↳ ❝🫐 [chapter 45] ¡! ❞🥃
WEEKS TURN TO MONTHS RATHER FAST. Lia's 3 weeks pregnant, then six weeks, then 12, on and on, and slowly, almost subtly, her stomach began to grow.
Lia gave Hoseok pictures from her ultrasounds, sometimes in person, sometimes through the mail. Hoseok would sit in his cell and stare at them with misty eyes and smiles. He'd hang them on his walls so he could look at them.
Lia made an effort to visit him at least once a month, twice if they're both lucky. So he could see how she was progressing in person. Hoseok would love sitting there for that hour, hearing about how she was doing, how their baby was doing.
She could tell it broke his heart a little each time. All the ultrasounds he missed, all the morning sickness, all the bad and good days. But he demanded to hear it, all of it. He wanted to be there, at least in his head.
"I am finally, officially divorced from Angelo." Lia squealed happily kissing Hoseok in greeting. They had to be a little more careful now, there was a soft swell of her stomach. Hoseok wanted to be careful.
He smiled, lightly biting her bottom lip. "Congrats baby. You gonna celebrate?" He let her go and sat down with her. This was their routine. Sitting down and talking about everything she had done since she had last seen him or since they had last spoken.
Lia never really felt like celebrating anything. It's not like she could drink, so it was sitting on the couch, drinking apple juice to her heart's content. She missed Hoseok back at him. Nothing smelled like him anymore, it was fading away. She would spray her pillows with most of his cologne to help, but it wasn't the same.
She shook her head. "Nope, just wanna sit at home. I don't want to celebrate without you there. It'll just be me and Renée." She gave a gentle pat to her stomach. Their little girl.
Hoseok never liked that she put her life on pause for him, not celebrating the good times when they came around. He still wanted her to live her life, to be happy. He doesn't want to be the reason she can't be her happiest.
"But the best part is that I'm getting alimony. Half of all his income for the next 3 years. That's like 450 a week." She grinned cheekily, with victory. She was finally screwing him over like he's been for the past nearly 6 years. On top of that, she had gotten 500,000 in reparations after proving his domestic abuse against her. Lia was rolling in it. Enough money to pay bills, get food, and take care of herself. She had even bought herself a car. A Chevy Traverse. It certainly wasn't a BMW, but it was something.
She was looking for a job that had something to do with her degree in Art History. She always wanted to be an art dealer, but Angelo had ruined that for her.
Maybe she could still work at a gallery, hopefully so.
Hoseok shook her hand. "That's my girl. Take all that fucker's money." He looked at her with pride.
When Lia couldn't be there in person, she would write him letters send him pictures, and talk to him over the phone. Hoseok would read those letters over and over and over. He held them close, every letter, every picture. They were the only things that kept him sane, grounded in this hell hole.
But that could only last for so long. It broke him with every picture of his baby girl. He had missed everything. Lia came on her birthday, came on his, on Christmas and New Year, but they were trapped in the confines of those four, 3 feet thick, concrete walls.
Every month, her stomach grew bigger. 3 months, 4 months, 5 months. On and on until she was heavily pregnant, ready to burst at any moment.
"My back is killing me." Lia groaned sitting down across from Hoseok with her hand over the large swell of her stomach. "Your fucking daughter won't let me sleep for more than an hour without kicking the shit out of me." She sighed with a soft smile. "But Yoongi got me a pregnancy pillow to help."
Hoseok smiled fondly looking at her, his beautiful baby mama carrying his undoubtedly beautiful daughter. She looked just about ready to pop and it seemed like she was ready to get this baby out.
"When did you say the day was?" Hoseok asked quietly. He wanted to be there, to be with her, and to see his daughter when she first comes out. He'd probably be the last person to meet his daughter and that hurt him, that broke him to his core.
Lia knew he was upset about this. The prison wouldn't accept his request for a furlough so he couldn't be there for the childbirth. She could see in his eyes how much it hurt.
"August 21st." That's was next Wednesday.
Lia could see the way his eyes water, his lips twitch and he forces a smile. "That's great, baby. Really great." He whispers, kissing her hand. His grip tightens never wanted to let go.
Lia moves, sitting right beside Hoseok to be close to him. "I hate that you won't be there either." She whispered to him, her voice wavering as well. Hoseok placed his head on her shoulder and his hand on her stomach. For another 6 years, he won't be home, only allowed occasional visits to his daughter and baby mama.
"We'll be okay." She told him, kissing the top of his now brown hair. His hair had grown out after the months, so he cut off the blond parts little by little until all that was left was his natural, chocolate brown hair.
Over the months, he had gotten a few more tattoos, one on his arm of Ophelia's name and one on Renée's, the two loves of his life, the most important people in his life.
Hoseok remembered exactly where he was when his daughter was born. It was late, lights out. He was sitting in the dark, staring at the pictures of Lia's ultrasound with tears streaming down his face while he cried silently.
He couldn't sleep all week, not knowing if there were any complications in the birth, if Lia was okay, if the baby was. They were coming to see him on Saturday so he could meet his daughter. But the stress of the wait was enough to instill a level of anxiety in him.
Saturday seemed like forever away and took even longer to get there. The nights lasted for eternity and the days were even longer. On top of that, for the past few months, he's been having to take classes to get his GED because he had dripped out, so that's just extra work to do.
But finally, finally, Saturday came and Hoseok couldn't have been more excited for visiting hours.
Showers were loud and crowded just like any other day. Food was stale just like always and the prison guards were still dicks, but nothing could ruin Hoseok's mood.
And then he was brought into the visitation room. He went and sat at his normal table, knowing that Lia and Yoongi would be here soon with Renée, until then, he looked outside just as always.
It was bright out today, the sun beaming down on the empty yard, not a cloud in the sky.
"Hoseok."
He jumped softly and turned in the direction of Lia's voice. She was sitting in a wheelchair being pushed by Yoongi with a little bundle of blankets in her arms. She was smiling, tiredly, but happy.
Hoseok turned to face her and smiled just the same. He probably looked like absolute shit, but he was happy. She looked to be okay and she had their little girl in her arms.
"She's sleeps like a log, so she'll probably stay asleep," Lia says, standing up from her wheelchair. Yoongi stays by her side, helping her up while putting the locks on the wheelchair. She was fine to stand and walk around, just not for very long.
Lia took a seat right beside Hoseok, letting him lean over to admire their creation as they sit with their sides pressed against each other.
She was sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms. Hoseok's eyes softened looking at her. His little Renée. He couldn't tell whose eyes she had, but she had her mother's nose and his lips. Her hair was curly, soft-looking, and her skin was a soft caramel color.
"My little girl." Hoseok cooed softly, running his hand over her hair.
"Here. Hold her." Lia offers her to him. It's only right that he gets to hold her. Holding is everything when it comes to a child. When you hold them, that's when it really sets in, when you know, you're in this bullshit for life. You may not enjoy every minute of it, but you're too in love to back out.
Hoseok hesitated a little, scared he might do something wrong or that he might hurt her, but Lia gave him a reassuring look and carefully put her into his arms. "You have to support her head too." She moved his arm to support her head.
Hoseok looked down at her, his baby girl. Holding. Holding was what set it in. This was his daughter. One he would love unconditionally with all his heart and protect with his life.
"You can't see it now, but she has your eyes." She whispered to him. "We'll have to wait to figure out who's smile she has." Lia kissed his cheek and smiled while resting her head on his shoulder.
It turns out she has the fortune of having Hoseok's smile. Pretty and heart-shaped.
Lia tried to visit with Renée whenever they could. She was a surprisingly quiet baby, quite sleepy. Hoseok never minded though. He would sit and stare at her with a fond gaze, looking at her through a rose-colored window of love.
Seeing them was all Hoseok looked forward to. Talking to them over the phone. Getting drawings that looked like random scribbles on paper, but Hoseok still adored them. Getting pictures of Lia and Renée with letters on how they were doing.
When Renée got older and began to understand things, Hoseok loved to talk to her, play games with her.
"Point to mommy, Ren," Hoseok said with a grin, holding Renée in his lap. He bounced his leg softly, waiting for her.
The little girl took her finger from out of her mouth and pointed to Lia who sits across the table. She smiled at her daughter and clapped her hands. "Now point to daddy."
And so she pointed to Hoseok. To which he grinned and kissed the top of her head. "Good job, baby. Smart girl."
He looked across the table at Lia and smiled. "We have a very smart daughter."
"I know." Lia looked tired honestly, exhausted really. Being a lone mother of a 1 and a half-year-old was a task but she was also an art dealer at a different gallery than Angelo. She had actually made a good name for herself with the number of sales she's made in such a short career. That's partially with the help of Yoongi and Taehyung. The underground market was pretty profitable.
But she just sold the art, Taehyung was the one who handled everything else. It was just enough risk for her to keep everything exciting for her. Plus, a baby, there's never a lackluster day with a baby.
But, Lia had a full plate with only the occasional break when Yoongi would watch Renée for the weekend. Hoseok wished he could be there to help, but 5 and a half years left to go is a long while before he'll be home to help with anything.
"When was the last time you had a nap?" Hoseok asked her, using his right hand to hold Renée upon his thigh while he held her hand with his left hand.
Lia run her fingers through her hair and gave him a look. "I'm a mom with her baby daddy in prison. Naps are a privilege that only moms with teenagers have." Her voice was flat and deadpanned.
Hoseok chuckled. "You'll get there. By then we get to experience the Hell that is teenaged years together." He can't wait until then. He'll endure anything and everything just to be there for the years where she'll have an attitude problem that makes him want to pop her in her mouth.
Lia could certainly wait for the teenaged years, but she couldn't wait for Hoseok to come back home so they could endure the challenge of parenthood.
Together.
*.✧ Kᴀʏs Eɴᴅɪɴɢ Nᴏᴛᴇs
Next chapter is the Epilogue and I decided on one extra chapter so yw. But I'm sad to watch this go. This seemed to have moved so fast and now we're on chapter 45.
Thank you all for coming all this way with me.
Thank you all for reading. I hope you guys enjoyed and I wish you all a wonderful day/night.
사랑해
~Kay (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ