, and her scent was addicting. Somehow, her Vela allure worked a little harder on him now.

Yet, it didn't feel sexual but romantic.

"Hehe. I weel hold 'er, you look so scared," Fleur chuckled softly as she gently took the baby from him. "Perhaps you weel hold me instead, Ron?"

A beat skipped, a long giddy breath taken, Ron found his arm moving on its own and slid behind Fleur's head. Feeling her rest her head there while squeezing closer to him, being intimate, made Ron feel even more protective of her.

"I should have been careful," Ron apologized.

Fleur shook her head strongly and tilted a little sideways towards him, to look at his face better. Making a little gap between their lower bodies, she gently placed the baby there, surrounded by her parents. "I don't blame you, Ron. I 'ave desired you zat night... I wanted you to be ze one to claim me. For so long, I 'ave seen boys chasing after me, trying to win my favor, and I 'ave always despised zat. But you... I truly wanted you."

"Why? I was just a poor Weasley sob back then." Ron asked back, also turning sideways to get a better look at her charming face.

"Zat's not it." Fleur warmly traced her fingers on Ron's face, feeling his skin that had lost the freckles. "In ze Yule ball, you made me regret not accepting your proposal to be a partner. Ah, how funny, 'andsome, and tall—you made me envy ze girl you were wiz. Zen, at ze second and 'ird task, you saved me and Gabrielle—so strong, so 'eroic, so brave. Since zen, you 'ave 'ad my heart."

Really? She felt that way? Ron was in a bit of disbelief.

Fleur was considered breathtakingly beautiful. And while he had been called handsome on occasions, he never considered himself on the level of someone able to win Fleur.

"Zat night, I wanted to thank you for saving my sister and me. I wanted to give you more than just my thanks, to give myself to the first boy I 'ave ever truly fallen for." Fleur confessed her true emotions. Her eyes had turned a little watery by then, her gentle palm was on Ron's face, caressing.

Ron felt even more guilty. "I feel awful, Fleur. That was your first time, and you're already a mum, and y-you've only done it once. I feel like I've taken away your best years as a bachelorette."

Fleur narrowed her gaze comically at that. "Oh là là, does zat mean you 'ave been wiz many girls?"

______________________

Check out NSFW ART, advance chapters, and polls at P@treon.com/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens

Free Art and Polls on Discord: https://discord.gg/W5FdB6WXaP