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I feel almost like I’ve lost something. I got so used to feeling my child’s movements inside me and now…it’s all over. A part of me is just gone.
But there’s another feeling, too—a deep sense of rightness. Being here, with Wolfe, it feels like exactly where I’m meant to be. The softness in his face, and the tenderness of his touch—they make me feel like pushing him away was the wrong thing to do. I already feel like the Summer Palace is home. How could I ever tell Wolfe I didn’t want him? The only thing missing from my life for the past few months has been his presence.
He lays a soft kiss on my fingers, then my palm, and stands up to push my wheelchair out of the room. I lean back, exhausted yet wired, watching the hospital hallway roll past. Wolfe’s steps are sure, and any staff we cross steps out of the way and bows in deference. He must like that. They’re much better at deference than I am.
One more turn down a hallway marked ’Neonatal Intensive Care Unit’, and I see a room full of tiny bassinets. My heart squeezes so hard there must be no blood left in it at all. So many tiny little babies in need of help—and one of them is mine.
Wolfe wheels me past the ward to a small adjacent room. “They put him in a private room,” he says. “So I could visit him often.”
Stopping in front of an incubator, the Prince engages the brakes on my wheelchair and drops a hand to my shoulder. My bottom lip trembles. I press my nose to the clear plastic dome, feeling my heart shatter right there in my chest.
He’s so tiny. So fragile and precious. Hooked up to oxygen and tiny tubes, sleeping gently. There’s a tiny little hat on his head, and a diaper covering his lower half. It’s way too big for him.
Tears spill over my cheeks, and Wolfe wraps his arms around me. “He’s going to be okay,” he whispers in my ear. “They said he’s getting better at breathing on his own.”
Is that supposed to make me feel better? I cry on Wolfe’s shoulder as my whole world twists before my eyes. I’ve spent the past eight months feeling like I finally have a purpose—like I can see clearly for the first time—and it was almost taken away from me.
With the pads of his thumbs, Wolfe wipes the tears from my eyes. He holds my face until I meet his gaze and kisses each of my cheeks.
“I’m here, Rowan,” he says gently. “I’m not going to leave unless you tell me to. We’ll do this together.”
An ugly sob rakes through my body. God, I must look like a mess. How can he look at me with soft eyes like that? How can there be any sort of love in his face?
But it’s there. The love I’ve been missing. The affection I’ve been craving. It’s written all over Wolfe’s face, and soaked into every one of his movements. A strand of hair is plastered to my forehead and cheek, and Wolfe gently pushes it back.
“This isn’t how I wanted you to see me.” I feel slightly pathetic right now, but all I can do is lean into his touch and close my eyes, one hand still resting on the plastic dome over our baby’s incubator.
Our baby.
For the first time since I found out I was pregnant, it feels like I’m not alone. Opening my eyes, I look at Wolfe. At his smooth forehead with black hair curling at the temples. His beautiful eyes and fine, straight nose. At those lips I’ve missed kissing, tugged in a soft smile.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Rowan. Now more than ever.” He rests his forehead against mine, letting out a long sigh. “You’re the mother of my son and the love of my life.”
I back away, eyes wide.
Wolfe laughs. “Don’t act so surprised. You must know I’m in love with you.”
“Why would I know that?”
“Because my whole life has revolved around doing whatever you want ever since I met you. Because I’ve been locked away on my own since you left. Because seeing our son for the first time was the happiest and most terrifying moment of my life.” He sucks in a breath, smoothing his thumb over my cheek. “Because I can’t imagine going another day without you. Don’t make me walk through life alone, Rowan. I…I need you. I love you so much it hurts.”
Tears are streaming down my face now. I can’t help it. My walls just crumble right there, turning to dust at my feet. I’m done fighting this. I don’t want to push him away. I don’t want to think about all the complications of being with a Prince, when I know that the alternative feels like hell.
He’s here, with me, in my darkest hour. Wolfe is supporting me as I heal from this traumatic birth. He loves me and the baby.
As he wipes another tear off my cheek, I realize how wrong I was. It was never better for me to leave. Being independent means nothing if there’s no one to share it with. Giving my child a better life is impossible if I take him away from a loving father.
And Wolfe? He doesn’t care about controversy. I wasn’t doing him a favor by leaving. I would never be a burden by staying.
He wants me.
He wanted me when I was healthy and full of snark. He wanted me when I was desperate for him, clawing to tear his clothes off. He wanted me when I left. And he still wants me now, when I’m weak, ailing, sweaty, and full of stitches.
“I love you, Rowan,” he says softly. “With everything I have.”
Emotion wells up inside me, and I feel like I’m seeing a future I never imagined. I could be happy with someone—with Wolfe. I could have love and laughter and children. I could have the support of a strong partner, while still feeling like myself.
“I…I think I love you too,” I whisper, lip trembling.
Wolfe’s face looks like the sun. His smile brightens the dim room, his eyes shining bright. He kisses me then, trembling against my lips as I cling onto his shoulders like he’s the last life raft in a stormy ocean.
When we pull apart, I sniffle, glancing at our son. “I don’t want to stop designing buildings, though. I don’t want to sit in a castle doing nothing. I want our son to grow up knowing where he came from.”
“I’ll never stop you from doing what you love, Rowan.” Wolfe presses his lips to mine, holding me as if he’s afraid I’ll slip through his fingers. “So long as you tell me you’re mine.”
I smile softly, leaning my head against his shoulder. Wolfe wraps one arm around me, then interlaces the fingers of his other hand in mine and places our joined hands on the incubator. I inhale his scent, letting his love soak into every pore. Then I nod. “I’m yours, Wolfe. I always have been.”
He lets out a long sigh, then drags a chair beside me, puts his arm around my shoulders, and we both turn to stare at the tiny creation that brought us back together.
Three, together, forever.
