Chapter 65
Nick
I was on my way to the mother of my children’s house to take the kids for the weekend. In the UK, I could sleep at Alaia’s house for a few nights, thanks to my little ones getting used to me.
I entered the house and only noticed the people who worked there. Today, I received the notification that the divorce was proceeding, and she would be free to marry Cedric. However, I will keep fighting for her. That wedding was still in doubt; the only person she would marry was me, in a wedding worthy of her, if the divorce goes through, which is most likely.
I looked up and saw her descending the stairs like a goddess, carrying my son in one of her arms.
“Ik!” my daughter exclaimed, descending the stairs slowly while holding her mother’s hand and running towards me. As soon as she reached the first floor, I picked her up and kissed her lovely face.
“Hello, buddy,” I said, receiving Noah from Alaia’s arms. She seemed nervous at my proximity, and I smiled while she looked at me warily, but the ice was melting a bit. My efforts were paying off, and I won’t stop.
“Call me if anything comes up, please. My phone will be on,” she said, and I nodded.
“Shall we go?” I asked my children.
“Yes, they said happily, making both Alaia and me laugh.
We got into the SUV, and I played one of those songs they like, one I would have hated and found annoying a while ago, but not anymore. I watched the kids through the rearview mirror as they sang and clapped, smiling and completely in love with them.
After spending some time with the dogs, chasing the kids and vice versa, we went to dinner and then played a bit more. Sophie helped me put their pajamas on after their bath, and we took them to bed. I replaced their two beds with a king–sized one, three meters wide, like the one Alaia has. I realized they like having a lot of space.
Alana let out a high–pitched scream as soon as she saw the bed full of stuffed animals. I’ve gotten used to her expressions of happiness and love that she was like that.
“Do you like it?” I asked, helping her onto the bed, and then I helped Noah.
“Yes,” she said, showing a beautiful smile with those tiny teeth. They start jumping on the bed while Sophie and I watch them.
“You’re lucky, sir,” my chef commented.
“I am,” I sighed, thinking of Alaia and my father.
When it was late, I decided to take one of the storybooks and start reading to my children. They settle into the huge bed, and I laugh, noticing their small forms on it. They laugh back, melting something in my chest.
After reading, they fall asleep, and I take another blanket to settle next to them. I turn off the lights and leave a lamp on, yawning as I look at the time on my phone before closing my eyes.
A faint crying sound startled me. I opened and closed my eyes, realizing that Noah had started sobbing. I frowned and moved closer to him to hug him and try to calm him, but he cried softly, keeping his eyes closed. Worried, I took the phone and went back, as Sophie was not home. So I quickly dialed Alaia’s number.
Alaia
I went to bed thinking about my children, who would spend their first weekend alone with Nick. Although I knew he could take care of them, I couldn’t stop thinking about them.
I sighed, looking at the side where my little ones sleep; it was empty.
I closed my eyes only to bring Nick’s gaze and the sensation of his lips on mine to my mind.
“It meant nothing,” I repeated to myself once more.
I woke up when I felt my phone vibrate. I squinted at the screen and sat up in bed, startled when I saw Nick’s name on the screen. “Nick, is something wrong?” I asked, worried.
“Alaia, Noah seems upset. He’s crying but still not waking up,” he said, and I could feel he was in the same state as I was.
“I’m on my way,” I said, getting up to grab a coat and the iPad where I keep the soft music that helps my kids relax when they can’t sleep. I went downstairs to get my car keys.
I arrived at the house in less than ten minutes. The lack of cars at this hour played in my favor, thank heavens.
I got out of the car and heard the house door open. I see Nick in black pajama pants and a T–shirt. I moved ahead and went directly to the children’s room. When I got there, I hurried down next to Noah and hugged him. I had forgotten the last time this happened; they were younger when it happened a couple of times. The pediatrician said it was normal for babies and children up to six years old, but I still didn’t like seeing my kids in that state.
“It’s normal,” I said, looking at Nick, who was standing in front of us with his hands on his hips.
He exhales in relief once he hears me. “He’ll fall back asleep soon,” I said, and he nodded. That was when I noticed him looking at my legs. I look at them too. I put on silk pajamas with shorts and a tank top. He traced them with his eyes, and I felt a warm sensation over them.
A lullaby started playing, distracting us. Nick moved to take the tablet to turn off the sound but continued looking at something on it. I knew he was looking at the photos of the kids when they were younger. I have all the memories of my pregnancy, childbirth, photos, and videos of the kids, month by month, on the iPad.
“May 1?” Nick asked, his voice choked, showing me the screen.
“Yes,” I said, and saw him on a corner of the bed, from where I could see the same images he did. I noticed his fingers go to his eyes, and I bit my lip.
“They started to show when I was four months long,” I said, and he looked in my direction but quickly returned his gaze to the screen, as if not wanting to miss anything. “They were very restless and loved fast food while they were in my womb,” Nick nodded without looking at me.
“They were born a few days before the due date; it seems they don’t like being told what to do,” I commented, and Nick laughed, knowing they got that from him.
“They were so small,” he said, looking at a photo from the day they were born, and I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me.
“They were, but they were born very healthy,” I explained, and he reached a photo where we were with Cedric. He enlarged it, erasing the blond’s face from the screen.
He played a video where my children cried for the second time after they were born and
watched it more than once. We continued like that for a couple of hours, with Nick watching his children grow up far from him; their first words and babbles, their first teeth, seeing them laugh out loud, when they called me “mom,” their first steps. My chest tightens at the image and how Nick shows his emotions so openly.
Nick
Emotions overwhelmed me as I saw my children as tiny babies, and Alaia while her belly grew, the day they were born. I feel a knot in my chest and caress the screen while a smile spreads across my lips. Alaia narrated each photo and video, and I wished I had lived in each of those moments.
I stopped hearing her voice and realized she had fallen asleep while hugging Noah. I settled next to Alana and kept watching the videos and photos.
In one of them, Alana must have been six or seven months old. I guessed that by the date of the video. It was when she said her famous, “Nononono,” while shaking her little finger. I laughed, filled with emotions, and kissed my daughter’s head.
I woke up with the tablet on my chest and moved it to place it on the nightstand. Alaia was waking up, revealing her beautiful legs, which I didn’t miss.
She stood up. “They’ll be fine,” she said, kissing the children’s cheeks and combing their hair. “Sorry for falling asleep p>
“It’s okay, thanks for coming,” I said. “I’d like to keep it to make a copy,” I said, taking the tablet. “I missed it so much.” I lowered my gaze to the device.
“That was your decision, Nick,” she said seriously. A fire invaded my chest, and I moved towards her with long strides.
“No, it wasn’t.” It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. I took her face and looked into her eyes. “I never stopped loving you, Alaia p>