For three days, Claire waited patiently for her opportunity, and Harry informed her that Ethan was about to leave. So, she decided to go all out. She never felt so embarrassed before, despite looking forward to sex after years, Claire thought she was acting a bit shameless. Waiting for him naked in the corridor, throwing him in the bed and tearing up his clothes… despite doing all of this, she hesitated in the last moment. But Ethan took the final step for her; after that, things went smoothly. Both of them did whatever they wanted without caring for the consequences. That said, Claire never felt so good. Being connected with another person on so many levels made her feel many things.

But the next morning, Ethan had disappeared and just left a note with words thank you. That infuriated Claire; she had been betrayed again. In the end, even Ethan just saw her as a whore that he used for his own convenience. Her happiness had disappeared, and anger filled her heart. She decided not to care about him anymore; if he thought so little of her, then Claire would do the same. And for two entire months, just her bad mood alone made the kids behave and made the other survivors avoid her.

The only persons who continued to talk with her were the members of the former special team and Sandra. They didn’t know what she did; they only knew that she had tried to persuade him. So, they offered her words of comfort. At least, Ethan was doing his job correctly, and in a single month, he had brought thirty new allies. But his short reports were getting on Harry’s nerves.

But after two months, Claire’s anger disappeared, and tension and fear filled her heart. Her periods were late, and her stomach was getting bigger, even though she was constantly fighting and not eating too much. Claire decided to wear more loose clothes and talked to Sarah about it. Sarah wasn’t a full-fledged doctor, but she knew enough to confirm her suspicions, Claire was pregnant.

“Don’t tell me… that night…” Sarah trembled. “You… Ethan?”

“… Yes.” Claire answered, showing a pale face said.

“Ethan… you asshole!” Sarah shouted, angrily.

Sarah’s reaction surprised Claire, she was a meek woman, but she couldn’t forgive Ethan’s actions. It didn’t matter if he felt different than the other, that wasn’t excuse to act like that. But Claire asked her to keep secret.

Claire was troubled; she really wanted to have kids, a boy, and a girl. But she never wanted to get pregnant so soon and not with the world in that state. Besides, how she would give birth? They didn’t have any hospitals; any wound or disease was treated by potions and magic. But there was magic to help in the birth process? Probably not… in any case, she acted without thinking again. Because she didn’t think things through, she was in a complicated situation. However, she tried to act normally. She fought and protected the walls, she helped the new survivors, she helped the kids to study, and she did all this keeping her secret. But that wasn’t helping her; it only made her feel more anxious.

Those feelings disappeared when Martin and the other twenty-five women appeared in the middle of the city. Claire couldn’t believe, and without thinking, he hugged Martin with all her might, she almost crushed him, but he endured because he got stronger. However, her impulsive actions made Martin notice.

“Claire…you are…” Martin hesitated, showing a happy and surprised face.

“Don’t tell anyone,” Claire warned him.

Claire cried of happiness, his cousin was back, but she wondered who had revived him. More important than that, why he was the only man in that group. However, soon, all those questions vanished when she saw the crossbows on their hands.

“Ethan revived you, huh.” Claire looked coldly at Martin. “It seems you two had a lot of fun in the past few months.”

All those twenty-five women were quite pretty, Ethan was an asshole, and she knew her cousin was a womanizer. So, it was only obvious why they were the only men among that group of women. But Martin nervously explained that she was wrong. He had been revived on the previous day, and he and the others stayed with Ethan for a single day. Because three strong harpies had appeared, and Ethan wouldn’t be able to fight and protect them at the same time.

In any case, they discovered Ethan had survived because they left a note inside the backpack, and he took that note. But he didn’t answer, nor returned.

Three months have passed since Claire had accepted her loose clothes style, most survivors didn’t look funny at her anymore. But a few other individuals began to study her; those were Sandra, Harry, and Rose. They were her closest friends, after all. So, it couldn’t be helped. Besides, Sarah’s nervous behavior when she was near, Claire didn’t help much. So, they all soon discovered. Harry started to sweat, Rose face palmed, and Sandra studied Claire with a stern expression.

“Why did you do?” Sandra asked.

“… Because I wanted.” Claire hesitated for a few seconds.

“… Then, it can’t be helped.” Sandra let out a long sigh. “We will take care of this situation together, and when I see Ethan again, I will punch him.”

Claire didn’t have any reason to hide the fact that she was pregnant anymore, so, a few survivors who she talked for a few minutes started to congratulate her. But things got awkward when they asked who the father was. Putting that aside, thanks to Claire’s situation, another unnerving problem had been solved. Rose and Sarah began to date Harry. Sandra and Sabrina lectured him for a few hours to make sure he wouldn’t make any mistake. But they were sisters, so it was probably okay, as long as Harry doesn’t try a threesome… that would make things beyond awkward.

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Claire felt happy for them, and a bit jealous. Not because Harry had two partners, but because none of them would betray him. In any case, Harry gave the order to Sandra, Sabrina and Lucius stop Ethan when they see him again near the statue. But, Ethan didn’t appear in weeks and if that wasn’t enough. Claire discovered that she would give birth to twins.

After a while, Claire’s mind was at peace. She could raise those two kids alone; she was raising ten others after all. Two more wouldn’t be all that difficult. The kids’ father probably abandoned his job and was crossing the world at that moment; he was so far away that Claire would pass out just by trying to use her skill to pinpoint his localization. In any case, she didn’t need him. He was basically a big child, he wouldn’t help, and he would end up causing more problems.

Just when Claire made her mind, she saw something big thing appear and disappear in the middle of the city. It was a big bird, and she knew that bird. Claire activated her link skill and feel Ethan’s presence, he didn’t die, nor he was crossing the world. But that was strange, according to Sandra, Lucius, and Sabrina, he only returned late at night once a week to create his stupid lemonade. But it didn’t matter; Claire had already decided what to do, she didn’t need him. However, even though he was an asshole, he had the right to know. After a long sigh, Claire began to walk toward his direction.

Just like she had imagined, Ethan trying to cross the city invisible, and just like she had imagined, he tried to run away from her. That confirmed her suspicions; he wouldn’t be a good father. But things changed when Ethan appeared, her heart started to beat faster, he looked surprisingly attractive, but it was probably her imagination. But what surprised her was his expression, he was in shock, and then he collapsed. Claire let out a long sigh.

“… how pathetic.” Claire grabbed Ethan and put him on her shoulder.

Some survivors were starting to observe their actions, so Claire decided to teleport to her room using a memory stone. She always had one ready to be used if something happens, and she has to return to her room and grab her bow. She put him on her bed and began to observe him once again, he was stronger physically, and he was also a bit taller. He fought a lot in the past few months, but at least he was clean. He was still wearing the clothes he always wears, a set of clothes young men would wear when they would do some exercises.

Luckily, the kids were studying in the next room. They would make a fuss if they see him, because he left without saying anything to them and because they knew he was the reason for Claire’s bad mood.

Claire decided that she wouldn’t act without thinking again, but before she could notice, she had put his head or her lap. She really had a soft spot to kids, even those who were a bit too taller. As she gently massaged his forehead, Claire realized that she couldn’t hate Ethan. He made a mistake, and she also made a mistake, she never said that she loved him. Perhaps if she had said that, he would have stayed. Or maybe she was being too naïve again; he also never told her how he felt about her.

After two hours, Ethan woke up, and he looked surprised by being in that position. But then he showed a conflicted expression.

“I’m sorry, Claire…”

“I waited to hear this for six months.” Claire showed a serene expression.

“Damn it… I’m so pathetic!”

Ethan was reacting quite differently than Claire had expected, he wasn’t a total asshole, after all.

“No need to worry about it, “Claire sighed. “ I can raise them on my own.”

“But this isn’t fair to you… you tried to help me, but I just… caused you problems…”

Claire thought Ethan would just ignore the whole situation; those months without seeing him made her accumulate vast amounts of grudge. He was really conflicted, he wanted to stay alone after all, but now he had a reason not to do it.

“Well… I decided that at some point, I would get pregnant and give birth to a kid or two,” Claire explained. “So, this isn’t a problem; it is a blessing. But as I said, there’s no need to worry. You can see them once in a while if you feel like it. Besides, I also have ten other kids to look after, so it is understandable than you don’t want to accept this responsibility.”

“I wasn’t talking about what I wanted… I was talking that you deserved someone better to be the father of your children. It’s not like I don’t want to help you or accept this responsibility. I’m not fit to be a father or to represent a father. I was created in a lab and killed hundreds of people, and I don’t regret it. Someone like me doesn’t deserve to be a father…”

Claire saw tears in Ethan’s eyes, but he got rid of them. She misunderstood him, everyone misunderstood him, he wanted to feel connected, and he wanted to be part of a family. But he didn’t think that he had that right.

“Whether you think if you deserve or not, it doesn’t matter,” Claire declared after she crossed her arms. “I’m the person who decides who will be the father of my kids, and I don’t regret my actions.”

“Are you serious? But I…”

“Enough with your excuses!” Claire retorted. “I already knew your origins when I slept with you, and like I said, I don’t regret my actions. I only regret the fact that I didn’t tell you how I feel about you. I love you, now answer me. Do you love me or not? Do you want to be the father of my children or not?”

“Does it really matter what I want? I’m a cold blood killer… I don’t deserve…”

“If you think that you don’t deserve anything because you killed those people,” Claire interrupted him. “Them revive all of them and make them obey you. That will satisfy your stupid conscience, right? Now, answer my questions!”

“I… I think I do.”

“You think?” Claire asked, angrily. “Give me a clear answer!”

“It’s not that simple… I don’t know if that is love… I just feel that I want to stay with you, as much as possible, if that is possible. If I can be the father of a family, I want you to be the mother of that family. But it is not so simple, right?”

“No, it isn’t.” Claire showed a serious expression. “If you really want to, then you have to swear that you will stay with me forever. And if you disappear ever again, I beat the crap out of you.”

“It can’t be that simple…”

“Just swear it already…” Claire showed a sad expression. “Why do you always try to run away? If you really love me and if you really want to stay with me. Then we can easily start a family.”

“If it is that simple, then I swear that I won’t even disappear again… I love you, Claire.”

After finally hearing what she wanted to hear, Claire cried. She was so happy that she couldn’t hold back her tears, and Ethan’s comforted her on his arms for the next few hours…