How To Tame An Empress (BOOK I)

Chapter 25 - The Sweetest Distraction

--Valeria POV--

As the day dipped into night, I retired to our chambers with a playful Evan in my arms. Stacius was still in his study, and I did not complain, trying to get my mind off the thought of my ailing mother by focusing on my child instead.

Whether he liked it or not, I would go to visit her tomorrow. I just needed to be careful to ensure that he does not find out until I am long gone.

The soft gurgle of laughter bounced off the silk-draped walls, warm and careless, and I found my mind returning to reality, to my son who was moving around on the bed as I sat near him protectively. He clapped his hands and slapped the mattress, the smile contagious as I found myself laughing with him over nothing.

I gazed at him with all the love in the world as he fell back on the bed, but his laughter refused to die down. His small fists flailed around in the air, and I fluttered my fingers above his belly, smiling at the sweet sound of his laughter which was so pure and golden, like sunlight if it had a sound. It eased the ache inside my chest, if only for a while.

"Keep laughing like that, happy and innocent, for the rest of your life. Do not become like your father." I whispered, pausing a moment after I said that as my words processed in my mind.

How time has changed; Just a few months ago, I would have laughed at the thought of me saying such a thing to my child, yet here we are, reality hitting me with the cold truth.

Just the memory from earlier today at the breakfast table made my shoulders stiffen. So effortlessly, he had shifted the subject, and I only noticed once the conversation has ended. How was he able to turn the topic of my mother's illness into one of me running away from him? And just how many times has it been? Why can I never learn?

Why, with him, does my guard always lower without my permission? But why should I even have a guard up in the first place; he is my husband, he is supposed to be my safe haven. But as of late, his fears of me running away, which was a thought that I believed would never come true, has slowly begun to lodge itself in my mind.

I shifted my gaze to my child who was softly cooing, and my hand instinctively went to stroke his hair back. It used to be a light blonde, like sunlight, but it was beginning to darken, turning into a shade similar to that of his fathers. But his eyes remained the same as mine; Strong, unyielding, and filled with much life. That, I truly believed, would never change.

Picking him up in my arms, I sat him down on my lap as he immediately went to play with the ends of my hair, and my head fell, my lips catching the top of his head as I held him in my arms, tightly and lovingly.

"Just stay as you are, my beautiful boy, and please, do not lose yourself in this cage which we call a home." Although he did not understand my words, his small hands which went to touch my cheeks did the perfect job in comforting me, and before I knew it, I began laughing.

"How could I have gotten so lucky to have you for a son." He laughed, and I held his small face in my hands, raining kisses down on his cheeks which only caused his laughter to grow.

But just as I was beginning to feel my heart lighten, the familiar creak of the door to the chambers was heard opening, signalling that Stacius had finished with work for the day.

I didn't dare to look up, knowing that if I did, and if I let him speak fake words of comfort to me, then one way or another, somehow, I would end up giving into him.

"You are still awake." he stated, walking over the threshold of the room, and slowly making his way over to us. Evan remained seated on my lap, his hands playing with my clothes, and I made sure that my eyes remained focused on him, going nowhere near my husband.