12 Harold and Ivy Cliff

It wasn't a small house, but it wasn't a big one either. From the outside, it appeared like the couple who lived in the house led a very ordinary existence. The interior was warm and inviting. The photographs that adorned the walls depicted the happy couple's various years together. Their features were constantly bright with smiles.

A woman with long blonde hair walked down the stairwell slowly. As she eventually made her way down, she let out a sigh of relief. She turned around and began walking into the kitchen. The woman supported her growing tummy with her left hand on her side. Her face was flushed with displeasure. Despite this, she continued to smile.

It had taken her longer than usual to get to the kitchen because of her slow walking. She flipped on the stove and cracked three eggs into a bowl, then whisked them together. She added some oil into the saucepan once it was heated enough before adding the stirred eggs.

She could hear a lot of bouncing and laughs, which got louder as time went on. A little figure entered the kitchen soon after. The woman smiled down at the small child as she turned around. "Uppie!" She shouted that with a big smile on her face. The girl, unlike the women, had red hair and green eyes, making her identical to her father and having none of her mother's characteristics.

"Rica, mommy is unable to hold you at this time." Rica marched out of the room, grumbling, with a cute pout on her face. Before returning to her breakfast preparations, the mom laughed at her daughter's amusing antics.

After successfully preparing three eggs and some bacon, she brought the plates over to the small wooden table and placed the meals in front of the three different chairs. Her four-year-old daughter was on her husband's shoulder when the two entered the dining room. It appeared that her daughter had just woken him up because the man who had just entered the room had red, tangled bed hair, and his emerald eyes were half-closed with sleep.

"Good morning, love," The man said. When a yawn was about to escape, he raised his right hand to cover his lips. Rica was tugging at his hair now, but he was too exhausted to react. He sat down in his chair before dragging Rica down and sitting her on his lap. He then took her plate and placed it in front of her, which he had taken from the empty chair.

Rica's eyes twinkled with delight when she saw eggs and bacon. She stretched out and scooped some up in her hand, then shoved the food in her mouth. She chewed with a full mouth, giving her the appearance of a puffed-cheek squirrel.

Rica's father, Harold, ate for a few moments before smiling up at his wife, Ivy. "He'll be here soon, right?"

Ivy chuckled at her husband and patted her huge belly, which was a sign of new life, subconsciously. "It'll happen shortly," she said with a small, delicate smile.

"What's coming, papa?"

Rica's head was rubbed by Harold, who chuckled. "You will have a younger sister or brother."

Rica started laughing and began jumping on her father's lap. "Because I'm bigger, I'm in charge." She said this, quoting her father's words he used to get her to behave. "Right, dad?" Harold was baffled for a time before chuckling. He couldn't believe his four-year-old daughter was using his words against the unborn child.

They were having so much fun that they didn't notice the woman's beautiful blue eyes were unhappy. She was recalling what the doctor had said to her a week before.

"You're about to give birth. Your condition, on the other hand, is quite problematic. If your baby survives birth, there is a chance it will acquire a disability. There's also the possibility that your child will be healthy. You, on the other hand, may perish. You have the option of either giving up the baby and living or risking having a disabled child or losing your life."

When the doctor finished, she cried, but she was determined not to give up the baby. Ivy also chose not to notify her husband because she was unsure what he would do.

Later that day, Harold was chopping firewood in the yard, and Rica was standing outside staring at him, when they both heard a loud feminine scream coming from the house. Harold became panicked and dropped the firewood with a terrified expression on his face. He rushed to his house as quickly as he could, followed by his crying daughter.

Harold hurriedly searched the house for hints of his wife's whereabouts. He rushed in as soon as he heard tears coming from their bedroom. Harold found his wife, who was crying and holding her stomach, on the floor. He dashed over to her and hugged her. "What's the matter, honey?"

"T-The baby." She forced out. Sweat could be seen dripping down her face. Harold helped her up to the bed and turned to his daughter.

"T-The baby." She forced out. Sweat was running down her temple and down her face. Harold assisted her to the bed and then turned to face his daughter.

"Okay, take care of mama. Daddy is going to call the doctor." Rica gave a quick nod and dashed up to her mother's side.

"Are you okay, Mommy?"

"I'll be fine, sweetie."

Harold phoned the doctor's number as quickly as he could, and a voice could be heard after a few rings. "Hello?"

"My wife is about to give birth, doctor. Could you please arrive as soon as possible?"

"Of sure, I'll be there right away."

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"Do you feel you're ready, Mrs. Cliff?" The woman smiled and nodded. The suffering she was going through was evident on her face. She tried to make the pain go away by clenching her husband's hand as tightly as she could, but it was in vain.

The sound of crying could be heard not long after. Mr. Cliff had given the doctor a blanket to wrap the baby in earlier. Harold let go of his wife's hand and walked over to take the baby from the doctor. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Cliff; the baby boy is healthy."

"I'm thrilled." Ivy's feeble voice spoke up. With a smile on his face, Harold turned to approach his wife. When he saw her, however, his smile faded. Ivy had her eyes closed and was smiling, but she wasn't moving or breathing.

Harold walked carefully towards his wife, his baby still in his arms. He rested his head on her chest, listening for her heartbeat. When he heard no sound from her heart, tears welled up in his eyes.

Rica had no idea what had occurred. The only thing that sprang to mind was that she has a younger brother. Rica smiled as she approached the baby, reaching out her hand to touch him. Surprisingly, his tiny hand clasped one of her fingers, and a sound, which sounded like a giggle, escaped his mouth, causing Rica's smile to widen.

"She was well aware that giving birth could result in her death." The doctor explained, he assumed telling the man this was for his good, but he had no idea how much harm he had done.

"So this horrible infant is to blame. He murdered my wife." The doctor had dealt with cases when moms died during childbirth before. The dads, on the other hand, had used the infant as their last link to their spouses and had loved them completely.

Mr. Cliff's reply surprised the doctor because this infant had not only inherited the mother's characteristics, but she had also freely expressed her pleasure at giving birth to the baby.

Harold eventually made up his mind. He spent little time in packing both his and Rica's belongings, as well as his wife's most valued possessions, and then embarked on his journey to find a certain individual, intending to use the money to arrange a befitting burial for his wife. It wasn't difficult to locate the individual because he was well-known. He was a nobleman who raised orphaned children as slaves and eventually sold them.

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As he glanced at the baby in the red-haired man's arm, the obese elderly man massaged his beard. He had confidence in his eyes when it came to finding rare gems. Therefore he didn't waste any time in purchasing the baby. Although the man's gaze was frequently drawn to Rica, Harold made it clear that he would not sell her.

*Rare gems, in this situation, refers to a slave that will be sold for a high price.

When Rica saw that they were leaving without her new brother, she cried and begged her father to return for him. But he refused and continued walking, claiming that he needed the money to bury his wife, and the bastard had already killed her, so this was payment for what he had done, Harold reasoned.

Years passed, and the baby's treatment became rougher as he grew older. It wasn't uncommon for him to go two days without food by the time he was ten, and by the time he was sixteen, he would go a week without eating. The small piece of cloth torn from the blanket he was covered in as a baby was the only thing that kept him going. The following was inscribed on it:

"Harold and Ivy Cliff"