Rogue and Riveting

Chapter 7 Heir

An heir.

Adelia wasn't sure why it scared her, but hearing from her husband that he already wanted a child made her scared for some reason. And that must have shown on her face because Enoch immediately looked concerned and scooted closer towards her so that he could embrace her. "What's the matter, my wife? Do you still not want to have a child?"

Adelia wasn't sure how to answer that, so all she did was take a deep breath and sigh. It made her reminisce about her past, especially her childhood days back at the castle where all she had were her pets and her former caretaker, and her son who became her best friend. If it weren't for them her whole life would have sucked big time. 

"Adelia, you can tell me everything, okay? Anything. Just tell me what's on your mind and I will listen. If having a child displeases you---"

"It doesn't," she replied quickly because she did not want Enoch to get the wrong idea. "I have no problem with kids. But..."

"But?"

"But I don't think I want to have a child and let him or her live like a royal." Enoch's eyebrows furrowed at what she said, so she wanted to explain more. Enoch nodded at her to encourage her to share more, and just like that, it was as if her mind suddenly loosened up, and she began sharing her thoughts with her husband. "I'm an only child, you know. And my mother died when I was little. So most of my childhood days were spent alone in that castle of ours back in Sanjolia. It was never fun, Enoch. I  don't know about you and your sister's childhood, but mine wasn't a very happy one. I grew up thinking that children of royal blood had the worst luck in this world. And if my child is going to live the same life that I had, I would prefer to just don't have a child at all. That's why it's making me a little bit worried."

"I see..." Enoch now sat down beside her on their bed, and he gazed at her as if this was the first time that he saw her. "That's understandable, my dear wife. And I'm sorry if that is what you went through as a child. As a royal myself, I can relate to what you just shared. Although maybe I was luckier because I had my sister to accompany me. But we were both lonely, mostly only having each other as company. Our parents were also always working, so we were kind of on our own too."

"That's what I mean, Enoch. If we decide to have a child, then we should make sure that our child will not live the way we did because that would destroy them."

"I agree. And I'm glad that we have this talk, as you know how our marriage agreement works. We need to have a child as an heir. Your father even said that we should have at least two children, one for each country to rule."

"That's okay, but also not okay," Adelia admitted. "You get what I'm saying? It feels like we only want to have kids because we need them to replace us, to fill in the void that we will be leaving from once we get old. And I don't like that, Enoch. I don't want my child to live like that, having this pressure on his or her back all the time because they are expected to ascend to the throne the way we did. It's not right. Because what if they don't like to become the King or the Queen? They will live their whole life in regret. And I don't want that. I don't want one of my children to wish that they were not born instead."

"I know, I know," said Enoch who now hugged her again. She was now heaving from all the emotions that she let out for saying all those things to him, and she was afraid that she said too much. Because what if Enoch does not think the way she does? What if he actually wants to have children for the same purpose that the world expects them to have? Adelia doesn't know what to do if that is the case because, to be honest, she doesn't want someone who cares lesser than her for her children to be their father. She wants a caring father for her kids. Someone who actually understands what a child feels. "I'm sorry if I put you up to this kind of topic, Adelia. But we have to talk about this too, right? We have to plan."

Adelia nodded. "But I will stand by what I said, Enoch. I don't want to have kids if we will not come up with an agreement on how to raise them. If you like, I volunteer to be the one in charge of that plan. I think I can do something about it---"

But Enoch stopped her by putting his index finger on her lips. "You don't have to volunteer, my dear wife. You must have forgotten what I just told you. We are partners here. We are both responsible for the welfare of our children, so whatever you plan on doing, I will be there for you too."

Adelia had no time to feel giddy about his choice of words, or how he assured her that he listens to her because the topic triggered her so much that it made her so emotional. "So what do we do? What is our plan?"

Enoch was dead serious now. "We have to have a child, my dear wife. Unless you strongly oppose it, we will have a child. You said you don't have a problem with it, only in how we are going to raise them, right?"

Adelia nodded. "All I want is to raise them the way I want them to live their life. Enoch, I want it to be in a way that if both of us have to choose between our child or our throne, we will choose our child."

"Of course. I am with you with that a hundred percent."

That made Adelia feel so happy because now she knew that her husband is not the traditional royalty that will choose his crown from anything else. Because frankly, she hated the principles of the royal families around the world in which the country and the throne come first before anything else. For Adelia, that is one big crap of bull. If it's between her child's mental health and her country's economy, she would choose her child's mental health. Why? Because an economy could be fixed by any other people, but only a few people can help her child deal with their problem. 

"Then I guess it's settled," said Enoch who was waiting for her to say more. "We will have children, but we will always choose them no matter what. If they don't want to be kings and queens, then so be it. I also want to stop this brutal tradition of passing responsibilities to our children when clearly they don't want it. If that ends our bloodline, that's okay too. I will not give a damn, Adelia, because to be honest with you, I would prefer for our bloodline to die out."

"Huh? But why?"

Enoch's eyes were almost kind of menacing, but then they shifted into concerned eyes when Adelia reacted. "Nothing... Just like you, I also had a lot of crap thrown in my way, so I feel what you feel."

"That's reassuring for me, Enoch. I was scared that this might turn into an argument."

"Why would I argue with you, Adelia? Everything you pointed out was right. It's high time we change the rules. And as the new leaders of our countries, we now have the power to do that."

"I like that," said Adelia because she could no longer hide her emotions towards everything that he has said to her right now. "What you just said, I like that. It's true. We are the King and the Queen of Romeodel and Sanjolia now, so we can actually do whatever we want."

"Yes, my dear wife. So now that we have come into agreement about the future of our child, can we go now to actually making our child?" said Enoch who also winked naughtily at her that made her whole face turn red. Who wouldn't? He said that so smoothly that it caught her off guard. 

"Of course..." was all she could reply, and they kissed again. The kiss was passionate and hot, and because Adelia now know more about her husband, she did not hold back unlike before. She gave her all in that lovemaking, and she knew too well that she had already fallen in love, something that she was anxious about.

***

Red Ivy turned out to be a famous vacation island on the west coast of mainland Romeodel. The weather is fine here and the blue waters were dazzling when hit by sunlight. It's a literal tropical paradise that shocked Adelia because there is no place like this in Sanjolia. "Oh wow, the sand is pure white and the water is crystal blue. I don't know something like this exists in Romeodel."

"Well, it makes sense that you don't know about this place," her husband told her as they swim on the sea. This particular resort where they were right now was specially reserved for them, so the long, beautiful beachfront was actually empty. "Our beaches and other tourist spots are all hidden gems since we don't let any foreigners come into the country. But that is what makes this place special."

They were now on the deeper part of the water, so Adelia was a little nervous. But Enoch held her hand all the time, so it didn't make her panic enough. Plus, Enoch kept on making compliments about how she looked right now, as she was only wearing a two-piece swimsuit. He was always looking at her like he couldn't believe that he was with her right now and to be honest it was making Adelia's heart pound harder and faster than ever. But it also help her shed off the last bit of worry and anxiety on her living in a foreign country without her father, so it was fine by her.

 Their unplanned honeymoon getaway to Red Ivy seemed to be the best decision that they did so far, and it was all thanks to Enoch. As they swam happily on the warm water and play with the waves, Adelia could not help but gaze and admire Enoch. He was still the hottest, most perfect man that she had ever laid her eyes upon, but now that she knew more about him, she also came to realize how there is more to his personality. The saying that there's more to what the eyes can see is true in Enoch's case because he is not only physically attractive, but he is a man that is what everybody calls a husband-material.

And their lovemaking is phenomenal. When she was still a virgin, she always wondered why almost everyone talks about s*x so much, and now she understands why. It not only gives you unexplainable pleasure but also some kind of connection to the person you were doing it with. It made her want her husband in ways she did not imagine she will. Although Adelia knew that not everyone will feel the same, what she and Enoch shared in bed is literally good for their s****l desire. She doesn't even know about a woman's s****l desire before, but Enoch taught her to need him, and now she was a fan. 

It was a good thing that the resort was exclusive for them and that the security that was with them does not accompany them all the time because Enoch wanted to have s*x with her almost everywhere. His animalistic side came out in the open and he wasn't shy about it, so they did it on the sand, in the water, and under a cliff where she had to hold on some rocks while her husband was behind her. Sometimes she wanted to ask him to stop. not because she did not like it, but because she felt like she would lose it if someone catches them doing it in public. 

But it wasn't the only thing that they did on their three-day vacation. They also visited a lot of spots and took pictures, tried every kind of water ride and activity that the place has to offer. And they eat a lot. The most surprising discovery that Adelia had about her husband is that he likes to eat, especially food that is usually common. He really loved pork barbeque, and Adelia could not believe that before they came here to red Ivy, Enoch had not yet eaten it before.

"They don't always serve it back at the palace," he said defending himself when she gave him the amused look. "And I'm always at work."

"If it's your favorite, then maybe you can request it from the kitchen from time to time. And I will cook it for you too if you want. I can proudly say that I can cook well." 

"Really? You will do that for me?"

"Of course. I can even make you some traditional dishes from my country. You should try them too."

"You promised, Adelia! I will be waiting for your dishes then!" he said happily like a child, and that made Adelia laugh. It turns out that sometimes, Enoch could act childish too. But it only makes him cuter. They eat more and then swam again before deciding to spend their last night on the island just chilling on the sand while drinking beer. They were sitting in front of a bonfire, and Adelia was stargazing while her head was on Enoch's lap. That's how she fell asleep. 

But when she woke up, she was surprised when she found out that she was alone on the sand. Enoch was nowhere to be found! She stood up and searched for him, but she couldn't find him, not even in the cottage where they were staying. She was already crying because she was scared. Maybe something bad happened to him? So Adelia went to their security team and asked for their help. But when she told them what happened, they told her to relax because according to them, Enoch was not missing. He just went back to the palace on his own.

"What?" Adelia was not sure of what to feel when he heard that because why did he do that to her?