Chapter 145 Chapter 145 - You Are My Desire

Chapter 145 Chapter 145 - You Are My Desire
Pedro Hernandez

"Happy birthday to you," we all sing, clapping lightly. "Happy birthday to you."

Abby stands in front of the candle, ready to blow it out as soon as we finish singing. I can honestly say I've never been happier than I am today. I even have a birthday hat on my head. Well, my daughter asked for that. The candle is shining, but not brighter than her blue eyes, which look so much like mine.

"Happy birthday to you…" We end the singing.

I lean toward her with a small smile.

"Make a wish, sweetheart," I say softly.

Abby looks at me with a huge smile before closing her eyes and concentrating on the wish. It seems very serious, as my daughter stays that way for a few seconds. Her eyes widen, as does the smile growing on her face.

"What did you wish for? What did you wish for?" Austin asks, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Is it a Taylor Swift concert? I want to go too." Archie says, also unable to contain his excitement.

I think these kids ate too much candy before the cake—and this will be even worse, like a sweet energy drink for them.

“Guys, I can’t tell you my wish or it won’t come true,” she answers them, her tone serious. “Can I cut the cake now?” Abby looks at her mother.

She doesn’t seem interested in prolonging this little argument with the boys. Adie nods and helps her cut the cake. Abby cuts two pieces, and for a moment I consider the idea that she’ll hand them to us, but my daughter grabs the two small plates and walks away with them, almost tripping over her own feet.

“Who’s she giving them to?” I ask quietly, as Abby walks among our friends.

“I have no idea either,” Adie replies, before wiping her hands and letting the staff we hired take care of the rest of the cake.

I watch my daughter walk toward my mother, who's in the left corner, accompanied by Fernando and my aunts. I think I now know who she'll hand the two pieces to. I admit, I feel a lump of jealousy forming in my throat when Adie touches my hand and we move away from the cake table. I guess I can't help but let him have their attention, even though I still don't like him. I even thought Abby would hand the cake to Minnie, since she's quite attached to her, but my daughter walked right past and went to her grandparents.

We sit at the table with our friends. The idiot who calls himself my friend is laughing, as if it's something funny. He must have seen my expression. I still can't hide my displeasure.

"Looks like someone's jealous." Victor's voice sounds teasing.

He's mocking me.

"Get used to it, I used to be her favorite," Jackson says, with a bored expression. "I used to give her candy and she loved me, now she only talks about Abuelo. And when she's not talking about him, she talks about her father setting up an aquarium at home with the fish she wanted." Her tone is irritated, but Jackson gives a small smile. "She's happier than we've ever seen her."

"Actually, they both are," Lyla comments, holding the straw in her hand as she looks at Adrielle, who's sitting right next to me, her arm resting on my left shoulder. "Last week, someone was smiling at the hospital walls."

"I think I have the right to be in a good mood. The only mood that's going to be upset is yours," Adie retorts, with a false tone of harshness.

Lyla's mouth drops in surprise and her hand falls to her chest, as if offended by this.

"Please don't talk to my wife like that," Victor says, raising his index finger. "A pregnant woman has every right to be in a bad mood."

I see Jackson and Adrian laugh.

"Elle, you can't say anything. You weren't very kind during Abby's pregnancy," Jackson says, his eyes intent on her. "Wow, you should have been here. She was unbearable," he says, pausing.

I narrow my eyes in disdain. How dare you say she was unbearable? My woman would never be unbearable pregnant. In fact, I think she became even more beautiful during pregnancy. We were looking at some photos yesterday, and I was only even more certain that Adrielle would be even more beautiful pregnant.

"You say that because you don't feel pain. Believe me, carrying a life hurts a lot," Adie says, annoyed by her brother's comments, who only wants to provoke her.

"If you can do anything with a belly the size of a watermelon, feel contractions before and during labor, I consider you the strongest man in the world. Otherwise, shut up, Jackson." Lyla says, glaring at him.

Neither of us wants to laugh, but it's almost impossible to hold back the two women's irritation. I'm not going to argue with them. I'm not the one carrying a baby for nine months in pain, and I'm sure if I try to give my humble opinion, I'll probably leave here with a beating.

I didn't leave. Luckily for me. But Victor did. I think he made some comment about his wife gaining more weight lately, and she was very offended by it. We left laughing about it.

At home, Adie took Abby straight to the bath. She was tired and already looked like she wanted to go to sleep. I still don't dare stay in her room for long. I understand that she's uncomfortable with me, and that's okay. I can smell the herbs she used in the bath. She's just like her mother. A perfect copy.

I'm in the hallway, leaning against one of the walls, waiting to say goodnight. When I was a child, my mother used to do this to me. Goodnight kisses, bedtime stories. I'd love to do that with my daughter, but I know the time hasn't come.

The silence at home is deafening, but in a good way. It's welcoming, even. I used to see silence as my enemy, always searching for a sound that could drive it away, as if it represented abandonment, isolation. But it isn't. In fact, it's the calm for turbulent days. Here, I don't always feel suffocated, as if I'm immersed in the ocean's surface.
The door to Abby's room opens. Adie has her phone in her hands as she comes out. Her expression looks worried. Her eyes are focused on the screen, her brow furrowed in confusion, as if she's not quite right.

"Is everything okay?" I ask, taking a step toward her to wrap my arms around her.

I can see out of the corner of my eye that she's reading some test results, but I don't know what they are. She lowers her phone as soon as I touch her, her head lifting to look at me.

"Can you… put Abby to bed?" he asks, his green eyes focused on me. "She's ready for bed, you just need to help her with the blanket."

I hesitate. I don't know if my daughter will accept this, but Adie seems a little too confused for me to react negatively to it. I take a deep breath, gathering the courage to do so. I kiss her cheek and pull away.

"I'm going to put her to bed. Is there something wrong?" I ask, still thinking about that test result, but I imagine it's from a patient.

"Yes. I mean, no." Adie seems too confused to even answer me.

I give a light laugh, seeing that she's so confused by this that she's losing her words.

"Okay."

Adie looks at me one last time before walking down the hallway and into our room. I wonder what's got her like this, but I know things will be more tense now that the hospital is hers. She's the one who makes everything happen. She was already like that, but now she seems more overwhelmed despite spending less time in the hospital.

We've already seen some structures for the foundation. Jackson is taking care of the paperwork and says it won't take long. I hope not; I'm looking forward to this project. But I need to worry about my most precious possession right now.

I push open the door, which is ajar. Abby is sitting on the bed with a book with drawings of whales.

"Are you going to put me to bed tonight?" she asks, lifting her head as I enter her room.

"Um... Is there a problem?" I ask uncertainly.

She shakes her head and places the book on the small table next to the bed. Abby lies down on the bed, and I take that as an answer. I grab the blanket—which is as light as a feather—and cover her up to her chest. I check the blinds and see they're securely closed. The rain seems to be approaching; there are several flashes of lightning in the distance.

"Well, erm... good night." “You know my wish has already come true?” Her words make me stop in my tracks.

My breath catches for a moment. I can clearly hear my heart pounding as if I can't control it. It's an internal battle to turn toward her, but my body obeys my commands.

“What… wish?”

Her blue eyes stare at me with a small, shy smile on her face.

“You,” she answers quietly. “You threw the best birthday party ever and you were there. Thank you, Daddy.”

I force myself to swallow my nervousness and give her a small smile.

“I love you, Abby. And I just want you to be happy. Just like your mother,” I say, approaching cautiously enough to keep a good distance. “I'm glad you liked it.”

“I loved it,” she says, smiling. “But you know what else I wished for today?” I shake my head, waiting for her to continue. Abby's smile widens and she clutches the blanket eagerly. "May you and my mother get married so you never have to leave."

My mouth drops open in surprise. I blink a few times before kneeling down to her bedside.

"I'm… not leaving, honey. I plan to marry your mother," I reply with a small smile. Something pops into my head, and I consider it a good idea to take Abby with me to look for engagement rings for the proposal. "Actually, I think I'll need help proposing, can you help me?"

She jumps out of bed so fast I barely have time to blink.

"Yes, yes, yes!" she says excitedly.

"Okay. But keep it a secret, okay?" I ask with a small smile as she nods frantically and lies down so I can wrap her in the blanket again. "Go rest, honey. Have a good night. And I love you."

Her blue eyes focus on mine for a moment, as if she's thinking about something I can't quite decipher. For a moment, I think I've said something wrong.

"I love you too, Daddy." I can't hide my teary eyes.

The only thing I do is wrap her in the blanket so I can leave the room without her noticing that I'm about to cry because my daughter said she loves her daddy. I should set off fireworks right now. I could shout from the rooftops that my daughter loves me.

Oh, honey, you have no idea how happy your daddy is today.