Chapter 158 Chapter 158
I pushed myself upright, ignoring pain while panic flooded fast and irrational because she sounded unhappy, and that meant something was wrong, and if something was wrong, then I had already failed.
"What do I do?"
Zaiel stood immediately, moving toward the bassinet but stopping halfway like approaching explosive material. "She might be hungry," he said.
"How do you know?"
"I don't," he said, and she cried louder. Tears filled my eyes instantly because the sound physically hurt somewhere deep in my chest.
"I can’t fix it."
Zaiel looked at me and then back at her, clearly fighting the same panic but forcing calm anyway. "We can," he said.
He lifted her carefully, his movements surprisingly gentle for a man capable of terrifying violence, holding her against his chest awkwardly at first before instinct seemed to guide him naturally. Her crying softened slightly. I watched stunned as he adjusted her position, murmuring quietly without realizing he was doing it.
"It’s alright," he said, his voice changed completely, lower and warmer, nothing like the controlled authority everyone else heard. She quieted more, her tiny fingers curling against his shirt while he swayed slightly.
My chest tightened watching them together because something shifted inside me seeing Zaiel Kai Rhyland, feared by men twice his size, standing barefoot in a hospital room whispering comfort to a newborn.
"You’re good at that," I said softly.
He glanced down, surprised. "I am terrified," he said, and I laughed weakly despite exhaustion. "Me too."
He brought her closer toward me, carefully settling beside the bed.
"She knows your voice already," I murmured.
"She knows yours too," he said.
The crying stopped completely, and silence returned except for soft breathing and hospital machines humming steadily in the background. Relief hit so hard tears slipped down my temples before I realized I was crying. Zaiel noticed instantly.
"What hurts?" he asked.
"Nothing"
That scared him more.
"Tessa," he said.
"I’m just scared." The words came out broken because admitting it felt like failure, but hiding it felt worse. "What if something happens when we sleep?" I asked through tears.
"It won't," he said.
"What if she stops breathing?" He moved closer immediately, placing our daughter gently into my arms before sitting beside me.
"We’re both here," he said. I looked down at her tiny face, perfect and unaware of how fragile she seemed compared to the world waiting outside.
"I kept losing things before," I whispered. The miscarriages lived quietly inside memory even now; fear followed happiness automatically. Zaiel’s hand covered mine firmly.
"This is different," he said.
"I know, but my brain keeps waiting for something bad."
He leaned closer until our foreheads touched. "Nothing reaches her," he said, and the certainty in his voice steadied something spiraling inside me. I believed him not because danger didn’t exist, but because he existed between the danger and us. She stretched slightly, making a soft noise, and I froze again.
"Is that normal?" I asked, and he almost laughed.
"I assume so," he said softly.
We spent the next hour watching her breathe like two completely unqualified guards assigned to the most important mission in existence; every sound made us check, every movement pulled our attention back instantly, and eventually exhaustion won. My eyes grew heavier despite resistance while Zaiel adjusted pillows carefully, helping me lie back without disturbing the baby now sleeping against my chest.
"You need rest," he murmured.
"So do you."
"I’ll sleep later," he said, and I knew he meant never.
"You can’t watch her forever," I said.
"Yes, I can," he replied, and I smiled faintly because he absolutely would try, and my hand found his wrist, holding him there beside me.
"Stay," I said tiredly.
"I’m not going anywhere," he said, caressing my face.
Sleep finally pulled at me slowly while fear softened into something calmer because every time I drifted, my last sight was him watching us both like nothing else in existence mattered. Somewhere between waking and sleep, realization settled gently inside my chest: we survived everything, and now this tiny life exists because we refused to break.
My eyes closed fully; the last thing I heard was Zaiel whispering softly to our daughter.
"I’ve got you," and for the first time since becoming a mother, I believed everything would be alright.
Tessa
The ride home felt unreal, like the world had quietly shifted while I was gone and now everything looked familiar but different because nothing revolved around me anymore; everything revolved around the tiny bundle sleeping in my arms. Elowen Mia Rhyland was her name, the name we both decided on. She barely moved during the drive, wrapped securely against my chest while Zaiel sat beside me instead of across like usual, one hand constantly resting over the blanket as if confirming she still existed every few seconds.
He hadn’t relaxed once since leaving the hospital, and I doubted he would anytime soon because every bump in the road made his shoulders tense, and every passing car earned a sharp glance through tinted windows like danger might suddenly appear out of nowhere. "You’re frightening the Jax," I murmured softly.
"I’m monitoring surroundings," he answered immediately.
I smiled faintly because nothing about him suggested calm even though everything was finally safe, and I understood now; this wasn’t paranoia, this was fatherhood colliding violently with the man he already was.
When the gates of our home opened, my chest tightened unexpectedly because the mansion looked warmer somehow, sunlight catching the windows while movement filled the front entrance, and I realized the entire family had been waiting.
Cars lined the drive, voices carried faintly outside, and before the vehicle even stopped, I could see Dad pacing near the steps with his hands shoved into his pockets like he didn’t know where to put himself.
Zaiel exited first, moving around the car instantly before I could even reach the handle and opening my door carefully.
"I can walk," I said.
"I know," he replied while still helping me anyway.
His arm stayed firmly around my waist while I stepped out slowly, body still sore and still recovering, and the moment El made the smallest sound, every conversation outside stopped completely and silence fell across the entrance.
Alina pressed her hand to her mouth first, Anthony standing beside her with quiet pride written across his face while the cousins crowded behind them trying unsuccessfully not to rush forward.
Dad stepped closer carefully, like sudden movement might scare her away.
"That’s my granddaughter," he whispered, voice thick.
Emotion hit me harder than expected, and I nodded, shifting El slightly so he could see her tiny face. She yawned at the exact moment everyone leaned closer, and the collective sound that followed was half laughter and half disbelief.
"She’s perfect," Michelle breathed.
"Obviously," Damon added.
Zaiel’s hand tightened subtly at my back as attention surrounded us, and I felt the protective shift in him instantly, not hostile, just instinctive, guiding us toward the door.
"Inside," he said calmly, and for the first time ever nobody argued.