ANMELDENThere were times I stood in the middle of that beautiful chaos and felt tears rise for no reason other than gratitude.I had built businesses, I had survived betrayals, I had learned to endure. But no success I had ever touched felt as rich as a living room with toys under the couch and milk warming in the kitchen.My body was healing well.Not perfectly.Not magically.Healing after childbirth was not the graceful return people pretended it was. Some mornings I woke feeling almost strong while some nights my back ached so deeply I wanted to cry.There were days my body felt unfamiliar to me, changed by carrying life, by pain, by recovery. Yet compared to those first days after giving birth, I felt almost new.I could move more easily, I could stand longer, I could laugh without wincing most of the time and I could hold both babies without immediately regretting every decision that led me there.Mother, however, refused to believe improvement meant freedom. If I stood too quickly, she
She pulled me carefully into her arms and for a few precious seconds, I was not a mother, I was not a woman balancing danger and business and healing.I was simply her daughter.“I missed you,” I whispered.“I know.” She replied When she pulled back, she wiped my tears with both thumbs. Then she looked at the babies and her whole face changed.They softened and opened becoming something only grandmothers seem able to become.“Oh…”She took Mira first, then Elian. Then cried harder than I had.“They’re beautiful.”“They are loud,” Mason said.She looked up sharply. “Then they are healthy.”Andre tugged her sleeve. “And me?”She gasped dramatically.“And you are the most handsome, brave, responsible older brother in the world.”He accepted this instantly.“Okay.”I turned slowly toward Mason. “You did this.”He adjusted his cuff.“Yes.”“You called her.” I continued “Yes.”“You arranged travel.” I kept on going “Yes.”“And you kept it from me.”“Yes.” He answered I narrowed my eyes.
Lucas almost choked on his food. Andre looked outraged.“Do not drop babies!” Andre cautioned in his own way“I had no intention of.” I answered Letty smiled again and in that moment, I made a promise to myself.No matter who moved next, no matter what enemy waited.No matter what darkness still lingered beyond these walls, they would not touch this.They would not corrupt this peace and they would not steal from my children what I had stolen from me because before, I had fought for survival but now, I would fight for something far more dangerous.Something worth dying for.Family.Mira stretched in my arms and yawned and Elian yawned once and was asleep again. Andre heaved himself up and against me, his posture a statement of pride. Letty observed us with sleepy eyes that held more than contentment: Ownership.And for the first time in ages, I was not thinking of the next move, I was thinking of savoring this second for as long as I possibly could because the storm always returns, a
Lucas burst out laughing and I tried to suppress a grin. "Because we got lucky." I told him.Andre pondered this for a moment before turning back to the bassinets. "They look sleepy." "They are." I answered He pointed at our daughter. "She look like Mama. Angry." He then looked at our son. "He looks like you. Nice." Andre turned back, looking at me with complete sincerity. "So girl like Mama and boy like you?" Lucas had to bite his lip and turn his head away. I closed my eyes briefly. "That is a dangerous assumption to make, Andre." "I'm smart." Andre said, puffing his chest out. "Yes, you are." He peered back at the bassinets again and sniffed. “ They smell funny,” he said.This time I couldn't hold it back and gave a small laugh. “ yes they do”"Are they mine?" Andre asked.The question made my throat tight. I swallowed and said softly. "They are ours." He pondered this for a moment before nodding, as if it was the most logical thing in the world. "Okay." And that was all
They brought the boy first, swaddled in a blanket, his face bright red with protest. Then the girl, smaller, her cry louder and fiercer, absolutely furious at the world.They laid them both on my chest. They were warm, small and real. I stared down at them, dumbfounded.My son's tiny hand was curled near his cheek and my daughter kicked a tiny foot under the blanket, demanding space."Oh..."That was all I could manage. One broken sigh, one word that was far too small for how I felt. How could you possibly describe meeting two human beings whose hearts already felt known before your own mind had ever met them?Mason stood by the bed, completely silent. I looked up at him as his eyes were wet. His mouth hung slightly open, as if he had forgotten how to form words.I had never seen him like this. Never. He reached out a trembling finger and touched our son's cheek. Then he brushed against our daughter's tiny hand."She's holding on to me," he whispered."She's already assessing weakness
He answered everything while keeping one hand on me. Like if he let go, something terrible might happen.They settled me into a private room with soft lights, monitors and sterile sheets. The quiet hum of machines measuring things I did not care about.The doctors and nurses in the room checked things, explained things and prepared things.A nurse spoke gently. The doctor smiled reassuringly. Someone adjusted my pillow and someone else asked if I wanted ice but all of it felt distant.Muted.Like it belonged to another room because between every calm moment…Pain returned and with each wave, something primal took over.It was not panic, it was not fear, but focus. I was no longer thinking about Rosa.Or the company.Or betrayal.Or strategy.I was thinking about breathing, about surviving the next minute, about meeting the child I had carried through chaos.Mason stood beside the bed, his hand in mine. He was too still and too pale.“You look terrible,” I told him.“I look terrible?” H
Letty’s POVThe event was grand, bigger than anything I had ever handled before.It stretched deep into the night, far beyond what I had planned, but in the best way possible. Music flowed smoothly through the hall, shifting from upbeat to soft without losing its rhythm. Laughter rose and fell in w
Letty’s POVDays passed slowly, each one heavier than the last, and all I could think about was leaving.Every morning, I woke up in my room in the Wells mansion and counted the days in my head. The room was too big, the ceiling too high and the silence too loud. Everything here reminded me of a li
Mason’s POVI couldn’t sleep that night.I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling, counting shadows instead of seconds. The room was dark, but my mind would not rest. Every sound felt louder than it should. The soft ticking of the clock. The distant hum of the house settling. Even my own breathing
Mason’s povRosa came back home two days later.She walked in like nothing had happened.Like the world had not shifted under my feet. Like I hadn’t sat in my car outside Gabriel’s estate, staring at her car until my hands went numb on the steering wheel. Like I hadn’t replayed that image in my hea







