ꗃ: 𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𔘓. 𝗍𝖺𝖾𝗃𝖾𝗇𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗄𝗈𝗈𝗄 ! 𓂅

43 | 赤ちゃん

Jungkook's face split into a wide smile, but Taehyung stared in brooding silence. Her heart flipped and her stomach dropped. He hadn't forgiven her for leaving.

She shakily crawled back off Jimin's lap and stood, her fingers wrapped tightly together.

Taehyung took a step forward. "Promise me." He stared directly at her, his eyes penetrating every layer of her skin. "Promise me you'll never do anything so completely stupid again. Swear to me you'll never leave us again."

She flew to him, throwing herself into his arms. He caught her tightly against him. He held her head against his chest. He kissed the top of her hair, leaving his lips there for a long moment.

When she pulled away, she found herself tugged into Jungkook's arms.

"Welcome home, princess."

He kissed her lingeringly then hugged her again.

"Do you have something you want to tell us?" Taehyung asked, his eyes drifting to her stomach.

She smiled. "You're going to be fathers."

Jungkook let out a whoop and twirled her around the living room.

"Put her down, dumbass," Jimin said sourly. "She doesn't need you throwing her around like a sack of grain."

Jungkook set her down and molded his hand to her belly.

"Are you hungry? Want me to fix you something to eat?"

"I'm starving," she admitted. "I didn't want to stop even for a moment until I got here."

They herded into the kitchen and Taehyung sat Jennie down at the bar. He settled in beside her, his hand caressing her back.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

She let out her breath in a sigh. "It went faster than we all thought. Kai showed no sign of cooperating even with my damning statement. Then the night before the trial was set to start, he entered into a plea bargain with the district attorney. He pleaded guilty and forewent the trial."

"And he's no longer a threat?" Jimin asked.

She shook her head. "He'll be in jail for a long time."

"You did a brave thing, baby," Taehyung said. "I'm pissed that you did it, but it took incredible courage on your part."

She gave him a sad smile. "I missed you all so much. I was so lonely without you."

Taehyung hugged her to him. "You'll never be without us again, baby. That I promise."

He glanced down at her belly. "When did you know?"

She looked down, not sure she should answer truthfully. He nudged her chin up until she looked at him once more.

"You knew before you left."

She nodded. "It was such a shock. Amidst all the blood loss, the injuries, when they got routine lab work back, they told me I was pregnant. They fully expected me to miscarry, but I didn't."

She paused before continuing. "I knew...I knew if I told you, that you would never let me go. And I knew I had to do what I did to protect you and our baby."

Jungkook set a plate in front of her along with a glass of milk. She wrinkled her nose.

"Milk?"

"For the baby," he said.
She rolled her eyes. "I hate milk."

"Drink up," he said with a grin. "You need it and so does the little one."

She smiled, allowing her full joy to roll through her. She was home. It was almost as if she'd never left. A single tear slipped down her cheek, and she smiled harder.

Taehyung reached over and thumbed the wetness away.
"Not a day has passed that we haven't thought about you. Worried about you. Cursed you," he added with a wry grin. "Welcome home, baby," he said in a more serious tone. He bent over and pressed a kiss to her belly. "Welcome home, baby."

"My divorce is final," she whispered.

"And don't think we're going to wait another day to make you ours," Jungkook commented as he sat down across the bar from her.

A tingle snaked its way up her spine. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It means we're going down to the clerk's office tomorrow and getting a license. A judge friend of ours will perform the ceremony. He's aware of our situation. While you'll legally be wed to me, he's willing to arrange the ceremony to accommodate your commitment to all of us," Taehyung spoke up.

She stared at them for a long moment then felt her heart swell until she feared it would burst right out of her chest. They still wanted her. Acted as though she'd never left them, hadn't been gone nearly six months.

"I'll really be yours," she said in awe.

Jimin snorted. "You've always been ours. Make no mistake about that."

"Will you marry us?" Taehyung asked, fingering her hair, wrapping the ends around his hand. "Will you stay with us always? Love us as much as we love you? Be the mother to our children?"

She stood and wrapped herself around Taehyung as tightly as she could. She hugged his neck to her and held on for dear life.

"I love you so much," she whispered. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you."

Jungkook let out a whoop and Jimin sat back on his chair, folding his arms across his chest in a gesture of supreme satisfaction.

Taehyung kissed her long and hard, leaving her breathless. For the first time in six months, she allowed herself to relax and revel in the moment.

Tomorrow she'd be legally, emotionally, completely belonging to the three brothers, and more importantly, they would belong to her.

Life was full of ironies. Only in running from a past riddled by mistakes, had she found a future so perfect, so bright that she still had trouble believing it was her reality.

"Anyone want to play Monopoly?" she asked.

Only later, as they sat on the porch watching the sun go down over the mountains, did Jennie wrap herself in the comfort that she was indeed home. For the first time since her parents' death, she felt a sense of belonging.

Taehyung reached over to take her hand, his thumb massaging her palm. "I love you, baby."

She smiled. "I love you, too." Her gaze drifted to Jungkook and Jimin, both of whom wore relaxed, easy expressions. "I love all of you."

Jungkook smiled. "We know, princess. After all, you came back to us."

𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗗

Jenlqve