Ahri sat in the middle of the lounge by the VIP maternity wing. She was fiddling with her cup of steaming hot coffee while her husband was inside the room with Yerim. She was alone, except for the presence of Jungwoo who was standing by the door.

Ahri couldn’t quite comprehend the things that had happened in the past 24 hours. One minute, she was happily dancing with Jaehyun, and the next thing she knew, things started to twirl into an unknown direction. She was so happy in her own bubble that she forgot about Yerim and the baby.

The night that Sooyoung informed that Lady Kim Yerim had given birth, Jaehyun had slightly changed. It almost seemed like he was panicking, as if he didn’t know what to do with the situation. Although he didn’t want to show it to her, but he couldn’t hide it.

The very next day, Jaehyun decided to pay a visit to the hospital. Ahri had insisted to come, even though the Prince told her that she shouldn’t go. But there was no way Ahri was staying at the palace, wondering alone what her husband must be doing.

Jaehyun had been inside the room for more than fifteen minutes now. And that was how long Ahri had stayed at the lounge. She had refused to join the Prince in visiting Yerim, because there was nothing that Ahri would say about this whole situation. And she didn’t want to see how Jaehyun would react upon seeing the baby. That part was slightly more painful than Ahri would admit.

A moment later, the door to the lounge opened and Youngho appeared from behind it. Ahri was surprised at his appearance, but relieved at the same time. At least now she didn’t have to wallow in her own misery alone.

“Youngho,” she called, getting up from her seat.

“Hey, how are you holding up?” Youngho asked, giving her a brief hug.

“I’m not sure,” Ahri sighed. “He’s been in there for quite some time now… my mind is wandering to places that I don’t even want to think about…” she said in a low voice, sounding quite sad. “Have you… have you seen her?”

Youngho shook his head, “I’m not here for Yerim… I’m here for you and Jaehyun.”

Ahri took a seat back down, with Youngho following suit. The man didn’t say anything after, but he kept scrutinizing her and noticed how uncomfortable this all had to be for her. He knew how much Jaehyun loved Ahri, and how much this thing took a toll on him too, but Ahri was no different. If anything, she must be the one who felt the most uneasy right now.

“Jaehyun told me that you were skeptical about the baby being his,” he started.

“Did he?” Ahri looked up at him.

Youngho nodded, “And to be honest, I’m with you on this one.”

“So is Sooyoung…” Ahri trailed.

“It seemed like he’s the only one who’s blind to this… I guess it stems from guilt.”

“Guilt?” This was the first time Ahri was hearing this.

“I don’t know if I should say this but… when Yerim came back, he already knew that he was falling for you. And Jaehyun felt an amount of guilt because he felt that he was betraying her. Which I think is ridiculous.”

Ahri’s eyes wavered as she listened to Youngho, and the later noticed this.

“Jaehyun is the nurturing type—too kind for his own good. He always tries to fix things and people, even when it’s not his to fix. And I think that he somehow feels Yerim is still something in his life that he needs to fix. But he realizes how you feel towards these things, and it adds to his list of things needed to be fixed. That’s why he is so torn over things.”

Those words only did little to ease Ahri’s mind.

“He loves you, Ahri, you’re the only person that matters the most to him,” Youngho reached forward and squeezed Ahri’s shoulder to assure her.

“I just don’t know how it’s going to be… with the baby and everything…”

Just then, the door was opened and the Prince entered the lounge.

Ahri turned around and found Jaehyun’s slightly disturbed face. He’d seemed uneasy since the ride from the palace, but this time he looked even more unsettled. Youngho was the first one to greet him, giving him a brief hug before Jaehyun turned to look at Ahri.

What she saw in his eyes worried her. He looked defeated.

“You were right, Ahri…” Jaehyun rasped.

“What?”

Jaehyun shook his head and looked down, raking his hand through his hair. “Yerim tried to hide it from me, but I saw it…”

“Saw what, Jae?” Ahri was on the edge now.

“The baby’s blood type,” he looked up at her. “It’s an O, and Yerim is a B…”

“And you’re an A,” Youngho sounded. “That can only mean that the father must be an O…” Youngho trailed.

Ahri’s eyes moved from Jaehyun to Youngho over and over again. She didn’t quite understand the biological math, but Youngho seemed convicted of this theory, and Jaehyun seemed to agree with him.

“Does that mean…?”

Jaehyun gazed at her, slowly nodding. “I’ve talked to the doctor, and he said that it’s possible that I’m not the father.”

Relief poured down Ahri’s being like a rush of cold water, and she closed her eyes as she exhaled. The tension for the past 24 hours was taking a toll on her, and now she felt like she could breathe again. She then felt Jaehyun walking towards her, pulling her to his embrace, kissing her temple.

“I’m so sorry for doubting you, love, I was stupid…”

“You were also scared,” Ahri added as she pulled back and looked up at him. And then she realized that even though things might be in the clear, it might have an impact on how Jaehyun must felt. No matter what, Yerim was someone Jaehyun once held dear. “I’m so sorry… you don’t deserve being treated like this.”

Jaehyun shook his head mildly, brushing Ahri’s hair back. “I’m cutting all ties with her as we speak, I don’t want to have anything to do with her anymore… I’m done being played…”

Right now, Jaehyun looked vulnerable, baring his feelings out to her—something that he rarely did with other people other than his closest people.

“I’m gonna talk to Taeil hyung and make sure things are accurate,” Youngho patted Jaehyun’s back before turning to leave the room.

“Thanks, Youngho,” Jaehyun replied without letting Ahri go.

They stayed like that, in each other’s arms for another minute.

≈♦•♦≈ ———————— ≈♦•♦≈ ———————— ≈♦•♦≈ ———————— ≈♦•♦≈ ———————— ≈♦•♦≈ ———————— ≈♦•♦≈ ———————— ≈♦•♦≈

The new King and Queen’s coronation was a worldwide festivity. Almost all the nation’s honorary guests attended the ceremony, as well as close friends and family. And to Ahri, this was probably even more nerve wrecking than the wedding a couple of days ago.

Especially with the thought that the debacle with Lady Kim Yerim was not yet over.

Jaehyun had called Dr. Moon Taeil, a close friend of the Prince that he trusted even more than the royal family’s own doctor. And Taeil had convinced him that there was no way that the baby was actually his son. Even if there was a chance, it was slim to none. That was just how genetics worked.

But Yerim did not agree with it. She had brought her own doctor who was supposedly more renowned in the country, and told the Palace that they needed to do a paternity test to have evidence on whether or not Jaehyun was the father. And she wanted to do it.

“I’m not going to do it,” Jaehyun stated sternly. “It’s ridiculous, it’s very clear that the baby isn’t mine, and Yerim knows that. She’s just playing games and I’m not participating on it.”

“I know, Jae, but Yerim is adamant about this…” Youngho countered.

They were currently in the dressing room at the church, with Ahri still being styled up with her majestic gown, while Jaehyun was pacing restlessly. It was only minutes until the future King and Queen had to walk down the ceremony hall and take an oath, but Youngho had come with Sooyoung baring a disturbing news.

“She… threatened to go to the public with the baby if Your Highness doesn’t agree with the test.”

“What?!” Jaehyun almost shouted, and Ahri internally winced.

She had never seen her husband so distressed like this other than the time when his father passed. But this time, it was more of an anger rather than sadness that was radiating from him.

“That woman has lost her mind…” Jaehyun shook his head.

“She actually sent her lawyer with the doctor to the palace, and the lawyer said that Yerim was willing to do anything for her son to get the life that he deserved.” Sooyoung mumbled.

“Even if that means making a huge mess out of this?” Jaehyun rubbed his cheek and chin, a habit that showed whenever he was distressed. And then, after a second, he shook his head again, “I’m not doing it. I’m not going to go down to her level just so I can satisfy her ego.”

“But, Your Highness, forgive me for saying this, but if this does go to the public, especially on the first days of your service as a King, you won’t look good in the public eye. Not only you, but the Queen also…” Sooyoung pleaded.

Ahri watched from the mirror as the maids straightened the gown for the last time. She might not care if she would look bad in the public’s eye, but the King must not be deemed reckless by having a baby out of his marriage. And she had a feeling that J