The Crown Prince's Baby

Five

"You mean—" Aurora began.

"Yes," Mrs. Alice replies, "Mrs. Stone and His Majesty were betrothed before Her Majesty just like how Xavier and Ashleigh are betrothed." She lets out a sigh.

Malcolm walks up to Aurora, "Don't blame yourself, Aurora; Xavier never liked Ashleigh anyways."

"But she is still his fiancée."

"Trust me," he reassures, "You getting pregnant is probably the only way out of this engagement."

"Malcolm!" Mrs. Alice replies, hitting his arm.

"Ow!"

"Shut that mouth of yours." she snaps, "You are making things worse."

Before Malcolm could defend himself, Aurora orders, "Can I have some alone time? I won't leave the room." Malcolm and Mrs. Alice look at each other, nods at Aurora and eventually leaves Xavier's bedroom. Once closing the bedroom door, Mrs. Alice hits Malcolm's arm once more. "See what I told you." she replies, "Ms. Kim doesn't even want us in the room anymore."

"But I'm just telling the truth, Mrs. Alice." Malcolm retaliates, "Xavier really doesn't want to marry Ashleigh."

***

"It's a deal." Mrs. Stone replies, "Come along, Ashleigh, we're going home this instant." As Ashleigh and her mom leave the mansion, Xavier couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.

"Grandmother," he replies, "do you really think that Aurora could face up against Ashleigh and her crazy mother?" "Of course I do." she replies, "

Don't you trust Aurora?" "W-well I-I—" he stutters, "W-what I meant was that—"

"Look at him,  Xavier's mom asks.

"That's not what I was about to say." Xavier replies, "What I'm trying to say is—you know what, I'm done talking and I'm going to tell Aurora about the situtation." He storms out of the living room and heads on upstairs.

Xavier reaches his bedroom door and grabs a hold of the knob; however, stops himself from entering into the room. 'Have I always doubted Aurora ever since she came here?' he thought to himself, 'Have I always thought about her feelings besides my own?' Xavier lets out a faint sigh, gently pulls down the knob and walks into the bedroom, only to find Aurora asleep in his chair, facing the window. He quietly closes the door behind him, tiptoes over to her and leans against the wall, staring at Aurora with gentle eyes. 'She must've been waiting for me.' Xavier thought. Just then, Aurora opens her eyes and looks up at Xavier.

"Xavier?" she asks, sitting up on the chair, "When did you get here?"

"Just right now, actually." he replies, walking over and kneeling in front of Aurora, "Did I keep you waiting too long?" Aurora shook her head with a smile and replies,

"Not at all; how did it go?" Xavier sighs heavily and replies, "I'll tell you later; but, do you want to eat something?" "Sure, why not?" she replies.

The two head down into the kitchen, where Mrs. Alice and Mr. Han were preparing dinner for the night. "Young master," Mrs. Alice replies, once noticing them and stopping what she was doing, "why are you and Ms. Kim down in the kitchen?"

"I want to use the kitchen for a bit." Xavier replies, rolling up his sleeves, "You and Mr. Edwin can take a break for now." "But—" she replies. "Mrs. Alice," Mr. Edwin interrupts, while handing Xavier an apron, "you know that Prince Xavier has a passion for food; there's no need to stop him at all."

"What about—"

"Enough with excuses, Mrs. Alice."

Mr. Edwin pulls Mrs. Alice out of the kitchen with him; Xavier sighs in relief before heading over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Aurora asks, walking besides to him. "Don't worry; I can do it." he replies, drying his wet hands, "I don't want you to—"

"A little kitchen duty isn't gonna hurt the baby,. Xavier." she replies, washing her hands, "Besides, we are a married couple; we need to work things out together."

"Can you cook?"

"A little."

"Well, we're going to be cooking spaghetti from scratch." Xavier explains,

"Can you handle making that?"

"Just tell me what to do." Aurora replies, with motivation.

Throughout the whole process, Xavier slowly teaches Aurora how to prep the vegetables and get exact measurements. From the entrance, Mrs. Alice, Mr. Edwin and Malcolm are spying on the couple out of curiousity. "When do you think they'll actually do something romantic?" Mrs. Alice asks, "I wanna see some interactions between them." 

"It's not like your weekday dramas, Mrs. Alice." Mr. Edwin retorts, "His Highness isn't really a romantic man himself."

"Mr. Edwin is right." Malcolm adds on, "Whenever it comes to cooking, Xavier is too serious."

"How are you so sure about that?"

"I'm just saying." Malcolm explains, "It's not like—"

"The tomatoes are still too thick, Aurora.." Xavier replies, interrupting their conversation, "Dice them a little smaller like mine."

"O-okay." she replies. As Aurora continues to cut the tomatoes similar to his, Xavier unintentionally comes up behind her, wrapping his arms around her body and grabbing a hold of both her hands. "Xavier-!" Aurora exclaims, looking up at him. "Let me show you more closely." he replies, trying to guide her hands. Meanwhile, Mrs. Alice, Mr. Edwin and Malcolm were immediately shocked by Xavier's sudden actions. "Did he really just do that?" Mrs. Alice asks. "I think he did, Mrs. Alice." Mr. Edwin replies. "Keep it up, Xavier." Malcolm replies, "Keep it up."

Aurora could hear her heart pounding so loud that she couldn't help but stare at Xavier instead of looking at the cutting board. 'He has a different aura when he is cooking.' Aurora thought, 'And here I was thinking that princes aren't allowed to cook.' 

"Do you understand now?" Xavier asks, pulling away from her.

"Huh?" she asks, returning back to reality, "What did you say?"

"Were you too distracted by my beautiful face?" he asks, jokingly. Aurora gently places the knife on the cutting board and attempts to leave the kitchen but slips on the wet kitchen floor.

"Careful!" Xavier exclaims, catching Aurora before she falls. Once caught, he gently pulls Aurora up against his body and they realize how close they are to each other.

"Xavier?" Aurora asks, looking up at him. Xavier then slowly leans in closer to Aurora's face, placing his lips upon hers. Aurora's eyes widen with surprise and confusion as Xavier continues to kiss her; however, she didn't resist and just goes with the flow.

Mrs. Alice exclaims, slightly turning away, "I can't watch this!"

"Malcolm," Mr. Edwin replies, slightly covering his own eyes and trying to block Malcolm's view, "you shouldn't be watching something like this; you're way too young for this."

"Mr. Han!" Malcolm exclaims, fighting him back, "It's not like you've ever kissed a woman before."

"Don't cross it, Oliver Malcolm." Mr. Edwin snaps.

Slowly, Xavier pulls out from the kiss and sees Aurora's eyes are still closed. "Aurora," Xavier stutters, trying not to blush, "I-I....w-we should probably finish making dinner." Aurora eventually comes back to reality.

"R-right, but I need you to let go of me first."

"O-oh, I forgot." Xavier eventually releases Aurora and the two continue where they left off.

"If only my husband was this loving," Mrs. Alice replies, "then I wouldn't leave the comfort of my home at all." "Keep that fantasy of yours to yourself, Mrs. Alice." Mr. Edwin replies, "I almost puked in my mouth."

"What are you three doing over there?" Xavier asks, appearing in front of the three troublemakers.

"Why don't you ask Ma—?"

Trying to blame, Malcolm, Mr. Edwin and Mrs. Alice didn't realize that he had already escape the scene. Xavier crosses his arms and asks, "Then where is this Malcolm of yours?" Both Mr. Edwin and Mrs. Alice looked at each other and let out a good laugh with Xavier before running off as well. 'Those three,' he thought to himself, while shaking his head, 'they are always looking for a great show from me.' After handling that, Xavier turns back to the kitchen and helps Aurora with the finishing touches.

Finally done, he plates the spaghetti on a porcelain plater and twirls the first bite of pasta on a fork for Aurora. "Say ah~" Xavier replies, playfully. Aurora smiles at his playfulness and takes the first bite.

"It's delicious!" Aurora exclaims, as her eyes lit up with joy, "Better than the restaurants' pasta!"

 "Alright; here's the second one." This time, however, Xavier purposely leaves a long strand of noodle for himself, quickly takes a bite without Aurora noticing and gives her a quick peck on the lip.

"Yah~" Aurora exclaims, talking with her mouthful, "Why did you just kiss me again?"

"Aren't married couples supposed to share affection for each other, especially when the wife is pregnant?" Xavier asks.

"Don't try to change the topic, Xavier!"

"I'm not trying to."

"Then answer my question!" she whines.

Xavier smiles, jokingly, and kisses Aurora on the lips once again. "Because my wife is beautiful and sweet." he replies, once pulling away from the third kiss, "And that's all I ever want from her." Aurora couldn't help but blush when he complemented her. Xavier eventually pulls her into another embrace and attempts to take a fourth kiss from her. 

"There you are!" Xavier's mom replies, interrupting the moment, "I've been looking for you two." Aurora pushes out of the embrace and stands away from Xavier, looking away from him.

"What is it, mom?" Xavier asks, turning his attention to his mom.

"Grandmother wants you and Aurora to visit her at our family's vacation home tomorrow morning." she explains, "I already have the servants packing your suitcases for the trip tonight."

"What for?" Aurora asks,

"Why do we need to go to the vacation home?"

Xavier's mom looks at her son and asks, "You didn't tell her about it?"

"I was planning to tell her after dinner." Xavier explains, "I got everything under control." After she las left the kitchen, Xavier turns back to Aurora and replies, "Grandmother made a bet with Mrs. Stone aka Ashleigh's mom."

"A bet?"

"I will have to spend time with you and Stone Ashleigh."

"Together or separately?" she asks.

"Separately." he answers.

'I can't argue with that.' Aurora thought to herself, 'After all, I am just a stranger to Xavier; we weren't supposed to be lovers anyways.' 

"Let's clean up and I'll walk you back to your bedroom." Xavier replies. After cleaning up, Xavier does as he said and walks Aurora back to her bedroom. Before she could enter the room, Xavier replies, "If you need anything, just call for Mrs. Alice."

"I will." she replies, "Good night, Xavier." Aurora enters the room, closing the door behind her while Xavier stood there in agony. 

'Everything is gonna be alright.' Xavier thought, 'Mrs. Stone and Ashleigh won't even take the deal.'

The next morning, Mr. Edwin and the servants began to stuff all the luggage into Xavier's small car while he checks up on Aurora. At first, he knocks on the door and nobody answers. Xavier knocks again and still no answer. "Aurora?" he asks, knocking on the door, "Aurora, are you still in there?" Just then, Xavier turns the door knob and it was open the whole time.

"Xavier!" Aurora exclaims, coming from the bathroom. Immediately, he rushes to the bathroom and found a robed Aurora drying her hair. "Did you need something?" she asks, turning off the hair dryer. "Mr. Edwin and the servants are putting the luggages in the small vehicle." Xavier explains, "Just letting you know."

"Oh okay."

"Don't rush yourself."

"I won't."

Xavier leaves the bedroom without saying anything else. Aurora unplugs the hair dryer from the outlet, places it on the bathroom countertop, heads over to her closet and picks out her clothes for the day. Ten minutes later, she comes out in a sleeveless pink summer dress, paired with white shoes and a cute straw hat.

"Aurora," Mrs. Alice replies, entering the room, "you look beautiful."

"Thanks Mrs. Alice." she replies, with a smile.

"He will surely fall heads over heels for you now."

"Don't say it like that, Mrs. Alice."

"I'm serious, my dear." Mrs. Alice explains,

"You are probably the most beautiful girl he has ever met."

Aurora couldn't help but smile even more brightly at Mrs. Alice's sweet comments. 'Only until the contract is over,' she ponders, 'then I won't be in his life anymore.'

At the front entrance, Xavier is dressed up in a white t-shirt paired with a black, ripped skinny jean for pants and a black and white striped outerwear shirt with matching sandals. "Mr. Han," Xavier whispers, "I want you to keep a close eye on my father; I don't want him to contact Mrs. Stone or Ashleigh at all."

"But what if he finds out that I'm spying on him for you?" Mr. Edwin whispers back, "I've been working with your family for years and I don't—."

"Don't worry, you can't be fired for helping his son."

"I'm coming along too!" Malcolm exclaims, running with his duffle bag.

"Why are you coming with us?" Xavier asks, "We don't need a third-wheel."

"But it's my job, Xavier."

At that moment, Mrs. Alice and Aurora comes out from the hallway to meet up with the three men. "What are you boys talking about?" Mrs. Alice asks, interrupting them. "Nothing!!" they all exclaimed. "Right~" she replies, as she and Aurora giggles.

"You look beautiful, Aurora." Malcolm replies, "Pink really suits you."

"Thank you, Malcolm." Aurora answers, with a smile.

Xavier takes off his outerwear shirt, walks over to Aurora and puts it on her shoulder, covering her slightly-exposed body.

"Why did you—" Aurora asks, looking up at Xavier.

 "You shouldn't expose yourself too much." he replies, not looking at her, "I don't want others to look at you." Aurora scoffs at his response. 'One comment from Malcolm and he's already a jealous mess.' she thought.

Two hours of traveling on the road, Aurora has fallen asleep on Xavier's shoulder as Xavier is keeping Malcolm awake until they reach the vacation home. "It's been forever since we came here." Malcolm replies, driving up to the front entrance.

"It still looks the same as ever." Xavier adds, "Only a few changes here and there." Once Malcolm had parked in front of the entrance, he began to take out the luggages; however, is stopped by Xavier's grandmother.

"Malcolm!" she exclaims, as two servants come rushing out to take the luggage inside, "My servants take it to the rooms." Malcolm nods and heads over to open the back passenger door for Xavier and Aurora. Xavier carefully adjusts Aurora upright on the car seat and comes out to greet his grandmother. "Grandmother!" he replies. "Xavier-ah!" she replies, walking down to give him a hug, "I thought you wouldn't make it before dark."

"Don't worry too much, grandmother."

"Where's my future granddaughter-in-law? Did she not come?"

"She fell asleep on the way here." Xavier explains.

"Well," his grandmother acknowledges, "it must've been a long

ride for her."

"That's all the luggage, madam." one of the servants reported. Xavier's grandmother nods and gestures them to leave.

"Xavier-ah," she starts, "bring Aurora into the bedroom to sleep; after that, I want to meet up with you and Malcolm in the living room."

While Aurora is sleeping in the prepared bedroom, Xavier's grandmother gathered Xavier and Malcolm into the living room. "What did you want to ask us, grandmother?" Xavier asks, sitting down in one of the chairs. "Remember that bet with Mrs. Stone?" she asks. The two men nods their head. "Well," she continues, "I'm not letting her daughter get the chance."

"What do you mean, grandmother?" Xavier asks,

"I thought you were gonna be a good sport with Mrs. Stone?"

"Mrs. Stone also has tricks up her sleeves, Xavier."

"So that's why you decided to have Xavier and Aurora come to the vacation home, right?" Malcolm questions.

Xavier's grandmother nods to Malcolm's words. "Just exactly like that, Malcolm." she answers. 

"Your Grace," replies one of grandmother's servant, "your granddaughter-in-law is awake; do you want me to bring her to meet you?"

"I will go up to meet her myself." Xavier's grandmother replies, getting up from her seat, "Prepare a glass of water before meeting me up there, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." she replies, letting Xavier's grandmother go first. After losing sight of her, Xavier turns to Malcolm. "How did you get all of that except for me?"

"All I did was guess, Xavier." Malcolm confesses, "I had nothing to do with grandmother."

"Will you stop calling her 'Grandmother' when she's not even your 'Grandmother'?"

"She seems okay with me calling her that."

Back in the bedroom, Aurora carefully climbs out of bed and heads over to the bedroom window to look at the beautiful view. 'Oh my goodness!' she thought, 'What a view!' Just then, there was a knock at the door. Aurora turns to the sound and replies, "Come in." The door opens and it's Xavier's grandmother and a servant holding a serving tray with a glass of water on top. "Grandmother—" Aurora asks, walking up to her.

"Come sit down, my dear." she replies, motioning to the bed. Aurora walks back to the bed and sits down immediately as the servant hands her the glass of water.

"Thank you." Aurora replies, thanking her.

"Now, Aurora," Xavier's grandmother replies, "the reason why I've invited you and Xavier to the vacation house is because I want to protect you from Mrs. Stone and her daughter."

"Why is that?" Aurora asks, after taking a sip of water, "All Xavier told me was he had to spend time with Ashleigh."

"Elizabeth’s's mother and I aren't on very good terms, you see."

"But she can't be that horrible, right?"

"Not until her plan is ruined, Aurora." Xavier's grandmother answers, "She'll do anything to hurt someone in her path."

Aurora immediately places her hand over her stomach, worried for her child's life. "I won't let that woman touch you, my child." she reassures, placing her hand on Aurora's lap,

"I promise that nothing will happen to my great-grandchild."

• • [ end of chapter five] • •