Part 4, Chapter 32

Different, but the same

Ch 32

Jianyu felt the breath go out of him. Children? He had children? Multiple?

“They’re twins,” Xun said, rushing on. “Chenhe and Chenyuan. I had them in the Mortal Realm not long after I left the Palace. Renping has been helping me raise them.”

“Chenhe and Chenyuan? My children? Why didn’t you bring them to the Palace?”

Xun looked away. “I was afraid. Your mother… I wasn’t sure what she would do if she knew you had children by me. I was afraid she would take them from me.”

He heart felt like someone had grabbed it and squeezed. Xun must have been terrified. No wonder she had stayed hidden. 

But the Xun in front of him now seemed different than the one he had said goodbye to before he went to fight. She seemed more confidant more settled. Of course she was different, he thought, she was a mother now. He touched her cheek and she leaned into it with a soft sigh. He smiled, but changed or not she was still his wife. He wondered if the children looked more like her or him.

“I want to meet them,” he said softly. “Soon.”

Her eyes fluttered open. “How quickly can you pack?”