Chapter 179 - Honeymoon
After a relaxing bath, fulfilling breakfast, and comfortable clothing, Adeline was ready to see the doctor. She wore a loose white shirt that made the stomach easy to access, and a comfortable skirt that swayed with the wind, fluttering beautifully behind her.
Sure enough, Stella hadn't lied. She found the best applicant in the pool, someone who graduated at the top of their class, was the valedictorian, scored one of the highest on the MCAT, and the achievements went on. Adeline was so dizzy when she finished hearing the long list of awards they earned.
"Let's see…" The gynecologist murmured, rubbing the cold, clear cream onto the Queen's stomach, her attention glued to the ultrasound monitor.
Adeline shivered at the intensity, but it wasn't as cool as Elias's skin. She always found it intriguing that he soothed her feverish body, as if they were meant for each other. Maybe that was what he meant when he said he loved the humanity within her, the flush of her skin, the beat of her heart, and the flash in her eyes.
"What do you think, Doctor…"
"Juliette," the gynecologist said with a smile. "Just my first name is alright, Your Grace."
Adeline blinked before returning with a hesitant smile of her own. She was surprised that Dr. Juliette wasn't nervous, despite the fact that Elias was brooding beside the bed, staring intently at everything happening. He was quiet and motionless, except for the frigidness of his gaze.
Adeline was lying on the bed of one of the guest bedrooms, with an ultrasound machine wheeled in for her. She wasn't surprised that Elias wanted to keep everything private.
"Ah, there's the baby, Your Grace," Dr. Juliette pointed out, just as a powerful, comforting noise filled the air.
Adeline's breath hitched. She heard the powerful thump, thump, thump, her eyes instantly watering. A wave of emotions overcame her with the realization that this was truly happening.
"That is the baby's heartbeat," Dr. Juliette said in a quiet voice, pleased that she was the first person to hear the heartbeat with the Queen. It was truly an honor for her, and she could barely register the news when she received a phone call.
"It's such a beautiful sound," Adeline murmured, turning to Elias with a hopeful expression. His hardened features softened as he caressed her cheek, his thumb brushing on her smooth skin.
"It's just a heartbeat," Elias mumbled. "I have it too."
Adeline frowned, pushing his hand away. He laughed at her reaction, shaking his head, with a ghost of a smile resting on his lips.
"The baby is growing very healthily, Your Grace, Your Majesty. In fact, it is quite surprising how quickly the baby is growing. It is double the speed of human babies. See, despite the fact that you're only a month and a half pregnant, the baby is developing extremely quickly," Dr. Juliette addressed, now that the King had finally spoken.
The King was silent the entire time, with a dark stare, so she thought he wasn't that pleased, but seeing him talk, she was more relieved.
"It better be growing quickly after sucking all the blood and energy from its mother," Elias said under his breath.
Before Adeline could say anything, Elias glanced at the monitor. "And its gender?" he asked.
"The baby isn't an it," Adeline protested, frowning up at him.
Elias was standing directly over her, holding one of her hands whereas Stella and Evelyn was on the toher side of the bed. At her words, he returned his attention to her and smirked.
"Better than the previous nickname, though, darling," Elias stated, referring to when he called the baby a monster.
Adeline narrowed her eyes. "You—"
"The gender?" Elias pressed the doctor.
"W-well, the baby is in an awkward position right now, covering the gender," Dr. Juliette said.
Elias scowled. Elias glanced at the screen again, with its black and white coloring. He needed to get the medical department to amp up the technology. It was horrible. Then, he noticed something strange.
"What's wrong?" Adeline softly asked, noticing his face grew considerably dark and grim. His irritated expression worsened and he looked like he was going to massacre an entire generation.
When he didn't respond, she tugged on his sleeve. Did he find out the gender?
"Give me that," Elias suddenly demanded, grabbing the device from the doctor's hand and wheeling the monitor in an awkward angle. Then, he stood in front of Adeline's face, preventing her from looking as he moved the scanner on her belly.
"Wait, Your Majesty, I'm not done moving the device to the other parts of her stomach—"
"What the hell is that?" Elias seethed, moving the device and noticing discrepancies. His face paled. Impossible. It was actually fucking impossible.
Dr. Juliette's breath hitched as she peered closer at the monitor. She had kept the device in one spot the whole time, because she was well-trained and extremely experienced, being able to discover the baby quickly. But how did she not realize it earlier?
"Elias—"
"No, absolutely not," Elias barked, shoving the device away and quickly grabbing his wife.
Elias helped her sit up as he yanked her shirt down, refusing to acknowledge the atrocity presented before him. He was trembling with rage, his blood boiling hotter than the pits of Hell. he gritted his teeth, clenched his jaw, and began guiding Adeline off the bed.
Stella had hired a quack doctor, she must have. The machine was outdated. The technology was old. Even though science was heavily funded, Elias still refused to believe what he had just witnessed.
"The sun is great today," Elias suddenly stated, changing his tone. He pulled her off the bed and towards the door. "Let's take a walk in the gardens, clear your thoughts and mind."
Elias made up a plan. He was going to tell her to look at one of the pretty flowers. And when she was crouched down, examining the flowers she ordered Weston to plant, he was going to wipe her memories.
Elias refused to accept the truth. He refused to acknowledge the fact that her rate of survival was going to be near impossible now. Scratch that, it'd be a miracle if her body was intact afterwards.
"What's wrong, Elias?" Adeline asked, confused as to why he was pulling her out of the doors.
Adeline glanced back, and saw Dr. Juliette's face was pale with horror. Stella and Evelyn were equally as confused, their gazes meeting Adeline's when she looked back.
Adeline forced a reassuring smile, not wanting Elias to look bad. He was usually like this, softly tugging her in whichever direction he pleased. Sometimes, she wanted to lead him.
"We haven't gone on our honeymoon, that's what's wrong," Elias lied, wrapping an arm around her hips and guiding her out of the door, slamming it shut behind him.
Elias glanced out the window, and sure enough, the bright sunlight from earlier was gone.
The skies were a stormy grey, the wind howling, picking up the fallen leaves of Spring. Autumn was coming. It was as if the sky was going to weep with Adeline, but that'd never happen if he made her forget the events of today.
"Our honeymoon? Why are you talking about this now?" Adeline joked. "We can't leave our country, so somewhere by the seaside of Wraith would be nice. Luckily, we're not landlocked."
"Right, right—"
"Is that what you expect me to say?" Adeline snapped at him, shoving his hand off of her hips. She was growing highly suspicious of his behavior, and a sudden urge of anger rose from her heart.
"Darling—"
"Tell me what you saw," Adeline demanded, standing outside of the door and refusing to go anywhere else. She noticed how quickly his expression had changed back there, and she wasn't going anywhere until she got an answer out of him.