The Yakuza's flower

Quiet complications

Maribel's POV

The house was full of laughter and drifting voices. From the kitchen, I could hear Ume humming while making tea, and Rey was somewhere outside, fixing something that probably didn't need fixing. There was peace here—one we'd all worked hard for. And I was grateful. Truly.

But today, even gratitude couldn't stop the sharp ache that bloomed low in my back. Or the way my belly had tightened hard and strange when I bent to tie my shoes earlier. I had smiled through it, made a joke about how this baby was going to come out a sumo wrestler. Ume laughed. Rey chuckled.

No one noticed the tremble in my fingers.

I padded to the bathroom, closing the door behind me with a soft click. The mirror didn't lie. My skin was pale beneath the layers of foundation, my eyes a little too sunken, dark circles barely concealed.

I leaned forward, palms braced on the sink, and exhaled slowly.

"You're okay," I whispered to myself. "You're strong. You've got this."

But the truth was, I wasn't sure.

The doctor said it might just be stress. Said I should rest more, stop lifting things. Said the bleeding probably didn't mean anything.

But there was that word: probably.

I pressed a hand gently against my belly, the round swell warm beneath my palm. And then I kneeled by the sink, curling forward, one arm wrapped around myself, the other still cradling the life inside me.

"Hey, little man," I murmured, my voice barely above a breath. "It's just you and me right now, okay?"

My fingers rubbed slow circles against my bump. "I need you to be strong, baby boy. Just a little longer. Just hold on a little longer, okay?" My throat tightened, the tears threatening behind my lashes.

"Be kind to Mama, yeah?" I whispered, my voice breaking as a tear slipped free. "I'm trying to be strong for you, for your daddy, for everyone. But it's getting really hard. So if you could just... hold on for me... I promise I'll keep holding on for you."

I stayed like that for a while, rocking gently, whispering little nothings to the baby who hadn't even taken his first breath yet but already meant the whole world to me.

Then I wiped my eyes, stood, and layered on my blush. A little extra shimmer on my eyelids. A practiced smile.

A beautiful lie.

Because if I could just keep smiling, just keep loving them like I always did, maybe everything would fall into place.

Even if I was quietly falling apart.

—————

The next day Rey had woken me up when he got a call to do something for the serpents at 4am .

"Hey, come home okay." I said to him as usual

He smiled and kissed me passionately before giving my tummy a kiss too.

"I'll be back beautiful." He said before leaving.

I slept in most of the day because I was feeling weak. When i finally got up I went downstairs.

Ume was curled on the couch, flipping through a magazine, her legs tucked under her and a cozy blanket thrown over her lap. The TV played quietly in the background—some show about weddings she wasn't really watching.

"There you are," she said, glancing up with a smile. "I was about to come poke you. Everything okay?"

"Yeah," I said, breezing past her, hoping my smile was bright enough.