Chapter 289
Chapter 289
-Grayson’s POV-
Six months later
“We came as fast as we could!” Isabella burst into the waiting room, panting as if she had just run a marathon.
Rickon appeared seconds later, slightly disheveled, his shirt buttoned wrong, and his hair looking like someone had aggressively tugged at it.
Everyone stared.
There was no hiding what they had been doing before getting here.
But honestly? I didn’t care.
I didn’t care about anything right now except the fact that Ava was in labor, and I was about to meet my children.
Daniella, as if sensing just how tense I was, started crying in my arms. I had been holding her for the past ten minutes, but the moment the shrill wail hit my ears, I knew I was done.
Elaine, who had been extremely helpful over the last few months stretched her hands toward me, and I handed Daniella over without hesitation.
Isabella, still catching her breath, looked around, “Are they here yet?”
Silence.
Then Evelyn, who never ever missed an opportunity to be passive–aggressive toward Isabella, narrowed her eyes at her, “If they were here, would we still be sitting out here waiting?”
“Hey, don’t start-”
“Not now,” I cut in before things spiraled, and to my relief, they both dropped it–though Isabella did huff dramatically before extending her hands to take Daniella from Elaine.
Rickon sighed beside her, “Oh great, the fight over who gets to hold the baby begins again.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. No one had told me that having a baby around meant every adult would suddenly become obsessed with holding her. The moment I handed Daniella to one person, another would stretch their hands like an eager beggar, waiting for their turn.
It was exhausting but I really hoped they extended the same to the twins because again no one told me just how exhausting babies were.
I don’t even remember the last time I slept and I guess I couldn’t push all the blame to Daniella, a heavily pregnant Ava could be likened to an evil monster.
Evelyn, who had taken on the role of self–appointed child–handling expert, crossed her arms, “Hold my granddaughter properly, and-”
Luther, who had become remarkably more patient in the past months, shook his head before Evelyn could launch into a lecture. Begrudgingly, she looked away.
This was the new normal.
Evelyn needed someone to scold–it was just who she was. And since she couldn’t do it to Ava anymore, that energy
had to
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be redirected.
Unfortunately, that meant Isabella had become her new favorite target.
To be fair, Isabella had earned that spot by being naturally and intentionally annoying, so I wasn’t particularly sympathetic to her complaints.
Rickon, who had been unusually quiet until now, turned to me, “Aren’t you supposed to be in there with her?”
Before I could answer, a loud, blood–curdling scream rang through the hospital halls.
Ava.
This was followed by an angry burst of Italian, laced with a string of curses.
Rickon blinked, “Well, that doesn’t sound good.”
Then another scream.
Then Ava’s voice, sharp and furious:
“CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT I AM PUSHING ALREADY?! STOP TELLING ME WHAT I ALREADY KNOW!!”
Everyone in the waiting room went silent.
For a moment, there was nothing but the distant sound of Ava yelling in frustration, another wave of cursing, and then… nothing.
Rickon cleared his throat, turning back to me, “So?”
I took a deep breath and exhaled, “She kicked me out.”
-Silence again.
Then Isabella, still holding Daniella, turned to Rickon with a deadpan expression, “It’s official. One of those is never coming out of me.”
Rickon, without missing a beat, nodded solemnly, “Agreed.”
I closed my eyes for a second, fighting the urge to groan.
I hated this. Not just the waiting, but the fact that Ava was in pain, and there was nothing I could do. Every scream that came from that room made my instincts go haywire, but the Doctors had made it clear that me barging in to “help” was not an option.
Evelyn, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, was rubbing her temples.
Rickon turned to her and Luther. “Wait a minute–you own this hospital. And you’re both Doctors. Why aren’t you in there helping?!”
Luther, who had finally learned how to let most of Rickon’s antics slide, answered calmly, “Because we don’t specialize in that.”
Rickon narrowed his eyes, “Still seems convenient.”
Evelyn let out a long, tired sigh. “She also told us to get out.”
Rickon stared, “You’re kidding.”,
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Another furious scream rang out from the delivery room, followed by more Spanish and yet another string of wildly creative curse words.
We all went quiet again.
Finally, Rickon muttered, “Yeah, okay. That tracks.”
I closed my eyes amd let out a sigh and hoped this would be over soon but hours later, we were still waiting.
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The tension in the room had eased a little–well, as much as it could when someone was giving birth just a few feet away.
Elaine, who had been sitting beside me, frowned, “Is it supposed to take this long?”
Evelyn answered without looking up, “Sometimes, it takes a whole day.”
A whole day?
I swallowed down my frustration.
I had tried to be patient. I had tried to sit still. I had tried to focus on anything other than the fact that Ava was still in there, still in pain, still-
I let out a breath and pushed to my feet.
Elaine immediately looked up. “Where are you going?”
“I just need a moment.”
No one stopped me as I walked out of the room.
I wasn’t sure where I was going–I just knew I couldn’t sit there any longer.
I wandered down the hall, my hands in my pockets, my mind racing.
I didn’t know where I was going–maybe just away from all the noise, away from the tension, away from the feeling of being useless.
The hospital was quiet in this wing, a stark contrast to the chaos I had just left behind. The walls were too white, too sterile, too cold. I wasn’t sure if I was walking in circles or actually going anywhere, but it didn’t matter.
Ava was in there, bringing our children into the world.
Our children.
The thought still hadn’t fully sunk in, and it should have. I had had six months to prepare for this moment. Six months of reading parenting books (that were a complete waste of time, by the way). Six months of watching Ava grow rounder, more beautiful, more exhausted. Six months of thinking I got this. I can handle this.
But the truth was–I wasn’t sure if I did have this.
Taking in Daniella had been one thing. It had been… practice.
And that thought alone made me feel like an asshole.
She wasn’t a test run. She was mine, too, in every way that mattered. I had done late nights with her, paced the halls when she wouldn’t stop crying, fed her, changed her, held her when she whimpered in her sleep.
But these babies… these babies
different. were
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They were Ava’s and mine.
We had made them together.
They were pieces of
Because what if I ruined them?
undeniable parts of who I was–and for the first time, I truly understood what fear was.
What if I was still the same man I had been?
What if I failed them?
What if I messed up so badly that they ended up hating me?
What if I lost my temper one day, and instead of being a man about it, I reacted like he did?
I stopped walking, pressing my hands against the nearest wall, breathing in deeply.
I am not him.
I would never hit my children.
I would never hurt them.
I would never make them feel small or afraid.
And if anyone even thought about crossing that line with them, they wouldn’t live to regret it.
Being with Ava had changed me. It had given me something I hadn’t even realized I needed–peace.
When I was with her, when I was home with Daniella, I felt… calm. I could laugh without feeling like it was forced. I could sleep without the weight of my past pressing down on my chest.
I could imagine a life where I was good at this.
I let out a slow, shaky breath and ran a hand through my hair.
I could do this.
I would do this.
And as much as my father’s ghost still lurked in the corners of my mind, whispering doubts and fears–he wasn’t me.
I straightened, pushing away from the wall.
No more thinking.
It was time to go
back.
I turned back toward the waiting room, my mind steadier now, my resolve firm. I was ready.
But then I paused.
The doctor in charge–Dr. Monroe–was standing just outside the waiting room, speaking in hushed tones to Evelyn and
Luther.
Her back was to me, but I didn’t need to see her face to know something was wrong.
It was written all over theirs.
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Evelyn’s hands were clasped so tightly that her knuckles were white. Luther’s jaw was locked, his usual calm exterior cracking just enough for me to see the worry beneath.
A cold feeling slithered up my spine.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded.
Dr. Monroeturned then, finally noticing me, but it was Evelyn who spoke first, her voice unusually soft.
“There’s a complication.”
The cold feeling turned to ice, “What complication?”
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Dr. Monroe exhaled, finally meeting my gaze, “There’s… a blockage. We don’t know what it is, but it’s preventing the babies from coming out. We attempted a C–section, but…” She hesitated.
I clenched my fists, my patience hanging by a thread. “But what?”
She met my eyes, her voice laced with disbelief, “Every time we make an incision, it heals before we can even finish the cut. Faster than I have ever seen happen. It’s like… Ava’s body is refusing to let them out.”
