Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen

Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen
Ezra 

We are in a room at the hospital, and Alana is lying in the bed. Thankfully, both she and Bubs are okay. Neither of them is hurt, but they want to keep Alana in for a couple of hours to be on the safe side. I don’t think I have felt such fear when she fell since my childhood. It would have killed me if anything had happened to either of them. Alana would never have forgiven herself if something had happened to the baby, even though it wouldn’t have been her fault. I had to do everything it took not to break down because I wanted to be strong for Alana. 

I am so angry at my dad right now. If Alana didn’t hear all the things he was saying about her, then she wouldn’t have had any reason to run away. I would never have spoken to him again if something went wrong. 

“Ezra, you can relax, my love. We are okay.” Alana’s soft voice pulls me from my thoughts. 

I stand from the chair and climb into the bed next to her. “I know, sorry,” I reply and kiss the top of her head. 

I slip my arm around her shoulders, and she snuggles into me. I have no idea if I am not supposed to be in the bed, but I don’t care. I want to cuddle my girl. 

“I know you were scared, Ezra, but we are doing fine.” She smiles, takes my hand in hers and places it over her stomach. 

I smile down at her and kiss her softly. “Yes, but please, take it easy for the next few days, okay?” 

“I will. I promise.” 

It's been a few rough hours, and I’m eager to get home. Alana must be exhausted. 

“Angel, maybe you should try to take a nap,” I suggest and stroke her arm. 

Alana glances up at me. “No, I will be fine until we return home.” 

I caress her cheek and plant a soft kiss on her forehead. “Okay.” 

She looks tired, but I will keep it to myself. A knock on the room door draws our attention towards it. I see my mom, dad, and Jenny. 

“What the hell are you doing here, Dad?” I snap. 

Alana slowly sits up. “Ezra, please, don’t get mad again. It is okay,” she says softly and invites the three of them inside. 

Mom rushes over; it looks like she has been crying. She must have been as worried as we were. “Is everything okay?” 

“Yes, Alana and the baby are fine.” I smile. 

I watch relief take over her face. She hugs Alana and then me. When she pulls away, Dad is standing next to the bed. 

“I am so sorry, Alana,” he whispers. 

I went to reply, but before I can, Alana got there first. 

“I am going to be completely honest with you here because I have had enough. I don’t understand what your problem is with me. I have not done anything wrong to you. I don’t want Ezra’s money. I only want him. I love him, and he loves me, so you need to learn to deal with that.” 

Alana isn’t nasty when she speaks to him. She is calm and firm. 

“You are right, Alana. You have done nothing wrong. I worry about my son, especially with how you started, but I will be the first to admit my treatment of you has been wrong and uncalled for. I have never seen Ezra as happy as he is now. But I worry for you. I have been in this world long enough to know how judgmental and cruel people can be. I worry they will destroy who you are.”

Dad’s voice is soft, which surprises me because he always takes a tone when it comes to Alana.

“I appreciate that, but I can take care of myself. I have been doing it since I was fifteen years old. I have dealt with real monsters and demons. No, I don’t fit into the world you are all used to, but I don’t care; it doesn’t matter to me. I am who I am, and not everyone will like me. People will say and do what they please, but those people mean nothing to me. Ezra and I are together, and nothing or no one will get in the way of us, not after everything we have been through to get here.” 

Alana’s voice is a little shaky. She is trying not to cry as she says her piece. I am so proud of her right now for standing up for herself and telling my dad how it is. I think it is what he needs, especially from Alana, not me. 

My dad looks at the ground, as if he’s ashamed of his previous behaviour towards her. “I really am sorry, Alana. I promise to try better,” he whispers. 

“Thank you. I want our baby to have their grandparents in their life, because you two are the only ones they have,” Alana says softly. 

My dad lifts his head to look at her. “Really? You still want me to be part of the baby’s life even after everything I have done and said, and was the cause of your fall?” 

“Yes, because family is important,” Alana answers. 

“Yes, family is important,” Dad agrees. 

Alana smiles at him, and he returns it. If he gives Alana a chance, he will learn to love her and realize how incredible she is. 

“I am so excited about becoming an auntie,” Jenny gushes. 

“I have one question, though. How do we see the baby if you are in Scotland?” Mom asks sadly. 

Dad must have told her. Shit, I wanted to tell her myself. 

“You can come to visit any time you want. We will also fly back here when we can. I promise, even though we will be in different parts of the world, we will do whatever it takes to make sure all three of you are part of our baby’s life,” Alana replies confidently. 

“Promise?” Mom asks. 

“We promise. When we finally find a house, there will be more than enough room for all of you to come and stay. I know you would prefer us to stay here, Mom, but we need a fresh start. There are too many bad memories for us here. Scotland is beautiful and friendly. I truly believe it is the perfect place to raise the little one.” It will be hard for my mom, but she will understand. She will want us to do what is best for us and our baby. 

“I should apologize to you, also, Ezra. I shouldn’t have acted how I did.” Dad sighs. 

“It is okay, but if you continue to act in such a way when you promised not to, you won’t be forgiven so easily next time.” 

I want things to be fine between Dad and me, but he also needs to know if he continues to act like a dick, he will lose not only his son but his grandbaby, too. If his behaviour continues, I will not allow our baby to be around such toxicity. I need to think of Alana and the little one now. 

“I promise, Son. I would like us to get along with and finally get to know Alana, especially since I’m more than positive she will be my daughter-in-law one day.” He smiles. 

“Yes, she will,” I say proudly. 

Dad reaches over, giving Alana and me a quick hug. “I really am happy for you both.” 

We are a little taken aback by it because it doesn’t happen often. There is a chance my mom had a talk with him on the way here. 

“Thank you.” Alana and I chorus. 

“When can you leave since there are no issues?” Jenny asks. 

“In a couple of hours. They want to keep Alana here for observation, to make sure everything is okay.”  

Mom, Dad, and Jenny all find chairs and bring them over to the side of the bed. 

“You don’t need to stay,” I say. 

“But we will.” Jenny smiles. 

I appreciate them staying. It is a nice gesture. 



It’s four o’clock in the morning when we arrive home. It would have been sooner, but Alana was craving a burger and fries, so we needed to make a pit stop on the way home. I didn’t mind, though, because she deserved to get what she wanted after the night she had. She has been quiet on the ride here because she was too busy eating to talk. I didn’t get anything. 

“Come on, bright eyes, let’s get you to bed and get some rest,” I say as our car comes to a stop. 

Alana yawns and nods. “Yes, please. I am exhausted.” 

I climb out of the car and give Alana a hand climbing out. We thank the driver before heading inside. 

“We can sleep in tomorrow since it has been a rough night, and we weren’t back until late.” 

“I like the idea. I swear I could sleep for a week.” Alana snickers. 

“You can sleep for as long as you want. We don’t have anything planned for tomorrow. We could spend the entire day in bed watching movies and eating ice cream if that is what you want.” 

“Yes, let’s do that! Ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner sounds great!” she cheers.

She is so darn cute when she is excited. I chuckle. “Whatever you want, bright eyes. Though we should probably eat more than just ice cream.” 

Alana laughs. “Yeah, yeah, we can work those minor details out tomorrow.” 

I laugh loudly and slip my arm around her shoulders. “I love you so fucking much, do you know that?”

Alana flashes a dorky smile at me. “I love you too, Ezra.” 

We head straight for the bedroom. Alana changes into one of my tees before she climbs into bed. I change also and follow her. 

“Are you sure you are feeling okay, sweetheart?” 

“I promise I am fine, Ezra,” she replies and kisses me softly. 

We settle in bed, and she snuggles in. “Do you think your dad will accept me?” 

“I think he will. I am proud of you for standing up to him. I believe it is what he needed to hear.” 

“I hope so. I would rather get along with all your family.” 

“And you will. Jenny and my mom already love you. My dad will get there soon, too.” 

“Good! So, when do we tell them we are already engaged?” Alana asks with a raised brow. 

“Soon. How about we invite them for dinner next weekend and tell them?” I suggest. 

“Sure.” Alana smiles. 

I switch the lights off. Alana doesn’t take long to fall asleep. I will follow soon. I get lost in my head as I try. Tonight could have gone differently. I am just so grateful it didn’t, and Alana and Bubs are okay. 

Things can only get better from here on out. I think we have had our fair share of pain and bad luck.