Chapter 95 Bella's POV

Chapter 95 Bella's POV
Chapter Ninety-five

Bella's POV

Daniel broke the ice, “Thank God he's okay but I gotta go Bella. Something came up.”

“Alright then, thank you for coming. Bye”

He left, I watched his back before turning over to Xander.

I cleared my throat and tried to distract him.

“It's really late sir, thank you for your help today,” I said while gesturing towards the door.

He nodded and continued staring.

I felt invincible with my hand outstretched. Does he not understand body signals?

I tried again and said much louder this time, “I’m sure you must be pretty busy sir, I'm sure you have a lot of work to do at home.”

“I'd like to see the boy before I go.”

I cleared my throat a bit before replying. “I don't think that'd be necessary, Xander.”

“I want to see him, Bella,” he pressed on firmly.

My face fell, I knew nothing could change his mind once it was made up.

“It's still too early to see him, you'll have to wait for an hour before seeing him,” I lied.

Xander crossed his arms and said, “Alright then.”

An hour later, Xander was still waiting.
I ran out of excuses to give him so, I got clearance from the nurse and opened the door.

I saw Noah on the bed looking pale and silent like death.

Immediately, my eyes went to his chest, it was moving. Good.

I sat down at the edge of the bed and held his hands, tears stung my eyes but I blinked them away.

I was determined to not cry in front of Noah. I wanted to look strong and brave for him.

His lashes fluttered softly and opened up, he tried to manage a smile but he failed.

His grey eyes shone, they were Xander’s eyes. I hoped Xander didn't notice.

I could feel Xander’s piercing gaze making a hole in my back.

Noah blinked slowly, his lips parting like he wanted to say something, but his throat was too dry. He just stared… first at me, then at Xander.

His small fingers tightened around mine.

“Mom…” he breathed weakly.

I leaned closer immediately. “I’m here, baby. I’m right here.”

But he wasn’t looking at me anymore.

His gaze drifted back to Xander.

Xander stepped closer to Noah

My heart slammed painfully against my ribs.

Xander crouched down slightly so he was eye-level with Noah.

“Does anything hurt?” he asked gently.

Noah blinked again. “My tummy… and my head.”

Xander nodded once. “You’re a strong boy. You’re going to be fine.”

Noah tried a small smile.

Xander kept staring at him… like he was studying him.

I felt sweat prickle the back of my neck.

I cleared my throat sharply. “Noah needs to rest.”

Xander didn’t move.

His eyes flicked to Noah’s hair, then to his jawline, then to those unmistakable grey eyes.

And then they flicked to me.

My stomach dropped.

Xander nodded to Noah. “You'll be alright kid.”

Noah's grey eyes met Xander’s intimidating own. Something flickered in Noah's eyes.

His throat opened and he mouthed the word, “D…da..ddy” before falling right back into his anesthesia induced sleep.

There was silence, thick and heavy between us.

Xander whipped his head towards me and broke the ice. “D… did he just call me daddy?”

I chuckled nervously, “ it's probably just the anesthesia, don't worry about it.”

“But it didn't look like…”

I waved my hands dismissively. “Oh, you know kids. They sleep talk, and make up things in their head. Don't mind him.”

I looked at his face, hoping he bought it.

He nodded slowly but still looked at Noah suspiciously.

Thank Goodness he bought it.

I sighed. “Alright then. I need to go ask the nurse some questions, can you watch over him for a minute for me, I won't be long?”

He contemplated for a few seconds before answering a low ”Okay.”

I slipped out of the room fast and pressed my back against the wall and exhaled shakily.

My legs felt weak.

Why would Noah say that? Why now? Why in front of him?

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to breathe.

I straightened my blouse and walked toward the nurses’ station, pretending to look calm and composed.

I asked the nurse a few basic questions to make it look convincing but I barely heard a thing she said.

I kept thinking about Xander alone in that room… With Noah.

God, what if he…

My chest tightened.

I thanked the nurse and walked back.

When I got to the room, Xander was sitting beside Noah’s bed with his elbows on his knees and his fingers pressed against his lips as he stared at the sleeping child.

His gaze was locked on Noah’s face, almost as if he was memorizing every detail.

When he finally turned to me, he asked.

“Is he going to be okay?”

“Yes,” I replied, swallowing. “The nurse said he just needs rest.”

Xander nodded once. But he didn’t stand or move, he just kept looking between me and Noah.

“I’ve seen those eyes before,” he muttered suddenly.

My blood froze.

“Xander…”

He stood up and exhaled through his nose, like he was trying to calm himself.

“Noah…” he said quietly, “he has eyes like mine.”

My lungs refused to work.

I forced out a laugh. “Xander, that doesn't mean anything. People share features all the time…”

“Not that exact color,” he cut in. His voice sharpened. “That shade of grey isn’t common.”

Panic crawled up my spine.

“He’s also unusually calm,” Xander continued. “That’s not common in kids his age.”

“My kid is far from observant," I countered quickly.

He lifted a brow. “Is he now?”

My throat tightened.

For a moment, he just studied me quietly.

Then he stood up slowly.

He walked toward me and I held my breath.

He stopped when he was right in front of me.

“Bella,” he said quietly, eyes piercing into mine, “is there something you want to tell me?”