Chapter 79 âSophia?â I think he only murmured, and barely so, but the silence around us was so loud that it was effortlessly carried to me I took a reflexive step behind. All these monils, I had waited for this day. And today, when it was here, when he was here, I wanted to turn around and run back to my room, pretend I never saw him.
But I had. And he had seen me.
Gabriel shook his head, opened his mouth, and then immediately shut it again. âYou... Hospital... Labour rooms... What?â He sounded battled.
I sucked in a deep breath. I wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came out. I stood there, silent.
1 gulped when he took slow steps towards me.
âYouâve... youâve gained weight. He murmured, âYouâre on the OBGY floor, youâre coming from the labour rooms Yes, genius, I wanted to say. I donât.
âYou....â Gabriel pauses because his voice breaks. Thatâs when I notice how tired he looks. Not even the crisp black suit he was wearing could hide his sunken, red eyes or his messy hair as if heâs been passing his hand through it. âYou were pregnant?â
I donât know how, but I find the courage to nod. âYou knew that, told you.â
âNo, you didnât!â He accuses, eyes filling with a coldness, voice full of anger.
His steps pause, and the concern and disbelief gets replaced by w fury.
And then, the fury dissipates just as quickly. âYou were pregnant.
I nod.
âM.. Mine?â
I wanted to cry. I couldnât, so I settle on nodding.
He sucks in a deep breath.
I ask gently, âDo you want to meet them?â
âThem?â He asks, âItâs a them?â
I nod again, pursing my lips to stop the smile that may have made itâs way to my lips in reflex while thinking of my little ones. A girl and a boy,â
â1. you.â Gabriel was still baffled, but couldnât talk, so he settles on nodding.
âCome,â I turn and walk, without waiting for him, assuming, hoping heâd follow.
And he does, all the way to the NICU.
He flinches when he sees the sign outside and his expressions flash the confusion, but if he wanted to ask something, he doesnât.
Lunaâs eyes widen in shock so big that I think they would fall off when she sees the man that enters the room behind me, but quickly gets up from the chair and stumbles outside with the words, Tll give you some space.â
1/4 Chapter 79 I give her a little smile, not-telling her that being alone with my ex husband is the last thing I wanted. But he was the father of my children, and if he wanted to be a part of their lives, I wasnât going to deprive them of a dad.
I notice how keenly Gabriel was staring at our little girl in her little box, his eyes pale as if heâd seen a ghost. âAurora,â I tell him, âI named her Aurora.â
âAurora,â he repeats, looking spellbound. âCan I... May I pick her up?â
I nod. Nobody except me had picked up the babies yet, something about minimising germ contact while they were in the NICU.
1 help open the glass box, and then pick her up, gently placing her in his arms.
I didnât miss the way his hands trembled, the way he looked scared, as if he was picking up an alien.
âSheâs so beautiful, He mutters, not taking his eyes off her. âJust like...â
He doesnât finish his sentence, and it weighs heavy on my heart. Just like what?
I move towards Alex, picking him up at the same time that Gabriel keeps little Aurora down, and that movement wakes her. She stares at him with her big eyes before a frown breaks out on her lips.
âShe doesnât like me.â Gabriel sounded horrified and I wanted to smile. I donât. He doesnât get any smiles from me, he doesnât get anything from me.
âSheâs a baby. Iâm not sure she likes anyone yet.â
âBet she doesnât frown looking at you.â
âThatâs because I feed her.â
Gabriel looked bitter, the frown on his lips mimicking his daughterâs.
I ignore it, moving towards him with Alex and placing him in his arms. I ignore the burning sensation that rises in my skin when my hand brushes against his. âAlex,â I tell him.
âLike Alexander?â
âNo.â I scrunch my nose. âJust Alex.â
âHeâs... bigger.â
âI suffered from a complication,â I tell him softly. âHe grew more than she could.â
âBut sheâll...â His question faded.
âSheâll grow, I finish for him, âSheâs okay.â
âHe looks like me.
âA carbon copy.â I smile at my son, who was still fast asleep.
Auroraâs little cry breaks our moment, and I stumble behind quickly, as if standing with him would mean Iâd burn myself.
He was the father of my children. We werenât a family, I had to remind myself.
âI need to feed her, I tell him, clearing my throat.
His eyebrows knit and he stares at me blankly, before it dawns on him. âOh.. OH. His eyes reflexively move from me to my 2/4 Chapter 791 chest, and I squirm under his gaze.
âCan you wait outside?â I ask.
If he was hurt by that, he doesnât show. He just nods quickly. âCan I take him?â
I nod. âI have a room. You can wait there. I point at the door leading to my room, and he nods in quiet acknowledgment before moving to the door.
I let my expressions fall the moment he was gone, the facade facing, I wanted to cry, but I couldnât, because I had to pick my daughter and coo her before feeding her.
She was hungry, and she falls asleep while feeding in the next ten minutes.
It still amazes me how much these tiny tots sleep. Well, that is during the day. During the night, theyâre owls.
I place her back in her bed, calling Luna to sit with her, and then go to my room.
The view that greets me makes me teary eyed.
Gabriel was sitting on the couch with his legs crossed, holding Alex in his hands, just staring at the little boy sleep.
I had to clear my throat to get his attention.
âTheyâre... I donât know what to sayâ He sounded breathless.
cross my hands across my chest. âWhyâre you here, Gabriel?â
âWhat do you mean, why am I here?â
âWhy are you here now?â I retort, sitting on the single chair, right across him.
âYou... He looked like he was trying so hard not to scoff. âI came for you. You disappeared.â
âYou mean after you sent me divorce papers and slept with Lily? Iâm sorry I didnât wait around to see you two marry.
Gabriel just blinked. âWhat?â-
âYou know, Lily... your ex.. I say in a duh voice.
âI know who Lily is.â Gabrielâs voice was cold, firm. âWhy would I sleep with Lily?â
âYou didnât?â
âNo!â He said it like he 1 had offended every cell in his body.
âWell, Iâm sorry I assumed you slept with her when I called and she answered. And mentioned you were asleep next to her âSophia, what the f*ck are you talking about?â
I cringe. âCan you not curse when the babies are around?
âThey donât understand anything yet?â
âYou really want the F-word to be one of the first few words he listens to from his Dad?â
âI spoke to him plenty when you werenât there. He mutters, but gets up any way. Tm going to keep him back there. Is that safe