Side Story 4.21 - And Alas...

Jhoanna’s POV

Months Later

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that my back ached. 

Again. 

The second thing was the sharp smell of lavender wafting from the diffuser on the nightstand—a smell I’d grown to despise over the past month. Apparently, lavender was supposed to help with mood swings. 

Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

I let out an annoyed grunt and rolled onto my side, clutching my growing belly as I struggled to find a comfortable position. “Hans!” I called, my voice sharper than I intended.

Moments later, the door creaked open, and Hans stepped in, his hair slightly tousled and his ever-patient expression firmly in place. He was holding a steaming mug in one hand and what looked like a stack o