Reincarnation of The Villainess: She Has The Duke's Baby!-Chapter 45: #-The Baby Needs Me. You Both Need Me. I Love You, Penelope

Philleo Aaron’s arrival surprised Penelope Askary.

However, the woman could do nothing. She couldn’t tell Philleo to return to the capital because the man refused to leave her side. Philleo always followed Penelope wherever Penelope went, even if she wanted to use the bathroom. This made Penelope confused about how to react. Fortunately, Rosaline and Sarah immediately noticed their Lady’s discomfort and scolded Philleo. They told Philleo not to do that because Penelope wasn’t going anywhere for now. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Is Philleo Aaron a clingy man when it comes to women?" Penelope spun the pen in her hand while supporting her chin with one hand. Right now, Penelope was already in her room. She sat at her desk while facing the window to see the big tree outside. The place where she hallucinated seeing Edmund Gerwyn that night when she had a fever. "When I read the original novel as Sienna, not much was explained about Philleo. The man is only described as a man who is very grateful to the Askary family for helping him all this time. He also hated Penelope Askary because she was so mean to her family and other people. So, why is he so unwilling to let me go now?"

Suddenly, Penelope felt nauseous. The woman widened her eyes and covered her mouth with both hands. She run to the bathroom in her room, then tried to vomit in the sink. However, Penelope did not succeed again in getting anything out of her stomach. Her face started to turn pale and the nausea made Penelope’s body weaker. She immediately sat down on the floor and chuckled to herself. She rubbed her belly lovingly and tenderly.

"Honey, are you scolding your Mother? Hmm? Why are you suddenly angry with your Mother? What’s making you mad, Honey? Is it because... Mother doesn’t want to come home with your Father?" Penelope took a deep breath and massaged her temples. Her nausea hasn’t gone away and now she’s starting to get dizzy. Penelope struggled to her feet, then came out of the bathroom and back into her room. The woman sat back down at her desk and stared at a big tree whose leaves were blown by the wind. She smiled faintly. "Suddenly, I wanted to see that man again. I really don’t know how to act now." Penelope’s eyes turned to the big tree trunk in front of her that looked so strong. "Sitting there must be very pleasant because the night breeze will certainly refresh my mind."

In her previous life when Penelope was living her life as Sienna, she had always climbed a tree so she could be alone and enjoy the wind. Climbing a tree is not difficult for her. However, she had to do it secretly so that Rosaline, Sarah, and Philleo would not find out. The three of them were extremely protective of her and would definitely forbid her from climbing a tree.

"How about we jump out of that window before we climb the tree, Honey?" chuckled Penelope to the baby in her womb. The woman immediately opened the window and smiled broadly as the night breeze refreshed her. "We have to be careful, Honey."

Penelope carefully climbed out of her bedroom window. The woman chuckled and ran slowly toward the big tree. Then, Penelope began to climb the tree. Even though it was quite difficult because she was wearing pajamas, Penelope didn’t give up. Finally, Penelope managed to climb the tree and sat on a tree trunk that was quite high. She played with her legs and leaned on the tree trunk. The woman closed her eyes to enjoy the night breeze which made her fresh and could reduce her nausea.

Suddenly, the image of Edmund Gerwyn screaming for her while crying appeared in her head. This made Penelope frown and slowly opened her eyes. Then, she sighed heavily.

"Have I crossed the line?" Penelope muttered. "The man looks in pain and is messy. However, it seemed impossible that what Edmund had told me was the truth. The man loved Isabella Lysander and hated Penelope Askary. But... Why did it feel like she didn’t accept that? Why did her heart hurt when she thought about that? Is she... jealous? Had she really fallen in love with Edmund Gerwyn?

"Ed..." Penelope called sadly. Without her realizing it, the tears were dripping and running down her face. "I miss you."

"Then, why did you leave me?"

The question made Penelope blink and immediately looked down. Her eyes widened as she saw Edmund Gerwyn standing under a tree looking up at her. The man looked tired and still looked as messed up as before. Edmund’s eyes were full of longing and also full of pain, making Penelope’s heart also ache when she realized it.

"Ed...?"

"If you miss me, why did you leave me? Why are you forcing our child who hasn’t even been born and can’t choose yet to leave me?" asked Edmund insistently. He clenched his fists. It was Rosaline and Sarah who had told him the location of the Askary family’s summer house. If he managed to convince Penelope that he loved her and their child very much, then Rosaline and Sarah would let Edmund take Penelope home. The two women were ready if they had to accept punishment from Ethan Askary.

"Because you don’t really care about us. You don’t love us, Edmund Gerwyn," Penelope answered in a choked tone. Her heart was pounding. Ah...she missed that man. She wanted to hug his athletic body. She wanted to kiss that handsome face, especially his lips which always spoke sarcastic and mean words to others. She missed Edmund’s touch. Dammit! "You just want to be responsible for what you’ve done to me because you think you ruined my life. In fact, you really hate me."

"Why do you only want your words to be heard by others?" asked Edmund in a firm and frustrated tone. "Why don’t you try to listen to my words and believe them? I love no other woman but you, Penelope Askary! Do you think I’m going to have sex with any woman I meet? If that night it wasn’t you seducing me and being in front of me, I wouldn’t have done it! Because you were in front of me, because I started to fall in love with you back then even though I didn’t realize it yet, I wanted to do it with you."

Penelope began to lose control of her feelings. Edmund’s words convinced her that she was the only woman in the man’s heart. Perhaps, the storyline in the original novel has changed. Like the words of the Goddess Elleia who told her that she was indeed Penelope Askary in her first life before reincarnating into Sienna in the modern world and returning to become Penelope Askary, maybe Edmund Gerwyn had changed from hating her in their first and second lives to loving her in his third life now. So, is she allowed and can believe that fact?

"You love me...?" Penelope asked absent-mindedly and, though it was said in a low voice, Edmund could still hear her.

"Penelope, if what I’m doing right now is only as a form of responsibility to you and our baby because I got you pregnant, I just need to give you child support. I don’t need to look for you and beg you to come back to me."

Penelope bit her lip. What Edmund said was true. So... that man... sincerely loves her? It was then, as Penelope was looking down to see Edmund, that she lost her balance. Penelope widened her eyes and screamed when her body fell from the tree. The woman was crying and reflexively grabbing her stomach with both hands to protect her child.

"No, my baby!" Penelope shouted. "Ed! I don’t want to lose our child!"

Penelope closed her eyes and prepared for the worst. She could feel her body crash into something but did not feel the pain in her body. She dared to open her eyes and widened when she saw Edmund’s handsome face right in front of her. More precisely, his face is under her face. Then, Penelope realized that she had fallen on top of Edmund’s body. The man catches her. The man saved her life and their child’s life.

"Are you all right, Penelope?!" asked Edmund in a panic and worried tone. The expression on his face showed that the man was very frightened. Carefully, Edmund helped Penelope get off his body and then examined Penelope’s condition from head to toe. Then, Edmund’s eyes fell on Penelope’s stomach. He immediately held Penelope’s hand while holding her stomach. "Our baby! What about our baby, Penelope?! Is our child okay?! You two are fine, right?!"

Penelope was silent and blinked. She nodded and that answer made Edmund heave a sigh of relief, then lay back down on the ground. The man covered his face with both hands and laughed softly.

"Oh my God, my heart. I thought I would die because my heart wanted to jump from its place when I saw you fall from the tree! I think I’ve aged hundreds of years because of this." Edmund dropped his hands from his face and looked at Penelope with a stern look. "Never do something so dangerous like climb up a tree ever again, Penelope Askary! You’re pregnant, for God’s sake!"

"But... it’s your child who wants to climb up the tree to feel the night breeze," Penelope said in a low voice. "This is not my will alone. Your child also... misses you." The woman cleared her throat and lowered her head to hide the blush on her face as she began to feel her face heat up rapidly.

Hearing that, Edmund could feel the warmth within him. He laughed. It was such a melodious laugh according to Penelope and made her smile unconsciously. What else should she do if everything Edmund said was true? Perhaps, the woman should give Edmund the chance to prove all of his words. Maybe the two of them can learn how to love each other and learn how to be parents together.

Edmund took a deep breath and rubbed Penelope’s face which was cold from the night wind. "Never leave me again, Penelope. The baby needs me. You both need me." Edmund cupped Penelope’s face, then kissed her lips lovingly. Then, Edmund brought his forehead to Penelope’s. "I love you, Penelope."

Unbeknownst to Edmund and Penelope, Philleo Aaron witnessed and heard everything. The man clenched his fists until his fingernails dug into his palms and made them bleed. His eyes stared at Edmund and Penelope with murderous eyes. The anger overtook him. The darkness began to hug him tightly. The whispers started to be heard in his ears.

"Kill the man... take Penelope from him... hide Penelope Askary from Edmund Gerwyn. Penelope Askary is only yours, Philleo Aaron."

Philleo Aaron clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth. His lips were now bleeding because the man had bitten it hard.

"My Lady... you are pregnant with Edmund Gerwyn’s child...?" muttered Philleo in a cold tone. "I will not let you bear his child, My Lady. I will take you out of your misery because you have to bear a child from that jerk."

Philleo Aaron grinned.

A grin that looks mysterious and very dangerous.