My tears of pain turn into tears of happiness.
“You have a baby boy,” the nurse says cheerfully.
I’m shaking as she places the tiny, wrinkled baby in my arms.
Emilio stares at us, speechless. He drops his head, kisses my sweaty forehead, and then softly brushes his finger along our son’s cheek.
“I love you both so much,” he whispers.
“And we love you,” I say, sobbing and staring down at the little human we made out of love. Not out of duty or because of a contract.
When Emilio takes our son in his arms for the first time, nothing else matters but us.
Our little family that I want to keep growing.
We’ll create a happy home.
We’ll give our children everything we grew up without.
“Emeri,”Aurora repeats, rocking my son gently while sitting on the hospital sofa. “Such a beautiful name.”
“It means bravery,” I say, struggling to fight off a yawn. “He wishes you’d brought Evalina to see him.”
“She’s at the house,” she says with a smile.
I return the smile, happiness spreading all over my tired body, becausethe housemeans our house.
This will be Aurora and Andre’s second stay with us.
Andre isn’t a fan of the accommodations and brings his full security crew, but I don’t care. They’re here, and that’s all that matters.
Emilio hovers over Aurora like she’s never held a baby before.
For a man who swears not to have a heart, I keep seeing glimpses of it.
I’ll never forget the way his entire face lit up when I showed him the positive pregnancy test.
And again, today, when he held our son for the first time.
I’ve never seen a happier, more at peace man than him in those moments.
Aurora stays for thirty minutes before saying goodbye. I’m pretty sure Emilio secretly texted and asked her to give me a break so I could take a nap.
Later that evening, Dasha and Leo visit.
They’ve been dating for three months now.
It’s different, them dating and not being forced into a contracted marriage.
Antonio isn’t thrilled about it, given his opinion of Dasha running from the last wedding and asking me for money, but he’s slowly coming around. She still isn’t invited to any Lombardi family gatherings yet though.
As for our family, no one has stepped up to claim the Bratva throne.
Everything went to my mother—the estate, money, and businesses.
I don’t think she can handle it, but we don’t talk much.
The Lombardis leave her alone and don’t ask for any cuts in profits.
