Chapter 31 Deanna
Three weeks postpartum, and I was still learning my new body.
The incision pulled when I shifted position.
There was still bleeding, still soreness, still moments where I wondered if I’d ever feel normal again.
But then Perry or Yianna would make one of those tiny baby sounds, and I’d remember that ‘normal’ had been redefined.
Aris’s once-pristine bedroom had been completely overtaken. Two bassinets flanked his—our—bed, close enough for me to reach them without getting up.
A changing table occupied the space where a reading chair used to sit. The diaper caddy overflowed with wipes, creams, and burp cloths. A diaper bin lurked in the corner.
The room that had been all clean lines and muted grays now looked like a baby store had exploded. Receiving blankets were draped over the furniture and stacks of tiny clothes covered what used to be his pristine dresser.
Across the hall, the room Aris wanted to convert into a nursery sat empty. We’d spent hours selecting the perfect cribs, coordinating furniture, and debating paint colors. He’d wanted everything ready, and it was. Too bad everything was set up at my house in Montrose.
I finished feeding Perry and laid him down on the bed to change him. Aris held Yianna against his chest, feeding her the bottle of milk I’d pumped earlier.
Aris, Yianna, Perry and Deanna...
It had been over twenty years since I’d changed a diaper, but my hands remembered what to do. Funny how that worked, like riding a bike. I moved quickly, removing the old diaper and readying a fresh one.
I wiped Perry down with a warm wipe, murmuring to him. I couldn’t stop marveling at how perfect he was.
From across the bed, Aris called out, “You should never leave yourself open like that when changing a boy. You must—”
Too late!
Perry let loose with a perfect stream, hitting me square in the face. I sputtered, wet-faced and stunned.
“See?” Aris was laughing, reaching over with some wet wipes to clean my face. Meanwhile, Yianna continued drinking her bottle, unbothered.
I snatched the wipe from him and cleaned my face, half-groaning, half-laughing. “You could have warned me before I changed him.”
Still laughing, he shrugged. “Everybody gets baptized eventually, yes? Now you will not forget.”
“I want to switch babies. Give me the one that ain’t trying to attack me.”
“Come here, little assassin,” he said with that smirk. He traded babies with me carefully, taking Perry. “At least now he is done, yes?” he said, finishing up the diaper change like a pro.
With Yianna snuggled against my shoulder, I patted her back. She rewarded me with a tiny burp after a few soft pats.
I shifted her down into my arms and leaned back into the pillows. When I looked up, Aris was watching me. The love in his eyes was unmistakable.
“This is our life at forty, yes?” he whispered with an even bigger smile.
“It’s your fault we’re doing this at forty, you know.” I couldn’t help smiling. “Best thing you ever did was kidnapping me from that gala.”
“Kidnapping, it implies you were unwilling, yes,” he said with a grin. “As I recall, you came willingly.”
“You literally covered my mouth with your hand and dragged me away,” I reminded him. “Pretty sure that’s the textbook definition of kidnapping. I just decided not to press charges.”
He leaned across the bed and kissed me. “And you never will,” he said against my lips.
When he drew back, the playfulness was gone.
“We need to talk about our living situation. This…” he gestured around the bedroom, “…it is not sustainable. Your life, it is in Montrose. Mine is in Athens. We need to decide which continent to call home.”
I’d been thinking about it before the twins were born. Every time I pushed the thought away, it came back stronger.
Aris’s life was here. Not just his business, but his mother who’d nearly died, his brothers, the family legacy he’d spent decades building.
Mine was in Montrose. Mama Nettie, who’d been like a mother to me. My church family, who’d held me up throughout Tia’s cancer treatment and my divorce. Kandi, my sister in everything but blood. The house I’d bought with my money and credit. The first place that had ever truly been mine.
Yes, Tia lived here now. Yes, my business could operate from anywhere in the world. But that didn’t make the choice simple.
I looked down at Yianna, then back at him. “I know. Trust me, I know.”
His phone buzzed on the nightstand. We both looked over.
Aris reached for it, reading the text, and his whole body went stiff.
Alarm shot through me. “Is your mama okay? The kids?”
He glanced at me. “Mother, she is fine, yes. The kids as well.” He looked back at his phone.
“Then what’s going on?”
Aris stood with our son in his arms. “Work. I need to leave.”
“But—”
He laid Perry in his bassinet, making sure he was settled. “I hate leaving you alone with them like this.” He was already moving toward the closet. “We need to hire nannies soon.”
The concept of hiring someone to help care for my babies felt foreign to me. When Tia was born, it had been me changing every diaper, walking the floors at 2 AM, figuring it all out alone except for the days she spent at Mama Nettie’s while I worked.
Kevin had refused to change a single diaper, refused to care for Tia on his own while I worked. I’d been nineteen, married, and somehow more alone than if I’d been single.
But this time was different. Aris had handled every diaper change since the twins were born, fed them, held them through the night—all while running a billion-dollar company. But even with a partner like him, I had a business to run, and we needed help to make it all work.
The twins deserved the best care, and I deserved not to run myself into the ground trying to do everything alone. Besides, with my laptop, I’d never be far. I could work from the nursery, the bedroom, or the garden. I’d still be their mother. I’d still be present.
Just with help this time.
I nodded, rubbing my cheek against Yianna’s soft hair. Both babies were born with full heads of hair, just like Tia had. I could’ve spent all day looking at them, breathing in their sweet smell.
Aris moved quickly, pulling a dress shirt over his t-shirt and replacing his shorts with trousers. The transformation from daddy to businessman was jarring.
“Will you be okay with both?” He was buttoning his shirt now. “I could take them with me to the office.”
That made me smile. I tried to imagine the CEO of Olympus Motors walking through headquarters with two newborns. “We’ll be fine. The staff’s been real helpful.”
Aris bent down to kiss my lips, then my forehead. Then he kissed Yianna, who got her share of daddy’s kisses every day. He moved to Perry and rested his hand on the baby’s chest before he straightened and crossed the room.
He paused at the door, his hand on the frame. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, yes?”
Then he was gone.
I sat there with two sleeping babies and a growing unease about what that text had said. The not knowing was almost worse than any answer could be.
But what could I do? Sit here and worry myself sick with a newborn in my arms, or try to focus on something I could actually control?
I shifted Yianna in my arms and pulled my laptop onto the bed beside me. The Black Ember performance reports filled the screen. The campaign had been running for weeks now, and I hadn’t looked at the numbers since the twins were born.
My eyes burned as I scrolled through Chauncey’s emails. The summer collection creative needed final approval, the influencer content calendar was waiting on my review, and the analytics showed some engagement patterns I needed to address before they became problems.
I should’ve been concentrating, but my mind kept drifting back to Aris’s abrupt departure.
A knock at the door saved me from spiraling completely. “Come on in,” I called out, glancing up from my laptop. The door opened, and in walked Kayla with TJ strapped to her chest, followed by Domna and Irida.
“Well, look who it is!” I sat up straighter, happy to see them. Domna was moving slowly with Irida’s steady hand guiding her, but she was looking much better than when she first came home a week ago.
“Good to see you moving around more, Domna. You getting stronger every day.”
“Each day is better than the last,” Domna said with a smile. “And I’ve been missing these little ones.”
Irida helped her sister-in-law settle into the chair near Perry’s bassinet. Domna’s eyes immediately went to the sleeping baby.
“May I?” Domna asked, her hands already reaching.
“Of course.” I watched as Irida lifted Perry from his bassinet and placed him in Domna’s waiting arms. Her entire face lit up.
“Hello, my little Periklis,” Domna whispered, her voice full of emotion.
Irida turned to me, her eyes fixed on Yianna in my arms. “Oh, look at this precious angel,” she cooed, already extending her arms. “These old arms are just aching to hold her.”
I transferred Yianna to her. “She just ate, so she’s all milk-drunk and happy.”
“That’s when they’re the sweetest,” Irida said, cradling Yianna. “Hello, little one. Your Theia Irida is here.”
Before living at the estate, I thought I’d never have a minute to myself with all these relatives around. But this place was huge enough for everyone to have their own space and privacy.
“So how you holding up, Mama?” Kayla asked me.
“Ask me again after I find a nanny and move them to their nursery.”
“You can always hire me,” Irida said, “I work cheap.” Everybody laughed, especially when she added, “Don’t judge my parenting based on my son. Judge me on Kostas instead. He’s the most sensible of all the Christakis boys.”
“I wish Periklis were alive to meet his namesake,” Domna added, looking down at Perry’s face.
Irida nodded in agreement.
Kayla’s phone vibrated, and she rolled her eyes. “Probably Konstantin checking on us again. He worries when he’s not here.” She looked at her phone with a smile, but then it vanished.
“What is it?” I asked, getting concerned.
“Nothing,” Kayla said quickly, shoving her phone into her pocket. “Hey, do the twins sleep on their backs? Because this one…” she gestured to her baby, “…won’t sleep unless she’s on her stomach.”
I refused to be distracted. “Kayla. What was on that phone?”
“Nothing.” Kayla wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Just... you know how these Greek tabloids are. Always making up mess.”
My heart started racing. “What are they saying?”
“Honestly, it’s probably fake news. You know how they...”
“Kayla!” I snapped. “What does it say?”
She winced. “There’s an article saying Aris’s assistant filed a lawsuit against him.” She said it fast.
“A lawsuit?” I frowned. “For what?”
Kayla hesitated and it told me everything. Whatever it was, it was bad.
“Deanna, it’s probably not even—”
“Tell. Me. What. It. Said.”
She looked at Domna and Irida like she wanted backup, but they both stared at her expectantly. Even Irida, who usually had something to say about everything, stayed quiet.
“Sexual harassment,” Kayla said quietly, not looking me in the eye.