Chapter 140

It was the hormones, it really was, and the odd smell of medicine mixed with his sweat and the feeling of his beard on my face.

Not even three seconds after I got a kiss from my long-gone, dearly missed Husband, I pushed him away and leaned to the side to throw up.

Just when I thought I was over the sudden nausea!

I heard some curses above me, probably from the soldiers. I could not apologize as I was spilling everything but my guts all over the entrance. Lucas and Joseph immediately rubbed my back and held my hair, respectively. 

"Luckily, she didn't puke on you." Joseph said, trying to lighten up the mood. However, I would have love for him to not comment on my not-so-proud feat of puking on my Husbands when I started having my morning sickness. 

After what felt like an eternity, I finally calmed down and was led to the table where the food was cleared and only a cup with piping hot tea of ginger and mint received me. So used to my symptoms, my Husbands already knew what to do.

The first two sips were used as mouthwash. By my side, Ethan readily held a pot where I spit the used tea. Felix passed me a wet cloth to clean my face. I thanked the two and watched how Joseph carried a shovel and headed to the entrance. He was going to bury my vomit. 

Only then, I started happily drinking my tea.

I paused and looked up. A few steps away, the four soldiers plus Lucas looked at me with different emotions swirling in their eyes. Lucas actually seemed surprised to see his brothers act to quickly and seamlessly. The others stared at me with a weirded look.

"I apologize for what you saw; being pregnant is not easy." I smiled at the four.

"Ah, no… It's fine." One of the men stuttered a reply. He, then, reacted and stood straighter. "I'm Command Sergeant Major Louis Attile. This is Corporal Laffer Soh, then there's Private First Class Jacinto Quelle and Private Percival Hayes." He presented the small group.

I really lacked the confidence to learn their ranks and names, so I only nodded. "Thanks a lot for bringing Lucas back home. We have been waiting for him since Mrs. Attile's son helped us doing a search in the mountains and telling us the outcome of his disappearance."

I mentioned Mrs. Attile's name and not Aaron's directly because I was not sure how the man also surnamed Attile would react. 

"That kid?!" The man cried out in surprise, then composed himself. "Well, if you know cousin Frances, then it's obvious she would ask him to help."

"She is my boss. I had no one I could ask for help but her. So, I overstepped and pleaded her." I sent Joseph to beg, yet it was the same.

"We've to go. We're running late. Thanks for bringing my brother back, respectable sirs. Your good actions will surely get rewarded." Ethan announced, then addressed the soldiers. After bowing, he turned towards me and kissed my cheek.

Someone let out a startled yelp.

"Bye, Belle!" Felix came out from the house, changed into his new clothes, and quickly dropped a kiss on my head.

The startled yelp turned into a choked word.

I looked over and noticed the soldiers were looking between the leaving Ethan and Felix, the sitting Lucas and me. Was something wrong?

"Do you want to drink something? Or are you hungry? I am sure I can whip something up really quick." I made to stand, but Lucas held me down.

"I'll go." He said. It was my turn to hold him down.

"How can you go? Look at your state, you're really injured. You should be resting… Go lay down on my bed, it is more comfortable." I told him, my eyes tearing up from my own fussing. Really, pregnancy hormones were a nightmare.

Lucas hunched on himself to let me know he was not moving. That made me laugh, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. I missed his gestures that completely assured me he had listened to what I said. 

"I missed you so much." My nose soured, a knot formed in my throat and a tear appeared unbidden.

He pulled me closer to his side. "I'm here." Lucas had the rare talent of saying what I needed to hear. I hid my face on his shoulder and let the tears freely flow. More so when I felt his warm hand on my head. 

As I cried, I heard the conversation going around.

"Um, I… Thanks for your hospitality, but we have to return to our base. It's a long way…"

"You leaving already? Felix didn't give you something to drink?"

"No, we…"

"That kid… The moment he starts workin', he forgets about bein' polite to others. Lemme get you something. Cider's fine? We also have tea and juice."

"…Cider, then…"

"Alright, make yourselves comfortable."

At that moment, I mentally patted myself on the back. If I had not insisted on having a bench outside my room, we would not have enough seats to accommodate the guests. 

When Joseph returned with the cider and served it to our guests, I had calmed down and was cleaning my tears and snot with a handkerchief. 

"You done crying, Belle? Really… How could you become such a crybaby? That kid's definitely not Lucas'." I glared at him for saying such an insensible comment, but could not properly scold him because one of our guests started coughing very badly.

We watched how the other three patted the back of the one coughing. The coughing man flailed around and pushed his comrades away when he could finally breathe. 

"Wha- cough… What's going on? Isn't she your wife?!" He cried out, looking at Lucas but pointing at me.

"Percival!" Mr. Attile admonished him.

"Come on! Aren't you curious, too?" Percival retorted. I was confused for a moment before realizing why these men looked at me in such a way before. I could not help but dissolve into laughter at the absurdity of the matter. "What? Why's she laughing?"

One of the men sighed and replied. "She's married to the four of them."

"Is that possible?!" Percival incredulously queried. 

"If you have the resources to provide for however many women you marry and children they give you, and your spouses are willing to share you, of course it's possible." The man shrugged. Percival sat stunned, as if it was the first time he heard about it. 

His reaction seemed genuine, so I did not doubt it.

"Well, I think we've been too long here. We have to hit the road. Thanks for the drinks and for not getting offended by this guy's lack of discipline." Mr. Attile made Percival bow in apology.

"It's fine." Joseph waved off. "It should be us thanking you for bringing Lucas back. I'm sure Isabelle won't let him set one foot in those mountains again." He grinned. I could not get mad at his words because that was exactly what I was going to do.

Even if Lucas got angry at me, I was never letting me get into those dangerous mountains again!

Mr. Attile made a face and looked at Lucas. "You still want to keep it, then?"

Lucas stilled and kept silent for a moment before nodding. For some reason, I had a feeling that I would not like whatever they were talking about. Mr. Attile signaled at one of his men. The man who had remained silent all along headed out and returned with a moving basket.

The thing inside yipped and whined.

"If you really can't control it, then you know what to do." Mr. Attile warned before the basket was left at Lucas' feet.

"I know." Lucas promised.

"We will be going then. It was a pleasure, madam. Hope we meet again in better circumstances." Mr. Attile nodded and departed with the other three men. 

Joseph and I stared at the shaking basket while Lucas undid the rope. When the lid came off, I almost cursed at what I saw inside.