She woke up from her nap feeling more rested and meekly left the guest room, padding barefoot through the palace with her guards in tow. Her rest had helped calm her down, and while she didn’t regret her actions or feel guilty, she was sorry nonetheless. It was no secret that Joohyun hated lying, and Chaeyoung had known that the whole time, and that was the only thing that she was willing to bend her stubborn pride enough to apologise for as she marched up to their suite with her chin up and shoulders thrown back. Seungyoon wasn’t standing guard outside when she reached there, and it only took her a few moments upon walking through the doors to realise that Joohyun wasn’t there. Crossing the living area and throwing open the doors to the bedroom, a quick glance around was enough to let Chaeyoung know that some of Joohyun’s things had been packed up and she had gone while Chaeyoung slept. She hadn’t even said goodbye.

Angry tears welled up in Chaeyoung’s eyes, directed at herself for hurting her wife, and she sat down on the edge of the bed, her shoulders slumped as she wiped at her teary eyes. A part of her knew that it was only because of her hormones, but the sadness that welled up was so overwhelming that she couldn’t brush all of it off as her being pregnant. The worst part was that ordinarily she’d go to Jennie for comfort, before she calmed down enough to fix things with Joohyun, but in this situation, her sister had even less reason to forgive her. Jennie would only see the fact that Chaeyoung had roped in her ex to sneak around, and not the bigger picture, and Chaeyoung was even more frustrated.

Letting out a forceful breath, she blinked back her tears and climbed to her feet, padding into the giant closet, ignoring the gaping spaces on Joohyun’s side, and selecting a pair of thick, comfy pyjamas. First things first, she needed to wash the night off, although it was nearing sunset by now, after she’d nearly slept through the whole day in her exhaustion, and Chaeyoung traipsed back through her room and turned the taps on in the large tub. She wasn’t allowed the water too hot, for the baby’s sake, so she wallowed in the lukewarm water, washing her hair and scrubbing her skin with sweet smelling soap, before wrapping herself in heated towels. She felt more refreshed by the time she was in clean pyjamas, with the minty taste of toothpaste lingering in and the nutty smell of shea butter on her skin.

Leaving her hair in damp, wavy locks, she climbed back into bed, called Yerim and asked her to get her two cheeseburgers, with extra pickles, a large fries and a strawberry milkshake. It had been months since she’d had anything even remotely that unhealthy, but in her bad mood, with her wife’s current whereabouts unknown, Chaeyoung didn’t care about sticking to the strict diet they’d been limited to. Taehee found her in bed, watching The Crown amidst burger wrappers and fries on the gilt silver tray spread across her lap, quietly rapping on the door and poking her head inside at Chaeyoung’s grouchy bark.

Setting down her cheeseburger, Chaeyoung swallowed the lump that rose in as her adoptive mother stepped into the room and shut the door behind herself. Chaeyoung had given strict orders for no one to disturb her, but that didn’t extend to family, apparently, and she wasn’t sure anyone would deny Taehee entry. Wiping her greasy fingers on a napkin, Chaeyoung fumbled for the remote and paused the giant TV, plunging the room into silence as Taehee neared the end of the giant bed.

“Are you here to disown me?” Chaeyoung gloomily asked.

“Chaeyoung,” Taehee flatly said, her tone scolding and serious, and Chaeyoung winced slightly. Despite the fact that she’d been a mother to Chaeyoung for longer than her own, Taehee had always strictly followed the protocols befitting their status, as she was raised to do so as a minor noble, but she wasted no time breaking it to chastise her adoptive daughter for her words. After all, she’d taken Chaeyoung in and raised her as her own daughter, and the snarky comment insinuating that Taehee would take Jennie’s side was uncalled for.

“Sorry,” Chaeyoung mumbled, feeling her cheeks redden, “that was rude of me to say. I assume Jennie told you what happened though?”

Sighing, Taehee rounded the end of the bed and took a seat on the edge of the mattress, giving Chaeyoung a grim look. “She did. She told me her side. Now, I’d like yours, please, because I know you’d never hurt your sister on purpose, and I don’t want you two to fight.”

Closing her eyes, Chaeyoung leant back against her pile of soft pillows, letting out a soft sigh. She quickly ran over everything she’d done leading up to their fight, and then haltingly recalled the fight as her eyes burned, her voice low and hoarse as she tried not to cry. Taehee didn’t pass judgement as she listened to Chaeyoung explain herself, and even afterwards she didn’t take sides - ever the pacifist - and she reached out and gave Chaeyoung’s hand a gentle squeeze. She coaxed Chaeyoung out of bed and called for some tea to be brought up, ushering her out of the dark, stuffy bedroom and away from the greasy remnants of her meal. They sat around the fire, drinking tea and eating ginger snap biscuits to help settle Chaeyoung’s stomach, and Taehee let her rant and complain and justify her actions until her frustration was spent and she was left with a bone deep weariness. It was dark outside when Taehee finally left, kissing Chaeyoung on the forehead, telling her to rest and leaving her with the hesitant advice that perhaps she should call Joohyun.

Knowing that she was right, Chaeyoung curled up on the sofa with her phone, missing the heavy weight of Aoife, who had the habit of sitting on Chaeyoung’s feet, with her head resting on her legs, no matter how many times they’d tried to keep her off the sofas. It took her a few minutes to pluck up the courage to call her, and she started tearing up at Joohyun’s voicemail. She didn’t leave one, and tried again. She tried six times, with no avail, before she left a voicemail.

“Hey, it’s me,” she said, her voice cracking as she blinked back tears. “Listen, I know that you’re mad. I know that I- … I shouldn’t have lied. I’m sorry. Please call me back.” She hesitated for a moment, as if Joohyun was going to call her right then, and then she let out a soft sigh. “I love you.”

Hanging up, she tossed her phone aside, resting her head back against the arm of the sofa and pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes. She cried for a while then, for no other reason than she was feeling sorry for herself, and when the baby starting vigorously kicking, she just started crying more, tenderly cradling her stomach as she stared up at the ceiling. She didn’t even remember falling asleep on the sofa, but she woke to the sound of the door quietly opening and winced at the harsh brightness of the room, shifting into an upright position and squinting at the door.

“Joohyun?”

“Your Majesty,” Yerim murmured, and Chaeyoung blinked back the gritty feeling in her eyes as she focused on her assistant sinking into a curtsy.

“Oh. Yerim,” Chaeyoung said, the disappointment clear in her voice. “Good morning.”

She rubbed at her eyes, swinging her legs off the side of the sofa and climbing to her feet. Her phone was at the end of the sofa and she quickly scooped it up, her heart sinking in her chest when she saw that Joohyun hadn’t called her. Breakfast was placed on the table, and Chaey