Leading up to Christmas, things didn’t improve, and it only worsened Chaeyoung’s mood. Her usual sunny personality was practically non-existent as she spent her nights anxiously pacing back and forth in her empty suite, the cold bed unwelcoming and the dreams of blood, betrayal and death scaring her away from sleep. The baby would kick up a storm as she rubbed a soothing hand over her swelling stomach, now undeniably distended with pregnancy, murmuring quiet things in the dark as she avoided sleep. During the day, she would vomit so much that it felt like there wasn’t even a point in eating, she had developed bad heartburn and indigestion, and in between her meetings, she’d steal fifteen minutes of sleep, never making it into a deep sleep and having to suffer through her terrifying dreams.

Taehee made the drive into Glaston City nearly every day over the next week, making sure that Chaeyoung wasn’t always alone, even though she felt like it, fretting over her adoptive daughter as she took in the sunken eyes and hollow cheeks. Looking at her, you would’ve thought she’d lost Joohyun forever, but there were so many troubles weighing down on Chaeyoung that she couldn’t even bring herself to take care of her body. She gave into every craving, eating whatever she felt like, which only made her feel worse in hindsight, and she agreed with everything her advisors suggested for the upcoming Christmas celebrations, not having the energy to debate whether red or white would go better with the green garlands of winter flowers for the dining hall.

The day before Christmas Eve, she was having a dinner party for a few hundred guests - a tradition that she’d started with Joohyun - and the palace was busy with a flurry of activity. Chefs were busy baking in the kitchen from the crack of dawn, footmen were polishing crystal champagne flutes and bringing out the best china, maids were dusting chandeliers with a hundred tiny bulbs or buffing up the marble floors. Chaeyoung was left to her own devices for most of the morning, occupying herself with angry sketches of anything her eyes landed on. She drew the lamp on her desk, the fireplace with its empty hearth, her empty bed that she loathed so much, and the table with the remnants of breakfast for one. She missed Joohyun so much it hurt her heart to think about her. She missed her touch too, and craved it more than ever as she found herself growing so easily frustrated. It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried to call her again and apologise, because she had every day, but Joohyun refused to answer the calls. One call off Seungwan had informed her that she’d coaxed Joohyun back to Gutrin, with the reasonable argument that if something happened, she needed to be near people who could help her, instead of tucked away in the endless green countryside half a world away. She never came home to Avalon though. Not even for the party.

“Where’s Joohyun?” Chaeyoung asked as soon as Seungwan entered her suite alone, a frown wrinkling her brow as she rose to greet Seungwan with a friendly kiss on the cheek.

She’d just gotten out of a fresh bath, her skin still warm and smelling like roses, and as she sat in her fluffy robe, waiting for her hair and makeup team to arrive, Chaeyoung couldn’t help but feel like something had gone wrong. Joohyun was supposed to be there too, because they always put on a smile for the benefit of everyone else, no matter how much they’d been fighting recently.

Giving her a sheepish smile, Seungwan gingerly winced, “I’m sorry, Chaeyoung. I tried, really I did, but she won’t come. She said she wants to spend Christmas by herself.”

Spluttering, Chaeyoung felt her hopes sink faster than she’d got them up, a hollow feeling spreading inside as she realised how foolish she’d been to think that Joohyun wouldn’t be stubborn on this matter. “She isn’t coming?”

“I’m sorry.”

Climbing to her feet, Chaeyoung ran a hand through her damp hair, wiping it on her gown as she paced back and forth with a troubled look on her face. “She has to. What will people say when they realise she’s not here? I can’t have people thinking that we’re separated or- or that we’re having problems. I can’t have that kind of negative press.”

“But … it’s the truth,” Seungwan softly said, her voice quiet and a pitying look on her face.

Chaeyoung winced slightly. They were having problems, but it wasn’t that serious. It had only been a little over two weeks - they’d spent longer apart before - and it wasn’t cause for rumours to be spreading about marital troubles yet. She ground her teeth together in frustration, because even when they’d been at their worst during the contract, they’d both fulfilled their part and presented themselves as a couple, but now, a vow made with love and rings wasn’t enough for Joohyun to feel obligated enough to try and work through things with her wife. Letting out a huff of frustration, Chaeyoung closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, before letting out a heavy sigh.

“It’s fine. This is fine. I’ll just- I’ll say she’s come down with a cold, and then I’ll… I’ll announce my pregnancy. No one will care that she’s not here if I’m walking around with this,” she said, staring down at her stomach. “Everyone at the party will leak the news to the press, then I can have my Aunt Hasun release an official statement on Christmas Day after I give my speech. I’m five months along now anyway, so I can’t hide it for much longer.”

“Chaeyoung,” Sam sighed, “is that such a good idea? I mean, I know Joohyun wanted her privacy for as long as she could.”

“And I’m giving it to her,” Chaeyoung tightly replied, “no one will be looking at her. They won’t even suspect that she’s pregnant too. She can shut herself up in her estate and sulk like a child, if that’s what she wants, and I’ll do my best to fix everything and make sure no one plants a bomb on her doorstep.”

Seungwan didn’t say anything after that, and Chaeyoung summoned Yerim to get a new dress for her. The one she’d been intending to wear flared out at the bottom of her ribs, hiding her bump well, but if she was planning on letting everyone shockingly find out the news and leak it to the press, then she was going to need something tighter. Half of the items in her closet had never been worn, or altered yet, so it wasn’t too hard to find a deep bottle green dress that wasn’t too tight over her stomach, but was sleek and fitted in all the right places. The colour was perfect for Christmas too, and she grimly accepted that she was going to do what was necessary to ensure their safety, in all things, not just their physical safety. It was just as important to not let the media drive a wedge between them, or hound them for quotes on whatever rumour was circulating about them at that moment. If they caught wind of Joohyun’s walking out, neither of them would be able to leave their homes for a month.

They were soon joined by a team of expert stylists and Chaeyoung sat down before her vanity and let her hair be blow dried while a woman got to work on her face. By the time they were finished, her hair had been curled and partly pulled back with tiny diamond and emerald encrusted hair combs brought up from the treasury, and she had the massive necklace Joohyun had first given her for her coronation hanging around her neck, matching the diamond earrings and the stone on her left hand. Her makeup made her look better than she felt, hiding her bags and her bad skin, but still, Chaeyoung thought her face looked a bit puffy beneath it all. It would do though, and she wryly thought that no one would be looking at her face anyway; the main focus of the evening would most definitely be on her stomach.

As the sun set outside the palace windows, bathing everything in shadows as the yellow warmth was leached out of the stone of the building, Chaeyoung was gathered in a sitting room with a few of the people she trusted most in the world. Jennie, Taehee, Seungwan, Jisoo and Hasun were all there, all for various reasons on Chaeyoung’s behalf, but there for the same purpose.

“So, if anyone asks, you tell them Joohyun has a cold. She’s in Gutrin to escape the stress of the party, but she’s fine and I’m going to join her there for the holidays. If they ask about me, tell them that I’m five months along, happy and healthy. We’re both excited. We’re planning on going to Moonstone Palace in the spring when they’re born so that we can enjoy our time as new parents. Tell them I’m naming her after my mother or whatever lies you want to spin. I don’t care. The more bull that leaks, the better.”

Everyone listened with mild looks of concern on their faces, and Hasun was the first to pipe up, a wary look in her eyes as she stared at Chaeyoung. “Where is Joohyun?”

“In Gutrin,” Chaeyoung curtly replied.

“Yes, but why is she in Gutrin. She should be here.”

“Because we’re taking a break,” Chaeyoung bitterly admitted, having to dislodge the words from when they got stuck. Clearing slightly, Chaeyoung gave her aunt a tight smile. “Nothing to worry about. Just a small argument, but it’ll all resolve itself soon.”

Jennie let out a snort of laughter, “right, because that’s what we do. We smooth things over and pretend like it never happ