Celia knew she was no longer a boy, and in handling daily matters.
As a girl, and especially as a mother, perhaps it wouldn't do to not become more attentive and virtuous in daily life.
But the problem was, her husband always made her end up crying.
How could someone like me ever become a virtuous wife?
Once, during a visit from her mother, she took the initiative to seek her advice on this matter.
It's just that her mother was usually quite scatterbrained herself, her personality rather childlike and not much different from Celia's.
From the outside, she hardly seemed the picture of domestic virtue either.
Fortunately, the bump wasn't serious.
After holding Berryball and comforting him for quite a while, he finally stopped crying and began to squirm playfully in his mother's embrace.
"Ah... ooh, waaah."
The baby just babbled on, making incomprehensible little noises.
"Why..."
Celia heard the babbling, and it felt as if something had struck her heart.
Her face lit up with disbelief and delight.
"Wait, did I just...? Berryball, did you say 'Mama'? I didn't quite catch it, my love. Could you... could you say it again for me?"
"Waaah!"
"Ah, ah, ah, why are you crying again, baby?"
"Are you hungry? Or..."
Celia quickly began to rock him gently in her arms once more, holding him for a good while.
With a month of parenting experience, she had quickly figured out Berryball's needs.
This time, the howling was indeed because he was hungry and needed to be fed.
"Wearing this cute little dress really makes it hard to nurse. Wah... Your daddy really won't give Mommy a moment's peace."
She didn't know why, but even though she used to be a boy, now, the thought of being the mother of two children, with Liam being their father, made her feel excited inside.
So, this was the power of female hormones.
Second-floor living room. Celia sank into the soft sofa.
Having just finished feeding the two babies inside, changed their little clothes, the little ones were now fast asleep in their stroller.
A month later, the "TV" had many more "programs," a total of twenty.
The characters were getting increasingly diverse.
The screen even showed glimpses of her former good brother—Karl.
Of course, the plots were still cringe-worthy enough to make you want to dig a hole and hide.
But being able to see these relatives from the elf clan made Celia feel less lonely when she was home alone with the children.
Deep within the Emerald Forest, in truth, one could scarcely sense the changing of seasons throughout the year.
It was perpetually enveloped in a profound, pervasive stillness.
Even in summer, the sun still seethed restlessly above the Emerald Forest, yet its touch remained a gentle caress, warm without sting.
The living room effectively kept the chill at bay, its cozy warmth inducing a soporific comfort.
Right now,Staring blankly at the TV, Celia was so drowsy that her eyelids felt heavy, slowly slipping shut.
In her daze, the sudden, familiar sound of footsteps from below instantly jolted her awake.
She immediately snapped upright on the sofa, her gaze fixed intently and somewhat rigidly on the staircase.
Soon,the husband who had been with Celia for five months, came up.
Liam was dressed in a fitted white shirt. The outlines of his well-defined muscles were vaguely discernible beneath the fabric, and his jet-black hair fell freely about his shoulders.
His face was covered in sweat, which shimmered in the light.
He lifted a hand and tossed his coat over his shoulder, revealing a large hand where veins stood out starkly against the skin, corded with sinew and radiating raw power.
He stood there, a looming figure that formed a stark contrast with the mother curled up obediently on the sofa, making the difference in their sizes all the more apparent.
He raised those deep, crimson eyes, looked at his obedient wife, and said teasingly, "Husband's home. Aren't you going to welcome me?"
Celia snapped out of it, nervously twisting her fingers below.
"Welcome..."
Welcoming her husband...
Wasn't that a bit contradictory?
He was already back; how else was she supposed to welcome him?
Even though she was vaguely aware...having the only man in her heart return this early made Celia very happy.
She walked to the man's side, her petite frame standing obediently before him.
She lifted both small hands and gently grasped the large one hanging at his side.
Her clear eyes, shimmering with moisture, looked up at him as her flushed little face tried to form the words: "Welcome home, Husband."
Then, she raised both her small hands and took his hanging one in hers, her grip a gentle, almost reverent hold.
A smirk played on Liam's lips.
As his words faded, he countered her grip, yanked her wrist upward, and leaned down to capture her lips.
Celia's eyes widened in surprise, then soon melted into the kiss, her eyelids drifting shut as her lashes grew damp.
The man's kisses...
She had gotten so used to them that she'd started to like them.
After exchanging saliva for what felt like an eternity, the girl was like a fawn pierced through the heart—on the verge of expiring.
She went soft against the man's hard chest, letting out sweet little hums from time to time.
"You haven't changed a bit, Celia."
"Heh."
He chuckled, scooping up the limp weight against his chest and hoisting her onto his shoulder.
His voice was a lazy drawl, "But honestly, I hope you'll always stay just like this. The more you play the role of a docile little bunny, the more you captivate your husband, the more I'll want to spoil you utterly, to the very depths of my heart."
Celia's small hands clutched desperately at the fabric of his shirt, crumpling it as she protested weakly, "But I'm a mother now... this isn't right..."
She wanted to cry, but found she had no tears left...
No.
There were tears.
The mauling kiss he'd just given her had left her eyes swimming with tears.
"Oof!"
A soft, muffled whimper escaped her.
The entire elf was violently tossed onto the sofa.
Then, he simply pressed forward, pinning her beneath him with that familiar, oppressive weight.
So heavy!
The man's gentle breath lightly fanned her face, but her two small hands were pinned to her sides.
His knuckles pressed down somewhat painfully; she couldn't move at all.
This game of the predator watching the rabbit struggle, then violently devouring it bite by bite,
had always been Liam's favorite.
Only in the very beginning, when she first encountered this man, had Celia made any attempt to struggle and resist.
But her efforts not only proved futile, they backfired spectacularly—only piquing his interest further, making his actions grow even more domineering as he tightened his grip and asserted his control.
Since struggling only seemed to make him more aggressive, she would just wear herself out for nothing.
Later, pinned down by someone with such formidable strength, she simply stopped bothering to move at all.
She obediently relaxed, waiting for his next move.
At this moment, Celia's eyes were rimmed with red, her vision blurred by tears.
She was burning with shame inside.
Her expression right now must be utterly humiliating.
But with her hands pinned, her expression was fully exposed to the air.
The only thing she could manage was to put on a well-harassed look.
She jerked her head to the side stubbornly!
No... better not turn it...
Even if she did,he'd just turn it back.
"Being so well-behaved lately??"
"Why do you go as limp as a deflated kitten the moment I touch you?"
"I... I don't know..."
"Do you truly not know?"
Having said that with his gaze lowered, the man gently parted the fragrant strands of the girl's hair with his fingertips and began to comb through them with patient care.
He wasn't directly devouring her like he usually did upon returning.
What was he planning now?
Celia dared not even breathe, her shimmering, pitiful tear-filled eyes fixed unwaveringly on his lowered face.
In the quiet, after stroking her hair for a moment, he finally spoke.
"Celia, I'll allow you to resist. Fight back as much as you like—the harder, the better."
Pervert!
Celia screamed internally.
But saying that is easy.
When you've already cornered someone completely, leaving them no way out, how exactly are they supposed to resist?
By biting him?
Besides... the atmosphere had finally warmed up, and she herself was getting into the mood...
To suddenly pause and tell her to resist...
Instead of all this... wouldn't it be better if he just got on with it and was done with her already?
Lost in thought,
From within the warm crook of the man's arm, Celia stole a glance toward the stroller by the glass table.
The two babies were tucked snugly under their little blankets, fast asleep.
Given her husband's temperament, it was truly hard to say whether he would still engage in these affectionate little games once the two little ones grew up and were no longer so naive and clueless.
When you got down to it,she was a mother now.
To always be thought of as your husband's soft, fragrant little rabbit in the future... that feels a bit odd.