Chapter 222 Chapter 222
“This is nice,” she sighed contentedly and nuzzled her head in his neck, breathing in his familiar scent. She sensed his own bliss through their bond, warm and tingly. It made her happiness shine even brighter, and she soon closed her eyes, relaxing her body. He pulled the blanket over her, letting it pool in her lap.
A light kiss was planted on her jawline, followed by another. “I love you, sugar,” Maxwell murmured, prompting her to giggle at his affectionate kisses. He eventually reached her mouth and claimed her lips, kissing her passionately. Valerie was on cloud nine. Her heart burst with joy, and she was sure that if he continued being so adoring, then she would not leave the bed today. They would stay here and cuddle until late in the evening.
When they broke the kiss after what seemed like an eternity, Valerie was met with a surprise. “Maxwell, do you see that?” she gasped and stared at her belly. “It’s glowing?”
He let out a snort. Mischief glimmered in his eyes when he rested his hand on her glowing stomach, feeling pulses of magic beneath it.
“Looks like the rascal is happy,” he grinned. “That’s his magic, not yours.”
“Huh?” she stuttered as her eyes grew wider and wider. “Do you really think so?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “Maybe he likes hearing our voices… or maybe he just loves his mom so much.” He winked, and she blushed.
“That’s adorable,” she smiled and caressed her belly. “I can’t wait for him to be born… I want to hold him and see him.”
“Me too.”
They already knew that their baby was a boy—Valerie’s doctor had told her during one of her check-ups, confirming Maxwell’s hunch.
“What if the nurses at the hospital see my stomach glowing when I’m in labor? Wouldn’t that be a problem?” she said, half amused and half exasperated. Their son was a little troublemaker even though he wasn’t born yet. He probably came after his dad.
“I will turn it off,” Maxwell shrugged. “It’s easy. His clumsy magic isn’t hard to control.”
A laugh left her at the way he worded it. “You make it sound like our son is a lamp.”
“Huh, why?”
“I will turn it off,” she said, imitating his deep voice. “That’s not very nice, Maxwell.”
“Don’t make fun of me! And when will you drop that damn nickname? I swear, it’s so embarrassing. It’s been two years, almost three,” he grumbled. She couldn’t see his face since he sat behind her, but she bet his eyes were red. He was easy to tease… Some things would never change. Not in a million years.
“It ruins my demonic pride!” he huffed.
“I chose it with care, okay?” she replied, pretending to be sad. “Please let me use it?”
“Valerie,” he groaned, getting a glimpse of her pouty face when she turned her head. That was her ultimate weapon and his greatest weakness—he couldn’t say no to her when she sulked. “Alright, alright. Do what you want.”
“Does that mean I’m allowed to use it for eternity?” she asked, and her lips became even poutier. Large glossy eyes stared at him so pleadingly, he bit his lower lip and averted his gaze.
“Fine.”
The victorious smirk that took over her face immediately told him he had fallen into her trap. She giggled. “I will call you Maxwell forever,” she chirped. “And now you can’t do anything about it! Not even complain because you permitted me.”
Maxwell sighed annoyedly, but couldn’t stay mad for long since he could feel her joy. It confused him that something as insignificant as a nickname would make her so happy.
They heard a distorted meow when Mochi snuck into the room and jumped on the bed, only to be hit by Maxwell’s glare. “Don’t you dare, cat,” he growled. “Go away.”
“Don’t be rude to Mochi,” she scolded. “He’s part of the family, too. Come here, my baby.” She held out her arms, and the glowing demon made his way over the bed, getting comfortable on her lap and wrapping his body around her stomach protectively. Valerie smiled, brushing Mochi’s soft fur, receiving a happy purr in response.
“So cute,” she whispered. “You are my favorite demons.”
“I’m number one,” Maxwell noted.
“Of course, Maxwell,” she grinned.
“Why do you sound sarcastic?”
“Because your sulky expression is too funny to stay serious.”
“I’m not sulking, though.”
“Absolutely not,” she laughed and breathed a soft kiss on his nose.
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Another three months passed, and once the anticipated day came, Maxwell nearly lost his mind with worry. If the contractions hadn’t been so painful, Valerie would have told him to calm down, but she couldn’t focus properly. Since he felt every bit of her pain through their bond, he knew that he had to get her to a hospital. And fast. So he dialed Xander’s number and asked for his help. Nobody was faster than him, after all. The green-haired demon didn’t waste a second and teleported them to the next hospital, where Valerie was admitted right away.
She was shown to a room where she could change into a comfortable hospital gown. As she lay down on the bed that had been prepared for her, two nurses looked after her. One of them was a stern older woman who didn’t care in the slightest about Maxwell’s constant death glares. Her younger colleague, however, seemed confused by his attitude.
While they took Valerie’s pulse, temperature, and blood pressure, he remained close to her and refused to let go of her hand, which annoyed the older nurse. However, she didn’t say anything about it since it was apparent that his proximity calmed Valerie down.
Throughout Valerie’s labor, the nurses repeated this process and checked the position of the baby. Unfortunately, the pain held on, and it was anything but pleasant. Aside from clutching Maxwell’s hand and listening to the nurse as she fought through the contractions, she barely registered anything. She could have sworn Maxwell shouted at the nurses, telling them to fucking do something so it would be over sooner. His nervousness streamed through the bond. He was scared for her.