HOW TO TELL HIM?

Something felt off.

Lejla slowly opened her eyes, feeling a heaviness in her body. Everything seemed blurry, but as soon as she became aware, the first thing she noticed was… Raizen.

Of course, he was there.

He was sitting beside the bed, leaning on his arm, watching her as if he had been guarding her all night.

"Raizen…" she murmured, shifting slightly.

He straightened up immediately.

"Slow down. Don't move too quickly."

"What's wrong with me?"

He didn't answer.

Lejla narrowed her eyes.

"Raizen…"

Still, silence.

"Is it something serious?"

He looked away, as if debating whether to tell her at all.

"Hello?! Speak up!"

Raizen kept quiet.

She raised her hand and lightly smacked his arm.

"Hey! Don't play your mysterious demon act right now, just tell me what's wrong!"

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and sighed.

"Well, you see… your stomach is no longer just yours."

Lejla blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"You have a tenant. A very tiny one. Quite small. They'll be staying for a while."

"Raizen, if you don't start making sense right now—"

Raizen turned to her, crossed his arms, and said casually:

"You're pregnant."

Lejla didn't even blink. She remained in the same position, staring at him as if he had just told her the world had ended.

Raizen expected her to say something.

To scream, to curse, maybe even try to throw a pillow at him.

But no.

Lejla just slowly sank back into the bed, staring at the ceiling.

And stayed silent.

Raizen watched her, smirked, and rested his chin on his hand.

"Well, at least you didn't throw anything at me. That's progress."

Lejla kept staring at the ceiling, her mind racing.

Pregnant.

Pregnant.

No, wait… how pregnant?!

She quickly sat up and grabbed her head.

"No, no, no, no… This isn't possible. This… How?!"

Raizen leaned back in his chair, clearly amused by her reaction.

"Well, you probably missed that biology lesson, but I can explain if you want."

Lejla shot him a deadly glare.

"Do NOT mess with me, Raizen! I only slept with him once! Once! And that was my first time ever! First, do you understand?! What are the chances that—"

Raizen immediately raised his hand.

"Stop. Stop right there. Some things I do not need to know. That sentence contained way more information than I wanted to hear."

Lejla ignored him.

"I can't believe this! Naru doesn't even know where I am! He thinks I left forever! How… how do I tell him now?!"

Raizen shrugged.

"That's a really interesting question. Let's examine the situation:

He doesn't know where you are. He thinks you abandoned him forever. He's probably trying not to destroy the palace in a fit of rage. And you're carrying his child."

"Stop listing things!"

"I'm just trying to see the bigger picture."

Lejla grabbed her head again.

"This… this is not real. How do I tell him? How do I explain? How do I stay here when… when I'm carrying his child? How do I stay with you without him thinking that I— that I—"

Raizen looked at her with a smirk.

"That you're cheating on him with me?"

Lejla groaned and buried her face in the pillow.

"I HATE this life."

Raizen simply nodded.

"Understandable."

Lejla still looked like her world was falling apart. On the other hand, Raizen was completely calm. He even seemed to enjoy her chaos.

"Well, at least we know one thing—Naru will believe the child is his."

Lejla glared at him.

"That's the problem? Whether he'll believe me? Of course he will, I didn't cheat on him!"

Raizen smiled.

"Yes, but you know… Naru believes in destiny. And if someone tells him that you're here with me now, his first thought will be that I seduced you… by force. Or worse, that the child is mine."

Lejla rolled her eyes.

"We just need to tell him the truth. But how?"

Raizen theatrically raised his hand.

"Well, someone has to break the news to him."

Lejla froze.

"Someone?"

Raizen slowly nodded.

"Yes, someone. For example… me."

Silence filled the room. Lejla blinked a few times before bursting out:

"You? YOU?!"

Raizen leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.

"Of course. Who else?"

Lejla immediately started shaking her head.

"No way! What kind of plan is that?! You're sending yourself to tell the man you hate that he's going to be a father?!"

Raizen raised his hand and looked at his palm, as if trying to understand how low he had fallen.

"Imagine what I've come to… I keep the woman I love beside me against her will, she's pregnant with my enemy's child, and now I, Raizen, have to go and deliver the happy news."

Lejla rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to tell him."

Raizen shook his head.

"Oh, no, no, no. There's no way I'd let you go alone now. You're in no condition to even stand for long. And honestly, I don't want to miss this spectacle."

Lejla sighed and buried her face in her hands.

"This is madness."

Raizen smiled, but the cold cruelty from before was gone from his eyes.

"Madness or not… It looks like you've brought me back to life, Lejla."

She peeked at him from under her hands, not wanting to get into that discussion.

"Great. Now go tell Naru he's going to be a father before I give birth right here."