Chapter 72
The bright fluorescent lights blinded her when Jasmine awoke. Everything hurt, from the pounding in her head to her sore hips and core. She looked down and saw her bump was now significantly smaller. Everything felt foggy. She gave birth, right? Something about Nick tickled at her memory.
As she regained her bearings—she was still in the hospital with an IV bag of blood hooked up to her—she saw the tiny little basket next to her. In it was her son, sleeping. He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen in her life.
But wasn’t Nick there before? Where was he now?
Had he met Asher and then decided it was too much?
She cried, from the pain in her body and in her heart. It was equal measure joy and sorrow. Looking at her son’s face brought so much love, but for a minute there, she thought Nick would be there too. Maybe once, just once, she’d wake up and he’d be next to her.
“So how do you feel about Morgan being your dad, Asher?” she joked in an attempt to raise her spirits.
The door opened. “I hope I didn’t hear you say Morgan would be the dad. I would like to not traumatize our child,” Nick said from the doorway. His face was patched up, and in his hands was a bouquet of tulips.
She couldn’t help the grin on her face. “You’re here.”
“I’m here,” he reassured.
Relief washed over her, now convinced he wasn’t a figment of her imagination. “Tulips aren’t even in season; how did you get those?”
“That’s not all I have,” he said with a wry grin.
He entered the room and was followed by the rest of her entourage, all with increasingly lavish bouquets in their arms.
“Where are we even supposed to put all of these?”
“That’s not what’s important,” Natalie said behind her bushel of flowers. “The thing that’s important is that you’re awake now, and I can see the baby myself.”
“You lost a lot of blood, but they stopped the bleeding right after you passed out.” Nick set down his flowers and kneeled next to her, grabbing her hand. “You can’t ever scare me like that ever again.”
She smiled. “I promise to do my best.”
The rest of the group was huddled around the baby, though they seemed afraid to get too close to him. “Am I just chopped liver over here?”
“Okay, but this baby is way cuter than anyone in this room. Can you blame us?” Morgan said as she fawned over Asher.
She shrugged. “Fair enough. I’m really happy you’re all here.”
“Well, I couldn’t wait to meet my best friend’s baby,” Merrick said and patted Nick on the back.
“My first nephew. If they’re all this cute, I need more,” Astrid chimed in.
Andrea agreed enthusiastically.
“You guys did it,” Natalie said. “Now I swear if you disappear to Georgia with no word again, I will go full Mission Impossible and drag you back.”
Jasmine laughed. “Not a chance in hell.”
Andrea stepped forward. “Speaking of, I was wondering if I could call Dad. Let him see? I promise he had nothing to do with what Mom pulled.”
She nodded. “Go ahead.”
Her father’s face appeared on the other end. “Hi, Jasmine. Are you feeling okay?” he asked.
“I’m alright. I’d like you to meet your grandson, Asher,” she said, and Andrea moved the camera over to him.
She could hear the tears in his voice. “He’s perfect. Can you bring me back to your sister, pumpkin?”
She obliged. “I wanted to say I’m so sorry. For everything I did to you, and what I enabled your mother to do. I wasn’t aware of her actions these past months, not until I noticed Andrea was blocked, but I should have known better. If I had more than a month left, I’d file for divorce.”
Jasmine smiled weakly. “Might still be worth it.”
He laughed, but it sounded more like a wheeze. “I’m glad I got to meet my first grandbaby. I love you sweeties, and I hope you find nothing but happiness now that you’re free.”
She wiped away a tear. “I love you too, Dad. Bye.”
Andrea hung up the phone then hugged her sister.
“If you all don’t mind, I’d like a moment with her alone,” Nick said.
“Alright, we’ll need to grab a drink soon and celebrate,” Merrick said.
“Once the doctor gives the all-clear, I’m going to drink enough to compensate for the stress of the last seven months,” Jasmine said and got a chuckle out of the group. Each one hugged her goodbye, with Morgan and Natalie the last ones.
“Thanks for not giving up on me.”
Natalie smiled. “You said it yourself, the best things come to those that don’t give up. You might have, but we would never.”
The three girls hugged each other tightly. “Love you guys.”
“Love you too,” they said in unison, then exited, leaving her alone with Nick.
He traced a pattern absentmindedly on the back of her hand.
“What happened with Aaron?” she asked out of curiosity rather than concern.
He chuckled. “He was arrested, and the paternity results were delivered to the jail. I dropped the charges after he promised to never contact you again.”
“I’m guessing no one told the police you actually started the fight back in the park?”
He shook his head. “Everyone was very clear that it was Aaron who threw the first punch.”
“What about the people who were recording?”
“Astrid already spun it, fighting for the love of my life. Apparently, people are eating it up.”
She chuckled. “We’ve got some good friends.”
“That we do.”
It wasn’t what Nick wanted to talk about, so Jasmine waited patiently.
“I’m sorry I was such an idiot. I knew you were different from the get-go and still I let my fear guide my decisions for too long. So many people just see the money in my name, but not you. You always saw me.”
“It’s okay. You’re here now.”
“It doesn’t make it okay, but I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you, if you let me.”
He gently rolled Asher’s bassinet over to her bedside, and then pulled a small box out of his pocket.
“So, what do you say? Do you want to give our little family a chance?”
Jasmine looked into his beautiful green eyes that had entranced her since she first saw them. “I love you too,” she said.
He tilted his head in confusion.
“I forgot to say it back at the park. I love you too.” With all the happiness in the world, she opened the box to reveal a ring with a small green emerald in the center.
“Yes.”