Love at War | Aonung 🤍

🤍 Chapter 22

As she poked her head out of the entrance, Lia glanced around.

After ensuring that her mother-in-law was nowhere in sight, she decided to get some fresh air and walk around a bit.

It felt good to take a breather.

While strolling along the bouncy netted walkway, she passed by other Marui pods and villagers. Spotting her family's Marui up ahead, she decided to drop by and check on her parents.

However, she stopped in her tracks when she heard Tonowari's voice. Her attention was drawn to their conversation as she lingered outside.

"Sky People, they're looking for you, Jake Sully." He paused briefly. "South from here. They have a human boy with them, who speaks Navi."

Her ears perked up at the mention of Spider. In shock, she covered her mouth as she pondered the fact that he was still alive after being taken hostage for a year.

"Did they kill anybody?" Her father asked quietly.

"Not yet. They threaten, but the villagers will not tell them where you are. By my order," Tonowari sighed as he lowered his head. "Instead, they burned down the villagers' homes. There is nothing left but the aftermath of a fire."

Lia's blood ran cold. Their enemy was getting closer and closer. Her heart shattered at the news of the other villages that suffered because of her and her family.

A guilt-ridden feeling churned in her stomach and she almost felt sick. Tears filled her eyes as she stifled her sob.

While turning around to return to her Marui, she bumped into a sturdy chest. A pair of arms grasped her shoulders as she looked up to meet Aonung's gentle eyes.

"What's wrong, baby? Are you hurt?" His eyes widened as he searched her face in concern.

Unable to respond, she shook her head as tears blurred her vision. In a swift motion, he quickly picked her up, princess-style, and carried her back to their Marui while she buried her face in his neck.

In complete disbelief for the other villages, she felt pain for them. The Sky People's fires had destroyed her home once, and she knew what it felt like to lose it.

Keeping her in his arms, Aonung settled in the swing chair inside their Marui as gently as possible. As he waited for her, his fingers gently brushed across her skin in a soothing manner.

"I'm sorry..." She apologized weakly.

"What for? You didn't do anything wrong, silly," he murmured, planting a sweet kiss on the top of her head.

She moved back to look at him, her eyes full of sorrow. "Because of my family and I, the other villagers had to suffer under the enemy's hands. This was my biggest fear, my worst nightmare that I'd pondered over for so long."

Pausing briefly, she lowered her gaze from him as she whispered,  "I'm sorry I dragged you into this too..."

"Hey," he lifted her chin to look at him. "We'll get through this together, no matter what."

Fear slowly crept into her heart as she placed a hand on her baby bump.

"A year ago, we should have never come here, Aonung. And I... I should have never fell in love with you. You should have never loved me. I can't... I can't find peace in knowing that I'll be bringing life into a world like this."

A million thoughts ran through her mind as she rambled on. Her eyes were no longer on him as she gazed down at her baby bump.

"I can't believe this is happening again..." She whispered, tearing up.