During the first two months, not much happened.
Everyone in the group chat knew first, as expected. Anathasia told them herself, joking about it more than once.
As for my family—
"So, we're about to have our second grandchild, is it?" Mom muttered while sitting beside Dad on the other couch.
Anathasia simply smiled at them as I gently placed the tray with the tea set on the table.
"Something like that," I replied before taking a seat next to her.
Mom's gaze wandered around the room before eventually landing on the chess set resting on one of the shelves of the wooden cabinet by the wall.
"Speaking of which…" she began.
"Where's our granddaughter? Carthanalenia, was it?"
She paused for a moment before looking back at Anathasia.
"Anathasia dear, were you the one who named her?"
Anathasia perked up slightly before nodding.
"Yes, that's right…"
Mom's expression softened.
"You have great naming sense, dear."
Anathasia simply smiled back, letting out a soft laugh.
[Great naming sense, huh…]
[Shut up. I like long names, okay?]
Then Mom suddenly spoke up.
"That being said… it seems the two of you are handling everything quite well," she said with a smile, glancing toward Dad, who was still staring straight at me for some reason.
A mix of pride and confusion flickered across his face.
"Aren't they?" Mom continued.
Only to be met with silence.
Seeing that Dad was still staring at me with glistening eyes, Mom lightly smacked the side of his head.
"I was talking to you."
"Ah—yes. Of course. We're proud of Ruzen, right?" he said quickly, looking between Mom and me.
A dry laugh escaped my lips while Mom stared at him flatly.
Then she sighed and shook her head.
"Are you really that surprised to see your own son start a family?"
"It's just… strange," Dad replied, gesturing with his hands.
"He was just this tall a few years ago…"
He held his hand up to his chest.
"This tall…"
"Dad…" I said gently, my expression slowly flattening.
"That was over a decade ago."
"That doesn't mean I'll stop seeing you as my son," he shot back, leaning against the couch with a sigh.
A brief silence followed.
Then a small smile curved on Dad's lips.
"If you ever need anything…" he rolled up his sleeve slightly.
"Your mom and I are always here, alright?"
Hearing his words, my eyes widened slightly as I felt something wet trying to slip out.
Shaking my head, I met his gaze.
"Yeah," I said, raising my arm and clenching my hand into a fist.
"We'll do just that."
Dad let out a small laugh before bumping his fist against mine.
They left after another short conversation a few minutes later.
By the fifth month, Anathasia's stomach had grown noticeably rounder, though she didn't seem bothered by it at all.
Every time I checked on her, she would simply wave it off with a smile.
"It's fine. I can move just fine, right? No worries."
By the eighth month, Arianne and the others came to visit.
Including Mei and Hinami.
Noah and Hinami were the first to arrive. Though Noah barged in rather than entering normally.
"Heya, you bastard! It's been literal years since you hit me up!"
The moment I opened the door, he hooked his arm around the back of my neck and pulled on my cheek.
"The next thing I know, you and Anathasia are already married and about to have your second?! You friggin—"
"Ow—stop it, idiot—"
Except Noah didn't stop. Instead, he twisted his knuckles against the top of my head.
He only calmed down about a minute later.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he stood there while Hinami remained behind him, lowering her head slightly in greeting.
I nodded back.
"So," Noah added quickly. "Where's my niece?"
He stared at me blankly before peeking behind me and casually walking inside.
"Oi—! Don't just—"
"Yeah, yeah. You owe me for blindsiding me with everything."
I stiffened.
He was right. I did leave him behind when everything happened…
I didn't even get to congratulate him during our graduation.
For that, I was guilty.
With a sigh, Hinami and I followed him inside.
Noah suddenly stopped at the threshold leading to the living room before slowly turning toward me.
"…There's a goddess sitting on the couch," he said, pointing toward the living room with a blank, overwhelmed expression.
My eyes widened slightly.
Hinami stepped closer to him while I hurried toward the living room.
He can't know about that—!
But when I looked inside, it was just Anathasia.
She was sitting on the couch, reading a book to Lena with the softest expression on her face.
…Goodness…
I glanced back at Noah before flicking his forehead.
"Idiot… it's just Anathasia."
He winced, rubbing his forehead.
"Is it my fault? You and your wife look like models for no apparent reason. It's unfair."
My expression flattened as I glanced at Hinami standing beside him.
"And… we're just going to pretend your girlfriend isn't an heiress who's pretty as well?" I scoffed. "Yeah, right."
"What's with all the commotion?"
Anathasia suddenly spoke from behind me, peeking past my shoulder.
"Ohh, Noah… and Hinami too. Long time no see."
She smiled softly and waved before stepping beside me.
"How's it going?"
"Everything's fine, just—"
"Oh, so Noah finally got a girlfriend?" Anathasia cut in casually, her hands flying to her mouth in mock surprise.
"Gosh… and of all people, it's Hinami too?"
Her brows knitted together as she tilted her head.
"So you didn't have a chance with Arianne… so you went after her friend?"
I gently placed my hand on Anathasia's shoulder. She glanced back at me as I slowly shook my head.
"Girl… don't. He's already burned enough."
The moment we looked back at Noah, the guy already looked half dead.
Hinami simply smiled before guiding his defeated body toward the couch as we stepped aside.
Everyone else arrived a few minutes later.
Arianne came in carrying gifts, mostly tiny onesies. Robert brought a few practical essentials, while Joseph and Mei were the last to arrive.
And for some reason… they brought wine.
We all gathered around the small table in the middle of the living room.
Lena stayed in her child form, the four-year-old version everyone knew. By now, most people simply assumed she was the daughter Anathasia and I had during our second year in college.
Because apparently, a guy and a girl living together for that long without anything happening was impossible.
Thankfully, that assumption worked in our favor.
"Seriously…" Robert said first, letting out a laugh. "We left you two behind for only a year, and now you're married with another child incoming? Talk about speedrunning life."
I chuckled lightly.
"Well, things happened… so yeah."
"How's life treating you guys though?" I added, glancing between everyone while Lena sat quietly on my lap.
"Well, usual stuff," Robert shrugged. "Got accepted as a police officer."
He paused, shaking his head as he looked down.
"Connections and stuff. Not the most honourable."
A short beat passed.
Then he suddenly clapped his hands once and lifted his head again.
"But that being said, I heard Miss— or rather, Madame Arianne here is officially a Matriarch now."
He glanced at Arianne sitting beside him with a grin.
Her eyes widened slightly before she chuckled.
"As Abe said… things happen," she murmured, twirling a strand of her hair around her fingers.
"Oh," Robert continued, turning his attention elsewhere. "I heard Joseph here started a tech company overseas too."
Everyone else perked up.
Well, except Noah and Hinami.
And Mei, since they were still outside dealing with the barbeque.
"A start up?" Anathasia spoke up, looking toward Joseph as he quietly nodded.
"Yeah… something like that," he replied, opening his phone before turning the screen toward everyone.
"An electronics startup?" I squinted, leaning closer.
He nodded before pulling the phone back.
"It's actually a partnership with someone I know. Someone you could call a childhood friend."
"So… a girl?" Arianne commented.
Joseph's eyes widened slightly as surprise flickered across his face.
"How…?"
Arianne froze for a moment before shaking her head with a dry laugh.
"Just a hunch… but a girl, huh?"
The five of us laughed it off, continuing the conversation until Noah came in with the food a few minutes later.
Setting the tray of barbeque on the table, Noah let out a tired huff.
"Why did I end up dealing with the food…" he grumbled before letting himself sink back into the couch while everyone else gathered around the table with Anathasia.
I tossed him a can of soda, which he caught mid-air as I walked over.
"Thanks for your hard work."
"It was hardly anything," he replied, popping the can open. "I used your marinade anyway. I just did the grilling."
A brief pause followed.
"But still…" he trailed off, watching everyone else talk around the table. "Hard to believe we were just broke and stupid college students back then."
He shot me a glance as I sat beside him.
"Well, not you, I guess. I knew damn well you had tons of savings under all that frugality."
"…was that really necessary?" I shot back with a sigh.
"You don't know when times will get tough, y'know?"
He scoffed before laughing dryly.
"That's why girls probably talked about you constantly back then. That put-together trait of yours, combined with that gentle but firm personality."
I raised an eyebrow while listening to him ramble.
"Too bad for them though," he added. "You already had someone."
"…seriously?"
Noah paused, then slowly turned to stare at me.
"Were you always this dumb…? Dense? Unaware? Or all of the above?"
"Shut it," I shot back immediately. "It's weird, alright? I mean, I knew I had presence, but it feels like you're exaggerating it a little."
His expression flattened before he raised a hand and flicked my forehead.
"?! The hell—"
My hand immediately went to my forehead, rubbing the spot he flicked.
"Seriously… that commitment and focus of yours," he continued. "Even when everyone's basically hailing your name, you just keep moving forward without looking back."
I noticed a small smile forming on his face as he stared out through the glass doors.
"Honestly? That's kinda what I like about you."
A brief pause followed.
"Except the 'forgetting to update me about life' part though," he added. "I'm still holding a grudge for that."
For some reason, I couldn't think of anything to say.
In the end, we both just sat there. He quietly sipped his cola while we watched everyone else talk for hours.