Chapter 179 Together
Chapter 179 Together
Epilogue
Eight Months Later
Diya's POV
The lake had always been beautiful, but somehow, it looked different today.
Maybe it was the afternoon sunlight dancing across the water, or the gentle breeze moving through the trees, carrying the sweet scent of wildflowers from somewhere nearby. Or maybe it was simply because, for the first time in a very long time, I had nothing to be afraid of.
I lay comfortably with my head resting on my husband's lap, one hand lazily placed over my stomach while his fingers moved slowly across the curve of my belly.
Six months.
I still couldn't believe it.
Six months pregnant.
And if my stomach was anything to go by, I was apparently carrying an entire football team.
I sighed dramatically.
“I'm getting too big.”
Pete looked down at me.
“You're beautiful.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Of course. You have to say that every time.”
His lips curved into a smile.
“Why?”
“Because I'm carrying your child.”
“I would say it even if you weren't.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“Liar.”
He laughed.
“I married a very suspicious woman.”
“You deserve it.”
“I probably do.”
I smiled and settled more comfortably against him. His hand returned to my stomach, his palm resting protectively over our baby.
There was something about watching Pete with our unborn child that still managed to surprise me.
The man who had once been so careless with everything had become almost ridiculously protective.
He wouldn't let me carry anything heavy.
He complained whenever I walked too far.
He had memorized every appointment.
He even had an opinion about what I should and shouldn't eat.
Sometimes, I wondered whether I was pregnant or whether Pete was.
“You know,” I said, staring at the lake, “you're becoming very annoying.”
His eyebrows rose.
“Becoming?”
I laughed.
“Fine. You've always been annoying.”
“That's better.”
His fingers gently rubbed my stomach.
“And yet you married me.”
“I must have been temporarily insane.”
“You were.”
“I blame the pregnancy hormones.”
“You weren't pregnant when you married me.”
I turned my head and looked up at him.
“Then I blame you.”
He laughed again and I smiled.
For a moment, we simply sat there.
No arguments.
No fear.
No guards rushing toward us with terrible news.
No phone calls that made my heart stop.
Just Pete's hand on my stomach and the sound of Matt's laughter somewhere nearby.
I lifted my head slightly.
Matt was running through the grass a short distance away, chasing a butterfly that seemed determined to stay just beyond his reach.
“Matt!”
He turned.
“Yes, Mommy?”
“Don't go too far!”
“I'm not!”
Pete shook his head.
“He's going to say that until he disappears behind a tree.”
I laughed.
“You're supposed to be watching him.”
“I am.”
“You're watching me.”
“I'm capable of doing both.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Alpha Pete, the great multitasker.”
“Exactly.”
I settled back against him and his fingers continued moving gently across my stomach.
Then his expression changed.
He looked down.
“What?”
I frowned.
“What?”
“You felt that?”
I smiled.
“He moved.”
Pete's hand immediately became still.
“Again?”
I nodded.
“Maybe.”
He looked at my stomach as though he expected the baby to suddenly announce itself.
I laughed.
“You're staring.”
“I want to feel it.”
“You've felt the baby move before.”
“I know.”
His voice softened.
“But it still feels strange.”
I reached up and touched his cheek.
“Strange?”
“Yeah.”
He looked at me.
“In a good way.”
I smiled.
“I know.”
He lowered his gaze to my stomach again.
“You're really in there, huh?”
I laughed.
“Yes, Pete. That's generally how pregnancy works.”
He ignored me.
“There's actually a whole person growing inside you.”
“Thank you for the scientific explanation.”
“You're welcome.”
I laughed again.
Then, without warning, the baby kicked. I felt it beneath Pete's palm.
His eyes widened.
“There.”
I nodded.
“There.”
A smile slowly spread across his face. I had seen Pete smile countless times.
But this was different.
There was something almost boyish about it. Something soft. Something I rarely saw before.
He leaned down and pressed a kiss against my stomach.
“Hey, little one.”
I smiled.
“Already talking to the baby?”
“Of course.”
“What are you saying?”
He looked at me.
“I'm telling them to be nice to their mother.”
I laughed.
“That's your biggest concern?”
“Absolutely.”
Another kick landed beneath his hand and his eyes widened again.
“Did you see that?”
“Yes.”
“Our baby kicked me.”
I smiled.
“Maybe they're already tired of you.”
He placed a hand over his chest.
“That hurts.”
“You'll survive.”
“I don't know.”
I laughed.
He leaned down and kissed my forehead.
Then his eyes drifted toward Matt. For a few seconds, he watched our son running through the grass.
“Mike would have loved this.”
My smile softened and I looked at Matt too.
“Yeah.”
“He would have chased that butterfly with him.”
I laughed quietly.
“And probably fell before Matt did.”
Pete smiled.
“Definitely.”
We were silent for a moment.
Mike's absence would probably always hurt. There would always be moments when something reminded us of him.
A joke.
A memory.
A familiar place.
But the pain no longer felt like something that threatened to swallow us whole.
It had become something gentler. Something we carried. Something that reminded us how much he had loved us.
I reached for Pete's hand and he intertwined his fingers with mine.
“We should tell Matt about him again,” I said.
Pete nodded.
“I will.”
“He should know who Mike was.”
“He will.”
Pete squeezed my hand.
“I'll make sure he knows everything.”
I smiled.
Before I could say anything else, my phone rang.
I groaned.
“Who is calling now?”
Pete reached for the phone beside me and handed it over.
I glanced at the screen.
“Shantel.”
Pete smiled.
“Answer it.”
I accepted the call.
“Hello?”
“Finally!!!”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and laughed.
“Hello to you too.”
“Do you know how long I've been trying to reach you?”
“I was busy.”
“Doing what?”
I glanced at Pete.
“Nothing.”
Pete mouthed, Nothing?
I ignored him.
Shantel gasped dramatically.
“Nothing?”
“Yes.”
“You sent me a picture yesterday, Diya.”
I smiled.
“So?”
“So your stomach looks like you're carrying twins.”
I burst out laughing and Pete looked at me suspiciously.
“What?”
I covered the phone.
“Shantel thinks I'm having twins.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Are we?”
“I don't know.”
He immediately looked concerned.
“What do you mean you don't know?”
I laughed.
“Relax.”
I returned the phone to my ear.
“Shantel, it's one baby.”
“You better hope so.”
I laughed.
“Why?”
“Because if you're carrying twins, I need to know immediately so I can start preparing.”
“Preparing for what?”
“My godchildren, obviously.”
I shook my head.
“You haven't even met this one yet.”
“And?”
She sounded completely serious.
“I'm already their favorite aunt.”
Pete laughed beside me and Shantel heard him.
“Is that Pete?”
“Yes.”
“Put him on.”
“No.”
“Diya.”
I smiled.
“No.”
“Give me the phone.”
I sighed and handed it to Pete.
He took it.
“Hello, Shantel.”
“Alpha Pete….”
“How are you doing, Shantel?”
“You better take care of my best friend.”
He looked at me.
“I do.”
“You better.”
“I do.”
“And don't let her give birth before I get back.”
Pete laughed.
“I'll try.”
“Try?”
“Yes.”
“Pete, I'm serious.”
“I'll personally tell the baby to wait.”
I burst out laughing and Shantel laughed too.
“Good.”
Then her voice softened.
“I'll be back soon.”
I smiled.
“We'll be waiting.”
“Tell Diya I love her.”
“I heard that.”
Shantel laughed.
“I love you too.”
“I love you too.”
She paused.
“And Pete?”
“Yeah?”
“Don't annoy her.”
He looked at me.
“No promises.”
“That's exactly what I expected.”
The call ended and I shook my head.
“She hasn't changed.”
“Neither have you.”
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
“You're still bossy.”
“And you're still annoying.”
He smiled.
“I missed this.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“This.”
He gestured toward the lake.
“Us.”
My heart softened and I looked around.
Matt was still running through the grass, the lake stretched peacefully before us and Pete's hand was still resting over my stomach.
Our child was growing inside me.
And for a moment, I realized how far we had come.
Eight months ago, I couldn't have imagined this life.
I couldn't have imagined that the man who had once been the greatest source of my pain would become the man I trusted with my heart, my future and our children.
We had lost people along the way.
We had been hurt.
We had nearly lost everything.
But somehow, through all the darkness, we had found our way back to each other.
Pete leaned down and kissed my forehead.
“What are you thinking about?”
I smiled.
“How lucky I am.”
His arms tightened around me.
“So am I.”
Somewhere in the distance, Matt's laughter carried across the lake.
I closed my eyes and listened to it.
For the first time, I wasn't afraid of tomorrow. I wasn't waiting for something terrible to happen. I wasn't wondering what the next betrayal would cost us.
I was simply here.
With the man I loved.
Our son.
And the little life growing beneath my heart.
And for the first time in my life, tomorrow didn't feel like something I had to survive.
It felt like something I couldn't wait to live.
Together.
THE END.