Chapter 178: I put a baby in you.

The long wooden dining table on the outdoor terrace was packed with food.

Steaks, perfectly seared. Pasta, rich and creamy. Wine, full-bodied and expensive. And an array of desserts—all favorites, all made with care.

Seraphina watched as everyone took their seats, laughing, teasing, eating like they had been starving for weeks.

Damon was next to her, completely in his element.

She studied him for a moment, watching the way he leaned back in his chair, rolling his eyes at something Liam said, the way his fingers absently tapped the side of his glass—always moving, always thinking, always him.

And soon—he was going to be a father.

Seraphina inhaled, her hand drifting briefly to her stomach.

This was it.

The moment.

And just like he had proposed, just like their wedding, just like every important moment between them—

It had to be done their way.

So she waited.

Let the night unfold, let the teasing and drinking and ridiculous banter happen.

And then—she made her move.

Damon didn’t even realize something was happening at first.

Not until Seraphina placed a plate in front of him.

Damon raised a brow. “What’s this?”

Seraphina smirked. “Dessert.”

Damon tilted his head, suspicious.

Everyone else at the table stopped eating, sensing something was happening.

Slowly, Damon picked up the plate, lifting the napkin—

And froze.

Because beneath it, sitting neatly in the center of the plate, was an ultrasound photo.

For a second—**just a second—**he didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe.

Then, slowly, he looked at her.

Seraphina, cool and composed, the ghost of a smile on her lips, simply said—

“I figured we needed a new way to be together.”

Damon just stared.

At her.

At the photo.

At her again.

And then—

“No f*cking way.”

Liam choked on his drink. Alexandra gasped.

Tessa froze. Zayn’s fork hit his plate.

James and Orion looked at each other, already piecing it together.

Damon blinked, still processing.

Then, suddenly—

He stood.

He grabbed Seraphina’s face in both hands, tilted her head back, and kissed her like she had just given him the world.

Because she had.

When he pulled back, his forehead still pressed against hers, his voice was rough with something he had never felt before.

"We're having a baby?"

Seraphina nodded.

Damon exhaled, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe it, then laughed—a full, genuine, Damon Hale kind of laugh.

“Holy shit,” he muttered. “I put a baby in you.”

Liam spit out his wine.

Tessa groaned. “Oh my God.”

Zayn looked deeply disturbed. "Do we really have to phrase it like that?"

Seraphina rolled her eyes. "You’re unbelievable."

Damon grinned. "And yet, here you are, married to me."

Seraphina sighed. "Questionable life choices."

Damon kissed her again. "Always in all ways."

Her breath caught.

Because that?

That was their promise.

And now, it meant something new.

The rest of the table was still in stunned silence.

Until—

Dominic Hale, who had been sipping his whiskey quietly, finally spoke.

"Well," he muttered, setting his glass down. "Guess I’m gonna be a grandfather."

James and Orion turned to each other.

Then, in perfect sync, along with Dominic—

“Guess we’re gonna be grandparents.”

Liam, Zayn, and Tessa all groaned at the same time.

"Absolutely not," Liam said, pointing at James.

James smirked. "Doesn’t change the fact that I’m basically a grandpa now."

Zayn rubbed his temples. “I hate all of you.”

Damon, still grinning like an idiot, slid a hand to Seraphina’s stomach, his thumb tracing slow, careful circles.

"Seriously," he murmured, softer now, just for her. "We’re really doing this?"

Seraphina placed her hand over his.

"Yeah," she said.

And for the first time in his life—Damon Hale knew, without a doubt, he had everything he’d ever wanted.