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O zias

Six months later.

My heavy eyelids flickered before slowly lifting to put a face to the soft melody of Demi’s delicate voice as she sang “Happy Birthday” to me once in English and again in Spanish.

It was my thirty-seventh birthday—another year I thought I might never see.

My grin spread wide across my face as I rubbed my eyes, hoping to see her more clearly.

Demi sat perched on the edge of the bed, looking like an angel in a baby pink teddy, her dark hair swept up into a high messy bun.

In her hand was a red velvet cupcake with a single gold candle flickering at the top.

It was my favorite flavor, of course. Over the time we’d been together, she’d made a habit of remembering the simple things about me.

“Go ahead and make a wish, birthday boy,” she encouraged with a hint of playfulness behind her eyes.

I propped myself up on my elbows, lightly smirking as I watched the candle’s flame dance between us before closing my eyes, making a wish, and blowing it out.

“Aren’t you going to take a bite?”

I licked my lips. “As good as you look right now, the only sweetness I want on my tongue is you.”

Demi playfully rolled her eyes. “Later for that. Tell me what you wished for,” Demi insisted.

I belted out a soft chuckle while leaning in to close the space between us. “I would, but if I tell you, it won’t come true. Ain’t that rule number one when it comes to birthday wishes?”

The sweet sound of her carefree laugh filled the room, sounding and feeling like a warm hug. “Okay. That’s fair,” she said. “Are you ready for your birthday gift?”

I arched a questioning brow. “I thought I told you I didn’t want you buying me anything.”

“I know what you said, but who said I bought anything?” Demi replied, her expression softening, although the mischievous expression on her face remained.

“What?”

“I kept asking myself, what do you get a man who could literally buy anything he wants? And then, this happened,” she bellowed, handing me a skinny box with a red bow wrapped around it.

By that point, she had my full attention.

I sat up, intrigued, and eased the box from her hand, slowly pulling apart the ribbon with care.

When I opened the lid, my breath hitched.

Staring back at me were three pregnancy tests, each with two bold positive pink lines.

For a moment, all I could do was stare at them while my heart hammered against my ribcage.

“Demi,” I whispered as my gaze pulled away from the sticks to meet hers. I witnessed the same blend of happiness and shock looking back at me.

“We did it, O. I’m pregnant,” she announced, her voice slightly shaking with a rollercoaster of emotion. “It’s a miracle.”

My heart somersaulted in my chest. She was right.

It was an absolute miracle. I was so taken aback I couldn’t even find the right words to say to commemorate the moment.

So, instead, I reached for Demi and pulled her into my arms, squeezing her as tightly as I could without hurting her.

The future I’d pushed to the back of my mind, never allowing myself to dream about, had suddenly become my reality in the blink of an eye.

Everything felt perfect and so surreal at the same time.

“Happy birthday, Ozias,” she whispered against my bare shoulder before kissing it.

I leaned back just far enough to look at her. She was already glowing to me. “This is the best birthday gift I’ve ever gotten,” I announced.

She belted out a soft chuckle. “Good, because I don’t think I’ll be able to live up to the hype next year.”

And at that moment, I was certain there wasn’t a demon in this world I couldn’t face as long as I had Demi at my side—her, and now, the new life she was growing inside her.

The sight of the pregnancy tests had hit me like a bolt of lightning.

For the last thirty-six years, I’d lived my life according to my own carefully calculated terms. Parenthood had never been part of the plan until I met her and we lost our first child.

Since the shooting, I never allowed myself to hold onto the hope that I’d become a father again.

Yet, here I was, staring down those bold pink lines that would change everything.

In the midst of my joy was a silent fear that simmered just beneath the surface.

Could I be the father our child deserved when my own childhood had been molded by the power plays of the cartel and the cold, emotionless presence of killers?

At that moment, I swore to myself that I would do and be better for my child.

I wouldn’t be my absentee father, and I damn sure wouldn’t be hers or any other man who allowed power, money, and ambition to come before his family—his flesh and blood.

But in the midst of it all was Demi. I loved her in a way that left no room for question, and the thought of seeing her belly swell with my seed and seeing her bloom into a mother filled my chest with a level of happiness I couldn’t put into words.

If anyone had the power to anchor me in this uncharted territory of parenthood, it was her. She made the impossible feel possible.

We’d already been through so much in such a short time—grief, loss, betrayal, unimaginable pain.

Yet, the universe had found a way to surprise us both, to offer us a blessing in the midst of our chaos.

And while I wasn’t the kind of man who believed in fate, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the baby, like us, was meant to be.

With the amount of joy and gratitude buzzing around inside me, my heart felt like it had grown three sizes. Speechless, I stared at her beautiful face, noting the mix of nervousness and excitement etched into her features, and I couldn’t hold back the emotions coursing through me.

“I love you,” I declared.

Those three words carried even more weight than they had the first time I’d said them to her. This time, they were melded with the unexpected awe of the moment. I leaned in to capture her soft lips in a kiss that was as tender as a butterfly kiss but as deep as the ocean.

When I pulled back, I dropped my gaze down to her flat stomach and kissed it gently, reverently. “And I love you too,” I whispered softly, speaking directly to the tiny life growing inside her.

Our eyes met as I straightened out my posture. For the first time in forever, I felt like the stars and planets had aligned perfectly. This was our family—our future—and I couldn’t imagine anything more miraculous than sharing it with Demi, my queen, by my side.