Chapter 59 The Days We Counted Without Her
POV Ethan:
Even though we weren’t in any state to face more stress, we went to the clinic where Scarlett’s father was hospitalized to tell him what had happened. But the moment we told him, he laughed and said she was reaping what she’d sown. We were kicked out right after Noah’s fist hit his face.
Five days later…
After so many heartbreaking days, today we finally received good news. The doctor told us it’s possible for Scarlett’s pregnancy to continue, even with her in a coma. When we got in the car to go home, we cried for several minutes, not caring who saw.
Eight days later…
The baby is okay! Today we saw him on the ultrasound—his little heart beats so strongly. It’s overwhelming to know that despite everything, he’s a fighter like his mother. He doesn’t give up without fighting. When we went back to the clinic to tell Scarlett’s father the good news, he refused to see us.
Forty days later…
It’s a girl! Liam, Damian, and I smiled like fools at the tiny image of our daughter on the screen. Noah didn’t take the news of having a daughter well. He kissed Scarlett’s forehead, then her belly, saying he was going to the bar. All he told us was:
“A girl! A girl! I… I’m way too young for gray hair.”
“Noah, calm down. It’s not the end of the world to be the father of a girl,” I said, making him burst out laughing.
“Say that again when our girl is fifteen and a bunch of assholes start trying to touch our little princess.”
That was enough for all of us to head to the bar and get drunk with him.
...
Scarlett’s father was no longer at the clinic when we went to tell him he would be the grandfather of a little girl. I just hope that one day he doesn’t regret giving up the incredible daughter he has.
42 days later…
Our house is a mess with so many pink baby clothes scattered around, and our daughter’s room is even worse—it looks like a ransacked toy store. We were organizing everything when Damian stormed toward us.
“You assholes!” he yelled, shoving his phone in our faces. “You used my credit card?”
We burst out laughing.
“Obviously, Damian, you’re the CEO,” Noah replied, holding a pink onesie in his hands. “Look how cute this is—our daughter will love it.”
Damian’s eyes sparkled, and it didn’t take long for him to smile.
“Wait until you see the pink stroller I bought. It cost four thousand dollars, but you need to see how badass it is. Worth every dollar.”
“FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS?”
53 days later…
Scarlett’s belly is getting bigger every day. She still hasn’t woken up, but every day our hope renews itself.
67 days later…
We fought again today. Damian didn’t like the name Noah and I chose. Liam abstained, saying he didn’t want to take sides because when Scarlett woke up, she’d discover that Noah and I were trying to name the baby Sunshine.
“Scarlett will like it,” I defended the beautiful name I chose for our daughter.
“Not a fucking chance,” Damian growled. “Our daughter won’t be named that.”
90 days later…
Our parents are still shocked by the news. They nearly disowned us for taking so long to tell them about Scarlett and our daughter.
Noah pretended to faint to distract them, but our mother didn’t believe it and slapped him awake.
94 days later…
The obstetrician told us today that our daughter will have to be born as soon as possible; she’s no longer receiving everything she needs to develop inside her mother. We cried, terrified that something might happen to her—we can’t imagine life without our daughter anymore.
101 days later…
Her name will be Aria Monroe Blackwell.
111 days later…
Aria was born at 7:36 AM, weighing 1.805 kg and measuring 28 cm. She went straight to the incubator, where we’ll wait for her to grow strong enough to come home. We’re completely obsessed with her. She’s a warrior like her mother.
150 days later…
We’re walking into the house with our daughter. After so many days, she’s finally home. Our parents welcome us and immediately take her from my arms. Liam is recording everything on his phone, as we’ve been doing since Aria was born. We’re doing it so that when Scarlett wakes up, she can watch every day of our daughter’s life.
160 days later…
Today Aria pooped on daddy Damian’s expensive suit. I filmed it so Scarlett can die laughing at his face later. He responded by cursing every swear word he knows. I couldn’t care less.
263 days later…
Time is passing too fast. Today Aria is turning four months old. Watching my daughter grow while knowing her mother is still in a coma breaks my heart every single time.
280 days later…
Noah is full of himself because Aria is crazy about the baby food he makes. We got into an argument among the four of us about other things Aria loves, but we stopped when she babbled “papa.”
We all froze, thinking she was calling us Daddy for the first time—but all she wanted was more food. Which proved Noah right: she loves his baby food.
320 days later…
Today Damian took our daughter to the office, and Aria drooled all over a contract worth more than 20 million. Noah said Damian spent the entire day in the office staring at the ceiling in deep silence. None of us had the courage to ask if he was okay, even though we couldn’t stop laughing about the trouble our daughter causes—but only with him.
Aria is the best.
361 days later…
Aria took her first steps today. It could have been a beautiful moment—if it weren’t for the reason that motivated her. She was walking to grab Noah’s Playboy from the couch, turning a magical moment into pure panic.
Scarlett is going to kill us when she wakes up.
365 days later…
One year without Scarlett. One year without giving up. I know she’ll come back to us.
440 days later…
Today was the first time we had the courage to see what Scarlett’s car looked like after the accident. We left there grateful that our girls survived, because seeing the car, I knew it had been a miracle. Damian paid to have that wreck destroyed—he never wanted to look at the thing that almost stole our happiness again.
476 days later…
Today Aria turned one year old, and each day she looks more and more like Scarlett. Her birthday party had a Little Mermaid theme; the woman hired to play Ariel hit on Liam, which resulted in him firing her on the spot. Since the accident, we never even considered getting involved with other women. That’s not going to happen—we want only one. Or rather, we want only two. One is already with us; we’re just waiting for the other to wake up.
548 days later…
Today Scarlett woke up… but she doesn’t know who we are.