Beloved

Chp. 75

Lilith

When I heard that Lovis was healthy, that was all that mattered to me. That was all I needed to know.

Khael walked towards me with Lovis wrapped snugly in a warm cotton blanket. He had him safely in both arms close to his chest.

When he brought the child closer to me his eyes were briefly closed. I wondered what color eyes he had. But I was able to see he had soft, pale skin like mine and hair like Khael's. They were reddish auburn in color. But I noticed some strands of his hair were replaced in white, missing the colors of auburn.

Khael carefully delivered Lovis into my arms and a gentle stroke of his cheek made him open his eyes. His eyes were also different colors. His left was dark brown like mine but the other was grey. They were complete opposites. Everytime he blinked, I saw how long his lashes were just like Khael's. He had such unique traits that other children did not have.

He was the most beautiful child I'd seen.

I knew what it was like to be different and for a brief moment I remembered how father had always spoke to me.

I never wanted my child to think being different was a flaw. There will always be people that will love you for who you are and those that do will stay. All those who are precious to me are here with me now.

As if he had heard my thoughts, Khael came over. I felt Khael's hand caress my left cheek and his eyes came to meet mine. He pressed his forehead against mine and gently rubbed against me.

"I'm so proud of you."

A gentle smile spread across his face as he moved towards Lovis and placed a kiss on his little forehead.

"Thank you for giving me such a beautiful son, Lilith."

I hadn't shed a tear during labor but I couldn't help but cry from his words.

Khael

Just like the healer had mentioned. I saw what the Facea had left behind in our child. His hair and his eyes had lost its colors. After waiting for their examination of Lovis. I was able to hear detailed information about his condition.

Thankfully he had no disabilities at all.

Like I had intended, I spoke nothing of the Facea to Lilith. It was benign and merely a genetic condition. She seemed to understand that.

I was worried how Lilith would react at the sight of our son. But her reactions were different from what I expected. She held no expression of shock or worry. Instead, her face was filled with so much love and adoration for our child.

This was all I needed. My prayers were answered. Both Lilith and Lovis were safe and healthy. There was nothing else I would ask for.

Lilith

It was not until the second week after birth, the others got a chance to visit and see Lovis. Although I wanted to let Laurdes see our child sooner, it was ideal to have minimal visitors for the sake of our child. Khael was extra careful. He treated Lovis as if he was glass that would break from just a single touch. I couldn't blame him. His head was so small it fit right in the palm of Khael's hand.

I wondered how he would've been if we had a daughter. I was sure he would be even more protective than he is now.

Other than occasional checkups, Lovis spent most of his time with me. That was recommended for us to bond and most of that was during breastfeedings. I looked down at Lovis as he suckled eagerly onto my left breast. The suckling sounds were quite loud. The sounds he made were loud enough to make Khael chuckle.

"Easy boy. You have plenty there. No one's going to steal it from you."

Soon after his feedings, Lovis always fell deeply asleep in my arms. He was an angel.

I was also able to get some rest after his feedings. Khael tried to spend as much time with me as possible since I spent most of my days staying in doors with Lovis. There was limited amount of things I could do and not many people were allowed inside yet.

I did things that didn't require much movement. Ruel also delivered a few books so I could share a few stories to Lovis as he slept. He said it was a gift for our child and I hoped he would grow as strong as the characters in these stories.

I had my own meals only after Lovis fell asleep. My meals were soft, warm liquids that were easy on my tastebuds. One of my favorites was the soup and porridge with with some salt and seaweed. It was traditional for Dravicks to eat this soup after giving birth. It was best for recovery but I've also become quite addicted to it.

I haven't been able to take baths with Khael in a while. My tears below were still healing and it was best not to sit in still water until they were fully recovered. I missed bath times with Khael but there wasn't much I could argue with there.

There were other things he did for me which were more than enough. He brought in flowers for me every 3 days. I had never seen one wither. Since I couldn't go outside, he brought them to me instead.

There was one time when he came in drenched from the rain with a handful of roses. My eyes shifted to the thorny stems that  were just scrunched up and pierced through his hand. Small droplets of blood fell to the floor but nonetheless he had a pure smile spreading across his face. His wet hair fell across his face and the water trickled down from the tips.

It reminded me of the first time he came with flowers. It was also raining then.

"The rain only just started."

He answered me even before I could question him. He knew me well enough to anticipate my questions but this time my concerns were elsewhere, his bleeding hand.

I reached over towards him.

"Leave them, you'll prick yourself. I'll put them in the vase myself."

"If it hurts for m-me, it must hurt for you too."

It was only then he had noticed my eyes were fixed on his bleeding hand.

"It's only a mere scratch for me. If it's the scars you're worried about, my hands don't need to be as fair as yours. They've already been battered and rough as they can be now. Yours are different. I'd hate to see those fair hands become like mine."

Although he did not hand me the flowers, he allowed me to dry his hair with a small towel. It must've been quite chilly, his touch was cool against my skin. It felt nice since it was too warm in here.

Once he was all dry, he came to slide right beside me under the covers. Swiftly, he removed the knots on my gown, revealing my breasts in front of him. They were a bit sore and swollen from breastfeeding Lovis.

Khael knew they were aching and softly massaged both in his hands. A moan slipped out through my parted lips and I leaned my head back against his broad chest.

I turned my head everytime his movements changed. It felt soothing. He knew what he was doing.

"There's got to be some magic in this for him to be knocked out like that."

I peered up from against his chest and saw that he was referring to Lovis. He was soundly asleep.

He looked down at my breasts, focused, as he continued to gently massage them in a circular motion. Thanks to his efforts, my symptoms after birth weren't as hard to handle.

*

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