PS I'm Over You

Three months had passed, and Ririna's condition had turned better, compared to her earliest weeks of pregnancy. There was already a slight bump on her stomach but not enough for everyone to notice it. The fact that she'd opted to wear loose dresses and coat had helped her to hide it from the public.

She wasn't ready to tell the world that she was pregnant with Eli's second child. Not when the issue with the Underworld hadn't settled yet. Now that she remembered it, Ririna noticed the unusual silence from it. There was barely an activity on Samuel Shao's part.

Was he dying? Ririna dearly hoped so.

It would be better for that cruel man to die a lonely cruel death than Eli staining his hands with his blood.

"Don't think too much about it."

As if Eli could hear what was on her mind, Ririna was surprised by his words.

"I'm already dealing with him. You only need to focus on our children now," Eli whispered in her ear.

"Hmm…" she hadn't thought that her husband was also awake at this ungodly hour. She was starting to have a hard time falling asleep at night and was afraid to disturb Eli.

"Sorry," she whispered, "did I wake you up?"

Eli rolled on his side to face her, his hand reaching up to touch her cheek.

"It's alright. It must have been hard for being alone when you have Skyler," he assured her. "I couldn't do anything for the two of you back then. So let me help you this time. Is your back hurting again?"

"Not really," Ririna scooted closer to him and lay her head on his arm. She wrapped an arm around his waist and sighed. "I'm not in pain. Just a little discomfort wouldn't hurt me."

Eli rested his chin over her head and ran his fingers on her thick hair. He knew that Ririna wouldn't be at peace as long as Samuel Shao was alive. That was why he'd chosen to work with Hiro Liu to hunt that old man.

"Ririna, I will need to leave for a week. You and Jared can manage HanZhou for a while," he said after a moment of silence between them.

Ririna lifted her head to look up to his face.

"Where are you going? Did the bureau send another mission for you again?" she asked worriedly.

Hadn't they agreed that the Park family would never accept any missions from the government again? Was the bureau taking them as a threat now because of her?

"Aoi has received reports of Samuel Shao's whereabouts. Reports are saying that he's gravely ill and wouldn't last that long. We have to make sure these aren't just rumors for us to lower our guard. Hiro Liu wouldn't let him go that easily after Samuel abducted his sister."

"Will you be fine without me?"

Eli chuckled on her question.

"I should be the one asking you that question, Ririna. Don't worry, Evan and Erica will be here to accompany you and Skyler. The bureau has nothing to do with it. Daniel Shao said he'll join this infiltration mission with us."

"Please come back to us alive…" Ririna begged as she buried her face on his shirt. She wouldn't know what she would do if they lost him.

"Here you go again. Worrying too much. I assure you that nothing wrong will happen to us."

---

The next morning, Ririna and Skyler stood on the porch of their home, watching Evan giving orders to the guards Eli left for them.

"Aren't you going to work today, Mommy?" Skyler asked. He wasn't able to bid goodbye to his father because Eli had left before dawn.

Ririna knelt down and pinched her son's chubby cheeks.

"My boss said I don't have to. He said I should play and spend more time with my Baby Skyler. So what do you think?"

Skyler pushed away his mother's hand away from his face and pouted.

"But Mommy, I'm not a baby anymore!" he complained.

"Oh, really? I remember someone throwing a tantrum before yelling at me that he's my only baby." Ririna tapped her chin and looked up.

At those words, Skyler's face scrunched up.

"That's because I didn't know yet that being a big brother would be cool!"

His mother blinked at that. Skyler had never regarded himself as a big brother before. It seemed that Eli and Rion's explanations were enough to convince Skyler not to get jealous of his baby sibling.

"Ahh, so my Prince Skyler is now Big Brother Skyler?" she giggled.

"That's right, Mommy. The baby should listen to me 'cause I'm the boss here."

Evan's laughter could be heard behind him. He'd heard the conversation between his sister-in-law and nephew and wasn't able to stop himself from eavesdropping.

"Sky, are you telling us you'll be a tyrant brother like your daddy?" he asked in between his laughter.

Skyler's frown deepened. He didn't understand what his uncle meant by that.

"Uncle Evan, what's a tyrant?"

Just as Evan was about to answer his nephew's question, Erica appeared behind him and smacked his head.

"Oww… that hurts!" Evan rubbed the back of his head.

"Your wife Ginny would've done the same thing if she's here. What kind of uncle are you, saying bad things about his father?" Erica chided him.

"My daddy isn't a bad person!" Skyler huffed.

"Yes, yes. Your daddy is a kind person. He's the sweetest brother I know in the whole world," Evan said filled with sarcasm.

He was half-tempted to add in his dreams. Eli wasn't much of a brother to him when they were younger. Every time they crossed paths with each other, an argument was ensured. Ahh, why couldn't his brother be adorable like Skyler?

"Now, now, why don't you get your drawing book and paintbrushes so we can do some practice at the backyard?" Ririna said to her son, hoping to change the awkward subject between him and Evan.

"Ok, Mommy!"

Once Skyler was out of sight, Ririna turned to his brother-in-law.

"Evan, will you be able to keep in touch with Eli these days?" She rubbed her left arm.

"Riri, I know you are worried, but you know it wouldn't help Eli at all. He brought Aoi and Jerry with him. It would be a hard task hunting Samuel Shao, but we also have a battle here to focus." The sudden change on Evan's face wasn't lost to Ririna.

"What do you mean?"

"The bureau was just waiting for Eli to leave you. They are coming after you."