Guarded (Calavera Hotels #3)

Epilogue Two- Nero

TEN YEARS LATER

“ N ero I fucking hate you. I hate you so fucking much.” Ariella screams, squeezing my hand.

The monitor above us shows the length and strength of each contraction.

“I’m sorry. I love you. I love you so much.” Ari says once the contraction passes.

And within seconds, she hates me again. I squeeze her hand and wipe her hair out of her face.

“She’s almost here, Maniká,” I say calmly.

“You see this, Lucia, you see the pain she’s in?” Thalia says from the other side of the bed.

Lucia, Ariella’s sixteen-year-old niece, sits on the couch, her eyes wide staring at Ariella. Silas had the bright idea to send her with Thalia, hoping that the birthing experience would provide as some type of birth control. I know it already was working for me. A vasectomy is in my near future.

An hour and a thousand “Fuck yous” later, Ariella gives birth to our six-pound twelve-ounce baby girl. The first cry hits my ears, and I instantly fall in love. I kiss Ari’s forehead before moving to the end of the bed to cut the umbilical cord.

There was a time when Ariella wasn’t sure she wanted kids. Her career had taken off. We’d invested in several studios, and she was content with Guapo and I.

I look down at the small heart necklace around her neck, the one with Guapo’s ashes. The year after he passed we took a trip to the Philippines.

The orphanage at Saint Andrew’s was not on the itinerary that day, but Ari wanted to volunteer during our month-long stay. That’s where she fell in love with Benny and Myka.

The twins were three at the time and latched on to Ari. She fell in love instantly, and even though I had some reservations at first, we adopted them. They can be little shits some days, but they’re our little shits.

I was never expecting to be father of the year with a past like mine, but watching Ari pour her heart into them made it easy for me to do the same. Like me, they came from a place where love didn’t exist, and Ari showered them with love the same way she did me.

The nurses clean the baby up and place her in Ariella’s arms. My oversensitive wife begins to cry.

“She’s so beautiful.” she sniffles.

“What are you going to name her, Tia?” Lucia asks, looking down and running her hand over the baby’s head.

“What do you think, Mamas?” Ari asks her.

Lucia purses her lips, an expression identical to Ari’s.

“She looks like a Ximena,” Lucia says.

“Ximena,” Ari repeats. “I like it. Ximena Thalia Dizon. Hello, my love.” She says to our daughter.

Thalia stares down at them and grabs her hand.

“I love it. Don’t you dare make me cry.” Thalia says, her voice cracking.

I let the girls have their moment and go to the waiting room to get Benny and Myka.

“Daddy!” Myka yells, running towards me. I pick her up and kiss her forehead.

“Hey, Princesita. You want to go meet your little sister?” I ask.

“No,” she says, her brows furrowing, and I laugh.

“One day, the two of you will be best friends,” I explain.

“Is she gonna cry all night?” Benny asks, unamused.

He only tolerated me while putting he put his mother on a pedestal. I’ve told him a million times we’re not competing for her affection, but he still insists on doing so. Another reason I needed to get a vasectomy.

“She might. Come on, let’s get you something to eat.”

I take the kids to get something to eat, and when we return to the room, Thalia and Lucia have left. My wife looks exhausted with Ximena curled up into her chest.

“Mama!” Myka cries out, rushing to the bed.

“Ven mi amor,” Ari says, kissing and pulling her onto the bed. Benny beats me to the other side of the bed and glares at me before kissing his mother on the cheek.

“Did you eat mijo?” Ari says to our eight-year-old son.

“Dad made us eat some nasty shit.”

Ariella’s eyes bounce from Benny to mine, widening. She swears he’s picking up foul language from being around the Motorcycle club, but I can attest the kid has taught me a few new words.

Ari turns the TV on to a movie for the kids. I move them to the couch when they fall asleep. Ariella stirs awake when she feels their absence.

“Do you want to hold her?” Ari says. I look at our little girl nestled into her, so small and fragile. “Take your shirt off.”

“Right here, Maniká? The kids are in the room.” I say, arching my brow.

“Seriously, Nero? That won’t be happening for a while.” She says, and I sigh. Reason three why I’ll be getting that vasectomy.

“Not for me, for the baby. She needs skin-to-skin contact. It’s important for building a bond.” Ari explains.

“Okay, whatever you want to say to see me half naked,” I say before removing my shirt and squeezing onto the bed next to Ari.

She places Ximena on my chest, and I look down at her little features. We created this tiny human. It was breathtaking to think about. I went from never knowing love to being fully submerged in it.

I look at my wife and our kids lying on the couch. This was mine. My own family. The very people who I make a silent vow to protect forever. My reason for living.

“I love you,” I say to Ari, whose eyes flutter with sleep.

Ximena’s little hand rests on my chest, over the scarring where her mother had once kissed, healing parts of me I didn’t think could ever be healed.

My heart swells with appreciation for my wife. For this moment and every moment to come. For the inexplicable sense of belonging, she’s brought into my life.

THE END