Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Small Surprise

"Mama. When is papa coming home?" Junior asked over breakfast, it had been a month since Cristiano had left them and he wanted his father to come home; he had no idea what was taking him so long. 

Sighing as she set down her drink, Camelia looked across the table at Junior knowing that he was missing his father so much; she wished that she had something to tell him but she didn't. 

Cristiano wasn't able to write home to them and it made the distance between them even worse; Camelia feared that every time a letter arrived that it would be news that something had happened to him. 

Opening her mouth, Camelia wracked her mind for something that she could say that would offer him so sort of comfort; she didn't even know what was happening there. 

Junior watched his mother eager for an answer, he wanted Cristiano to come home and he didn't understand why he was away for so long. 

"I don't know," Camelia finally conceded, she didn't want to give Junior any false hope when they had no idea when Cristiano would be returning to them; he could be gone for years if the rebellion dragged out. 

His bottom lip wobbled at the idea that even his mother didn't know when his father would be coming home; Junior had thought that Camelia would have all the answers. 

"But I do know that he wishes that he could be here with us," Camelia offered sure that this would offer him some comfort, she didn't want to lie to Junior when there was a chance that Cristiano could come back in a box. 

It scared her that she could lose her husband so soon after things had finally started to work out, they had been through so much and she couldn't imagine what she would do if anything happened to him.

***

Launching herself to the toilet, Camelia made it just in time before she emptied her stomach and it made her wonder what the hell was going on; it had been happening a lot recently and she didn't know why. 

Wiping her mouth, Camelia flushed the toilet and sat back wondering what was wrong with her; her stomach churned and she couldn't imagine what was going to happen to her. 

Slowly getting to her feet, Camelia went to brush her teeth knowing that it would be best if she summoned the doctor to check her over; she didn't need to get sick now when her children needed her. 

They were already without a father because Cristiano was away dealing with the rebellion; she wasn't going to leave them without a mother if she was ill. 

Looking at herself in the mirror, Camelia took a deep breath knowing that the last thing she needed right now was to be ill; she hadn't long recovered from an infection that had nearly killed her. 

Camelia feared what would happen if something happened to both her and Cristiano, the last thing that she wanted was for Dolores to get a hold of her children and raise them. 

Seeing how Hugo had turned out, Camelia couldn't imagine what would happen to Junior and Mateo if Dolores was to gain control of them. 

The woman would surely turn them against her and Camelia hated the thought that Junior or Mateo could grow to hate her; she adored her two children especially since the infection had ensured she couldn't have any more. 

Taking a deep breath, Camelia moved to step out of the bathroom not wanting to take a moment before she had Matias come and check her over. She had no idea what was wrong with her and she hoped that it wasn't anything serious.

***

Staring at her doctor, Camelia couldn't help but wonder if he had completely lost his mind especially as he was handing her a pregnancy test; he had been the one to tell her that she had been left barren by an infection. 

"You can't be serious?" Camelia whispered peeking down at the test that she was holding, there was no way that this could be happening and it scared her. 

Matias slowly nodded his head, he didn't know what else it could be and if she wasn't pregnant then he would call in a second opinion to make sure that Camelia got the best care possible. 

Shaking her head, Camelia got to her feet and headed into the bathroom to take the test; the sooner that this was over with the better and she just wanted some answers about what was happening. 

Peeing on the test quickly, Camelia returned to the bedroom and handed it to Matias; she couldn't bring herself to look at the result when the time ran out. 

The two were silent as they waited for some sign from the test, they had no idea what to make of this and they just wanted to make sure that they had some answers to what was happening. 

Matias looked down at the pregnancy test, his stomach twisting at the result knowing that he would be keeping an extra close eye on Camelia from now on; he had no idea how this had happened. 

"You're pregnant," Matias revealed watching Camelia closely, it was a shock and he was sure that Cristiano would be thrilled to hear that by some sort of miracle he was going to have another child with his new wife. 

Camelia stared at him as she moved to rest a hand on her flat stomach, she couldn't believe what she was hearing; she had been so sure that she would never get to carry another child and yet it was happening again.

***

Sitting back in his tent, Cristiano ran a tired hand through his hair hating that it had truly been a month since he had last seen his family; he wanted nothing more than to go home. 

The rebellion had taken nearly full control of the small island by now and Cristiano couldn't help but be annoyed that it was taking so long to bring it back into empire control; much longer than it had taken to take the island. 

Shaking his head, Cristiano climbed to his feet and moved over to the map; his eyes swept over it as he tried to work out what it would take for them to win this battle. 

Nothing that he seemed to think of would work and the longer he was here, the longer that he was away from his family; he couldn't even write to Camelia letting her know what was going on or that he was okay. 

The sound of movement behind him made Cristiano turn around, it was pretty late at night and the camp was quiet for once; he frowned moving to grab his sword not seeing anything. 

"Who's there?" Cristiano called moving towards the entrance of his tent, he wasn't in the mood to deal with someone pranking him. 

Pushing aside the tent flaps, Cristiano came to a stop at the sight of the men that were meant to be guarding him dead on the ground with their throats slit. 

Stepping back in shock, Cristiano's stomach turned and before he could react something slammed into the back of his head; he dropped to the floor as his vision went fuzzy. 

The person who had struck him stepped forward with a smile, he had been waiting for this for a long time and he was going to make General Ronaldo suffer for what he had done; he had ruined everything for him and his family. 

"You're going to regret ever meeting her, Ronaldo," Carson spat smiling at his son-in-law, he quickly moved to restrain Cristiano knowing that he didn't have a lot of time and he had things to do.