Being a mom was an entirely new experience. The sleepless nights, the constant worry, the overwhelming love — no one could’ve prepared me for the way my heart shifted the moment Ayla was born. Suddenly, everything revolved around her: when she ate, how she slept, the sound of every cry. My body still ached, and my emotions were all over the place, but one look at her tiny face, and I knew I’d go through it all again a thousand times.Alex had been incredible — patient, loving, attentive. He never treated her like someone else’s child. In his arms, she was his.Every bottle he made, every diaper he changed, every time he took her so I could rest — it reminded me I wasn’t doing this alone. And even though our situation was complicated, our little girl had more love than she could ever need.Motherhood wasn’t easy. But it was mine now. And I was ready.Before I knew it, she was already six months babbling and cooing as her beautiful eyes gazed up at me. Where did the time go?“Are you
I found Nathan in the hospital garden, sitting alone with his elbows on his knees, eyes locked on the ground. He looked up when he heard my footsteps. "Annette," he said, standing slowly. His eyes darted to the tiny bundle in my arms. "She's okay," I said softly. "We both are." We stood there for a beat, the tension thick. "Can I…?" He motioned toward the baby. I hesitated. Then, with a quiet breath, I nodded and gently placed her in his arms. Nathan looked down at her, emotion flickering in his eyes. "She’s perfect." "She doesn’t have a name yet," I murmured. He looked up at me. “You’re giving me a chance to be here for her?” “She is your child too.” We stood quietly, the baby letting out a soft coo in his arms. “I never wanted to hurt you,” Nathan said. “What I did… it was selfish. Stupid. Looking at her now I realized what we could have had and I ruined it.” He said bitterly. I nodded. “But we’re past that now.“ “I know. She looks so much like you.” He smiled. “Y
I clutched Alex's hand like a lifeline, my nails digging into his skin as another contraction ripped through me. My breathing came in shallow gasps, and all I could think was—this baby is not waiting. “I can’t—Alex, I can’t do this,” I sobbed, my voice shaking. “Yes, you can. Look at me, baby,” he said, kneeling beside me, brushing the damp strands of hair from my face. “You are the strongest woman I know. Breathe with me.” The beach crowd was thinning as people noticed something was wrong. A few strangers hovered nearby, offering help, but Paige waved them off as she kept me shaded under an umbrella. “Where’s the damn ambulance?” Tiffany growled into the phone. “We’re at Bayview Shore—*yes*, she’s in active labor!” “I don’t think we’re going to make it to the hospital,” Paige whispered, panic flickering in her eyes. “What do you mean we’re not—” I didn’t even finish before another wave of pain hit me, and this time, I screamed. Alex turned ghost-pale. “Baby… do you feel pressu
Life has been really good to me lately. Alex and I were perfect together. Paige, Tiffany and I went out often and Nathan was respectful whenever we spoke. I couldn’t complain. Days had turned to weeks and before I knew it, I was ready to pop my baby out. Well almost ready. It’s been a long time since I found out I was pregnant and the time had seemed so far since then. I couldn’t wait to meet my baby, to hold him or her and give them the best life that I could. I wanted to wait until I have birth to know the gender. I always wanted children and now I got the opportunity to have my own little bundle of joy. “Hey sexy mama,” Alex greeted as he plopped down on the bed. “Hey baby,” I pecked his lips. “I was thinking that we should have a beach day, today,” I suggested and he raised a brow. “You’re heavily pregnant. I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said and I rolled my eyes. “Firstly, I’m pregnant, not disabled and secondly, the baby is due in a week.” “I really don’
I knew what I had to do now. I wanted Alex to feel better. I wanted him to know that he could trust me with his feelings and emotions. The morning of the anniversary, I woke up before Alex and collected a bouquet of fresh, beautiful flowers I had ordered. Ruth said that Alex would always buy Brianna pink carnations. Those were her favorite flowers. The night before, I had already prepared a picnic basket. Then I went and added a few more things this morning. When I arrived home, Alex had already taken a shower and was eating the breakfast I had made before I left. “Good morning, Annie,” he said.“Good morning Alex.”“Where did you go?” He asked. “I got these,” I showed him a bouquet of flowers and his eyes widened. “Annie……what are you doing?” He avoided eye contact and dropped his fork. “I’m here with you. I want you to talk to me. This time around is a little tougher but I want to be here for you. Please let me in. It’s not always okay to handle these things alone. Trust me.”
After everything with Nathan and the drama with Paige and Alex, everything became calm. Alex and I returned to our usual routine of being in love with each other. There was something that was bothering Alex and I keep feeling like we were about to have another issue. I asked him a couple of times but he kept telling me that he was fine. I didn’t buy it. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the problem was but I needed to find out. I couldn’t keep asking him so I decided to do the next best thing. It was high time I paid his parents a visit. I got into the car and drove over to their home. I knew Alex wasn’t very close to his parents but maybe they knew something. A few moments after knocking on the door, it opened. A woman opened the door, she looked exactly like Alex and immediately I knew it was his mom. “Hi you must be Annette. Please come in.” She smiled. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” I greeted. “You’re just glowing with this pregnancy. Congratulations. It’s a shame when mar