CHAPTER 49: 49. WELCOME TO THE WORLD, LITTLE BELLA

AT THE SAME TIME

EMPEROR LIANWEI POINT OF VIEW:

night pressed heavy around us. Mei Shen lay curled beneath the soft blankets, her breathing shallow and uneven. I stayed by her side, tracing gentle circles on her back, trying to soothe the storm churning inside her.

But the silence broke, quiet footsteps, hesitant but steady. Huan slipped into the room, eyes wide, clutching a small stuffed dragon he’d made in the palace workshop.

"Papa?" His voice barely a whisper, but it carried the weight of a thousand unspoken worries.

I looked down to see him settle beside Mei Shen, offering the dragon like a fragile peace offering.

She opened her eyes, tired but softer now.

"Thank you, little one." she murmured.

Huan grinned shyly, inching closer, wrapping a small hand around hers. For a moment, the room softened, the tension eased, the fear didn’t feel so suffocating. Then Mei Shen’s lip quivered, and tears slipped free.

"I’m scared." She whispered, voice cracking like fragile glass. "What if... what if I can’t protect them? What if I fail?"

I swallowed hard, feeling the fierce need to be stronger for her, for our family.

"You are the strongest woman I know." I said quietly. "But strength doesn’t mean never breaking. It means getting up when you do."

The healer’s soft voice floated in from the doorway.

"She needs rest, but more than that, she needs hope. Fear feeds the body’s weariness."Healer said.

Henry appeared beside the healer, his usual gruff presence softened.

"Then we fight that fear. Together."Henry said and smiled.

Mei Shen squeezed Huan’s hand, drawing strength from the tiny warrior beside her. I reached over, holding her close, feeling her tremble against me. The shadows danced on the walls, but here, in this small room, light broke through the cracks, fragile, yes, but real.

"We will carry this burden." I promised. "You don’t have to carry it alone."

And for the first time in weeks, Mei Shen’s tears mixed with a faint, hopeful smile.

A few months later I still stood by Mei Shen’s door, the soft murmurs from inside barely reaching me through the heavy wood. Her breathing was uneven, shallow and quick, signs I knew too well from previous nights. Then came the unmistakable whimper, soft, almost desperate, and achingly human. It pierced the silence like a shard of glass. My steps quickened as I pushed the door open and found her tossing in the dim light, face pale, sweat glistening on her brow. Something was wrong. I could feel it in every fiber of my being. I didn’t hesitate.

"Renee! Healer!" I called, voice sharp, commanding.

Within moments, the healer arrived, a calm, composed woman whose eyes told me she’d seen too many nights like this. She knelt beside Mei Shen, checking pulse and breath with practiced care.

"It’s time." She said quietly but firmly. "The baby is coming. Soon."

The words sent a fresh surge of panic through me. I glanced toward the shadows in the corner of the room, where Zeyrith stood, always watching. His presence chilled the air, but tonight, there was something else in his gaze a worry. A rare, uneasy flicker. For a god of death, that was telling. But before I could even consider asking him for help, Zeyrith’s cold voice cut through the tension.

"Step aside, mortal. Your presence is unnecessary here."Zeyrith said.

His tone brooked no argument. I was forced to step back, heart pounding as helplessness clawed at me. Mei Shen needed every ounce of strength around her, and yet I was pushed away by a god who commanded death and rebirth itself. How could I just stand there? Suddenly, a strong hand gripped my shoulder, steady and grounding. Henry Blackstone, the man I barely knew but who was undeniably Mei Shen’s father, was there. His presence filled the room like a protective shield, his rough hands firm on my arm. He pulled me close in a brief but firm hug, a gesture so unexpectedly human that it startled me.

"She’s stronger than you think." Henry said, voice low but resolute. "I have seen battles where she’s outlasted men twice her size. This-" He nodded toward the frail woman in bed "-this is just another fight she’ll win. We will get through it. You’re not alone in this. She already done it for few months she only needs to finish it."

His words, rough but sincere, were a balm to my fraying nerves. The tension that had squeezed my chest loosened a fraction. Here was a man, a warrior who had known loss and pain, reminding me to stand firm. I met his gaze, feeling a flicker of something I hadn’t felt in days, a hope.

"We do this together." I said, my voice gaining strength. "Noone gets to face this alone."

Henry’s nod was slow, heavy with meaning.

"Good. Because if she’s your bride, she’s my family too. And family fights side by side."Henry said.

Behind us, the healer busied herself, preparing what little medicine and comfort she could offer to ease Mei Shen’s pain. The night stretched on, thick with anticipation and unspoken fears. Every whispered breath from Mei Shen, every twitch and sigh, felt like a lifetime. And as Henry’s arm stayed steady on my shoulder, I knew that whatever came next, we would face it not as emperor, god, or ghost, but as family. Together.

The hours dragged like years. I paced the corridor outside her chambers, every heartbeat pounding in my ears, every muffled sound from inside making my stomach twist tighter. Henry stayed planted by the door, arms crossed, a soldier holding his ground. But I could see the tension in his jaw, the way his eyes flickered toward the healer’s movements through the half-open doorway. Even Zeyrith hadn’t vanished, the god leaned against the far wall, silent, pale gaze locked on the door as though calculating the threads of fate.

And then it came. A sound so sharp, so pure, it cut through every fear and every shadow. A loud, defiant cry. The door creaked open, and the healer stepped out, her tired face softened into a small smile. In her arms was the tiniest bundle, wrapped in white silk, squirming with life.

"Your daughter, majesty." She said quietly.

My legs moved on instinct. I took the bundle, my hands trembling despite myself. She was so small. A dark wisp of hair peeked out from beneath the silk, her face red and scrunched from crying, yet, perfect. When she let out another tiny wail, something deep in my chest tightened until I thought it might break me. Behind me, Henry’s voice cracked in a way I hadn’t heard before.

"My granddaughter..." He stepped closer, calloused hand brushing the silk as if afraid to touch her.

Even Zeyrith’s expression shifted, not warmth exactly, but something softer, a flicker of reluctant respect for the life that had just entered the world. The healer glanced between us.

"Mei Shen is resting. She did well, but she will need time to recover."She said.

I nodded, barely able to look away from the tiny face in my arms.

"I want her to know... the moment she wakes... our daughter is safe."I whispered.

And in that hallway, surrounded by gods, generals, and fate itself, I realized something, this small cry had silenced all the noise, all the power struggles. At least for now... she was the only thing that mattered.

A FEW HOURS LATER

MEI SHEN’S POINT OF VIEW:

The world felt heavy. My limbs, my eyelids, even my breath, it all seemed wrapped in a thick haze. But through the muffled quiet, I heard it. A baby’s cry. Not far away. Not just any baby. My baby.

My heart lurched, and I forced my eyes open. The room was dim, lit only by a single lantern near the bed. Lianwei sat at my side, shoulders tense, but the moment my gaze met his, his whole face softened in a way I’d never seen.

"You’re awake." He breathed, voice trembling more than I expected from an emperor. "She’s here."

And then he placed her in my arms. The world fell away. She was so impossibly small, warm, and alive. A tuft of dark hair crowned her head, her eyes still squeezed shut, tiny lips puckering as she let out a little whimper. My hands shook as I brushed a fingertip across her cheek.

"Hello... Bella." I whispered the name spilling from me without thought.

Lianwei tilted his head.

"Bella?"He asked.

"My earth mother’s name." I said softly, glancing toward the space where Rosalie’s ghost sometimes lingered. "I want her to carry it. A reminder that she was loved before she even came into this world."

It seems that Rosalie understood instantly why I done it. She made me live on Earth all alone after all. Lianwei smiled faintly, his thumb brushing over Bella’s silk blanket.

"Bella Voss... she’ll be unstoppable."He said.

From the corner of the room, Henry stepped forward, his deep voice thick with pride.

"My granddaughter." He said with a grin, the fierce general suddenly nothing but a doting old man.

"Welcome to the family, Bella."He said.

Bella shifted in my arms, letting out a softer cry, and I held her closer, my heart swelling until it hurt. For the first time in what felt like lifetimes, I wasn’t running, hiding, or fearing the next dawn. I had my daughter, my family, however broken and strange and for now... that was enough.