Page 65 of Neptune

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CASSIE

O ne year has passed since the entire world found out the truth about our family. After all that we've gone through, I feel that every day I've spent with Luke and Aiden is a treasure.

Like now: a simple breakfast in the morning with them already makes my day complete even though I haven't even started my activities.

When I pull out the chair to sit down beside Aiden, who's already eating his sandwich, he stares at me like he's deep in thought. My eyebrows raise as his eyes fall on my tummy.

I smile, noticing his confused expression. "What's the matter, sweetheart?"

To my surprise, he places his hand on my stomach and looks up at me, curiosity on his face. "Is it there already?"

My brows furrow. I'm still trying to figure out what he means.

"The baby," he echoes.

I'm at a loss for words. Luke's chuckle snaps our attention toward him sitting at the other side of the dining table.

Luke places his coffee on the table, looking like he's trying hard to not burst out laughing. He coughs, his fist covering his mouth.

"Aiden." Luke clears his throat. "You want to have little brothers and sisters?"

Aiden's eyes sparkle as he stares at Luke. "Can I?"

Luke shoots me a glance, amusement present in his eyes before he focuses his attention back on Aiden.

"Tommy just got a baby sister, and he bragged about how cool it was to hold her," Aiden says in excitement. "He even showed me the picture, and it's cute."

Right. Tommy, his classmate. I should have known that Aiden loves babies. He has always thought that they're cute.

Luke smiles. "Would you still think so when they cry a lot? Are you sure that you won't make them cry?"

"Why would I make them cry?" Aiden looks lost. "Well, I definitely like to play with them. I don't know if that would make them cry?"

Luke laughs, his arms now crossed on the table. "Well, if you really want it, I'm sure that we can do something about it."

He shoots his gaze to me again, and I don't know how he can talk about this so casually in front of Aiden. Clueless Aiden. Luke seems to enjoy this conversation too much.

"I'm sure that I can do something about it, Aiden. I don't mind trying hard." Luke throws me a meaningful look, making me stop eating and drop the fork I'm holding.

I clear my throat and grab a glass of water before taking a large gulp of it.

"Will the baby really come if you try hard?" Aiden innocently asks Luke, and that makes me almost splatter the water from my mouth, while Luke laughs, throwing his head back.

Aiden looks at both of us in confusion.

"I don't understand how Dad can make the baby," Aiden says to me, his voice still rich with curiosity.

"Well—"

"Luke," I cut Luke off and glare at him biting his smirk. I know that he wouldn't tell Aiden, but I just can't bear listening to more of his words, knowing how much he enjoys teasing me.

"Aiden." A soft smile touches my lips as I stare down at Aiden, my cute little Aiden in his school uniform, who is always curious about things. "You know, when there's a mommy...and daddy..."

"In love," Luke points out, his eyes filled with adoration as he watches me .

I nod. "Yes, in love..." I falter while Aiden is still staring at me with his curious, big amber eyes. "Then the baby can happen."

I curse myself at how lame my explanation is. Who would have thought that Aiden would pop this kind of question now?

Aiden huffs before returning his eyes to his plate. "That's what Tommy said to me." His sentence makes me sigh in relief, but then he snaps his head back up at Luke. "But Dad, you were saying that you still need to do your best?"

I slap my palm on my forehead—I want to scream and laugh at the same time.

Luke chuckles. "Of course, Aiden. I will do my best."

OK. Stop right there. Don't speak anymore.

"Now will you wish me luck?" With a smirk plastered on his face, Luke raises his brows at Aiden.

I look at my husband in disbelief.

Aiden gives Luke a look of determination, shooting his arm toward Luke, a fork in his hand. "Good luck, Dad."

???

"I can't believe what you did to Aiden this morning," I mutter as Luke and I cuddle to sleep.

He wraps his arms around me from behind. Goosebumps appear on my skin as he places butterfly kisses on my neck. "I couldn't help it. He's just too adorable." Luke chuckles. "Do you want it?" he whispers in my ear.

Sighing, I turn around, snuggling closer to him. We're now face to face, our noses touching. "About having another baby?"

Luke nods, a small smile curved on his lips. "Yeah."

"I've thought about it," I whisper. "I've thought about stopping the pill, but..."

Luke sighs, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. The look in his eyes tells me that he knows what I'm thinking about.

"You know that we missed our time with Aiden, for years," I say, looking into Luke's eyes.

"I spent seven years of my life without him.

He didn't receive our love for years, and I know that it's over now, but I just can't wash away the guilt.

I don't want him to feel left out once we take care of another baby.

I just feel like what I've given Aiden is still not enough to make up for all the time that we've missed. "

My eyes sting, tears pooling in them. Even though a year has passed since I learned about that painful truth, it still brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it.

"Aiden knows how much we love him," Luke whispers, wiping my tears. "We can’t change the past no matter how hard we want to. I learned that the hard way too. What happened to Aiden years ago wasn't your fault. In fact, you should have blamed me first before you even thought about blaming yourself."

"No." I shake my head in disagreement. "No, Luke. It wasn't your fault either." My fingers brush against his cheek.

Luke covers my hand with his, caressing it. "Then let it go," he whispers, staring at me with loving eyes. "You might want to focus solely on Aiden, but he'd be happy to have a sibling. Didn't you see how excited he was?"

A soft smile touches my lips. "Yeah. He seems to be pretty excited."

"So damn excited," Luke corrects, making me laugh, throwing my head back as I remember their conversation.

When my eyes dart to him again, my breath catches in my throat from his intense gaze.

"We still have a long journey to go, Cassie," he says. "And I'm such a lucky bastard to have you by my side every step of our journey, for every chapter of our life. Whatever it is that you want, I'd be happy to make it happen. That's why I'm asking you—do you want it?"

I stare at him in amazement. This man...

How am I so blessed to have him and Aiden in my life? Tears fill my eyes again .

"Yes, I want it," I whisper before giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

To be able to build a family with him is the best feeling in the world.

The thought of growing old with him, blessed with our children surrounding us, makes me feel like I'm in a never-ending fairy tale. I couldn’t be more grateful.

Luke cups my cheeks and returns my kiss with a passionate one, and all I can feel for the rest of the night is his warmth.

?? ?

LUKE

16 weeks.

Yes, today marks 16 weeks of Cassie's pregnancy.

When I step out of the bathroom, I notice that Cassie is sitting at her dresser. She's already in her sleepshirt, combing her hair as she stares into the mirror.

God, she looks even more beautiful when she's pregnant.

I dry my hair with the towel draped around my shoulder and walks toward my closet to put my clothes on.

Dammit. I don’t want to put my clothes on when I'm around her, but since we have plans with Aiden tonight, I definitely should put my clothes on, shouldn't I?

So I put on one of my comfortable t-shirts before approaching my dear wife. She sighs as I wrap my arms around her from behind. I rest my chin on her shoulder as we look at our reflection in the mirror.

"I think it's a boy," she mumbles.

We don't know the sex yet, but we'll figure it out tomorrow when we see the doctor again.

"Why do you think so?" I ask, a smile creeping on my lips.

"Because I feel so lazy to glow up." She plasters a cute pout on her face. "I heard that if it's a girl, I'd be eager to look pretty. Like, I'm not in the mood to put my make-up on these days."

I can't help but laugh. "Where did you get that silly assumption from?"

Cassie huffs. "I just feel like I look unpleasant. And I can't deal with this bad hair day, but I'm too lazy to do something about it."

I chuckle, kissing her neck. God, she smells so good. Her scent is addictive.

"You definitely don't see what I see, because you look even more beautiful to me," I whisper, locking my eyes with hers through the reflection. "You're glowing. You're so damn beautiful right now."

Her blush appears on her cheeks before she stands up and faces me, circling her arms around my neck. I pull her closer to me by the waist.

"What do you think?" She smiles. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

I flash her my cocky grin. "You were quite aggressive during the first trimester of your pregnancy, so yes, I think it's a boy."

She rolls her eyes but can't hide the smile on her face. "You’re saying that I was horny?"

"Yes." I smirk. "Not that I was complaining."

"Gosh, these hormonal problems are killing me."

I laugh again just as the door bursts open with a loud bang.

"Movie time for baby!" Aiden rushes into our room. He grabs the remote from the nightstand and flops onto the bed.

Both Cassie and I chuckle as we approach him. I settle myself on the bed, my back on the pillow against the headboard while Cassie settles beside me, resting her head in the crook of my neck as she caresses her pregnant belly tenderly.

Aiden lies on the bed beside her, laying his head on Cassie's shoulder as he switches the channel to watch the movie that he picked for us.

This moment is perfect. The four of us are perfect. I've got everything in my life.