Chapter 160
Mia peeled her eyes open slowly. At first, everything felt like a dream, the quiet beeping of the monitor beside her, the faint voices outside the door, the smell of disinfectant in the air
She turned her head, and there he was.
Her little miracle.
Lying peacefully beside her, wrapped in a soft blue blanket, was the most perfect thing Mia had ever laid her eyes on. Her heart swelled immediately.
She stretched out her arms and reached for him gently, holding her breath as she brought him closer to her chest.
The moment her hands touched him, the tears inside her burst all over again.
He was so tiny. So warm. So incredibly real.
She carried her baby, staring at him like he held every reason for her existence in his little, wrinkled hands.
How could something this small, this delicate, hold so much love in such a quiet form? She could feel his heartbeat, steady and soft.
She had done this. She had brought this child into the world. Through all the pain, the shame, the judgment, the fear, and the loneliness. This baby..her baby…was hers.
A part of her. A gift she never knew she needed.
Mia couldn’t stop staring. She didn’t want to. The words to describe the joy inside her didn’t exist. It was too big, too full, too raw. It was like holding hope.
Her eyes took in every inch of his tiny face, memorizing him. His little nose, his chubby cheeks, the soft curls of hair on his head, and those tiny lips slightly parted as he slept.
She kissed his forehead gently.
“Hey,” a soft voice came from the door.
Ethan.
He walked in with a warm smile that held pride, relief, and gentleness.
“I just called Mom, Lily and Ann,” Ethan said, his voice hushed as if the room was a sacred place.
Mia nodded, still not taking her eyes off her child. She rubbed her thumb over his cheek slowly, like she was reassuring herself that he was real.
“You okay?” Ethan asked carefully.
Mia glanced at him briefly, then back to her child. Her heart felt like it was glowing in her chest.
“Never better,” she whispered, her voice filled with emotion as she smiled down at her baby.
Ethan chuckled softly and walked over to sit down. “You’re gonna creep the boy out, Mia. He just got here.”
Mia laughed, her shoulders shaking gently as her body relaxed into the bed. She looked up at her brother and then back at
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her baby.
“He’s so cute, Ethan,” she said, her voice almost trembling. “Like… he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
Ethan nodded, his eyes softening as he looked at the child. “Got it from his mother,” he said without missing a beat.
Mia chuckled, covering her mouth to keep from waking her son. Her heart felt heavy in a different way now. A good heavy.
She brushed her finger along her baby’s tiny fist. He instinctively grabbed it.
“I love you,” she whispered to him, her throat tightening. “So, so much.”
Ethan leaned back in the chair and sighed. “You’re gonna be a great mom, Mia.”
She looked at him, her eyes glassy. “You think so?”
He nodded. “I know so.”
Mia swallowed the lump in her throat and pressed her cheek against her baby’s head.
He did his best to protect her, comfort her, and remind her that she wasn’t alone.
“I didn’t know I could feel this kind of love,” Mia whispered.
“You deserved to,” Ethan said.
She sat up a little, careful not to wake the baby. “He’s mine, Ethan. He’s really mine.”
Ethan smiled, reaching out to touch the baby’s tiny foot.
“You did this,” he said gently. “You brought him here. You gave him life.”
Mia blinked back tears. “I was so scared. So scared I couldn’t do it.”
“But you did.”
She leaned back into the pillows and just held her baby. “I don’t know how to be a mom,” she admitted. “I don’t know if I’ll do everything right.”
“You won’t,” Ethan said, softly. “Nobody does. But you’ll love him. That’s enough to start with.”
Mia smiled again. She believed him. At least a little.
They sat in silence for a moment.
The baby stirred slightly, and Mia instinctively rocked him, humming softly. A song she didn’t even know she remembered.
Ethan watched her, pride swelling in his chest. Mia has always been his baby sister, the baby of the house, the shy one, the sweet girl who loved books and hated loud noises.
But now she looked like something else. Stronger. Wiser.
The baby yawned, stretching his little fingers as he nuzzled into Mia’s chest. She smiled.
“What are you going to name him?” Ethan asked after a while.
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Mia looked down at her baby again and bit her bottom lip. “I have a few names in mind,” she said. “But I want to look at him a little more. I want to know which one fits.”
Ethan grinned. “Fair enough.”
Mia brushed her fingers over her baby’s cheek again, her heart completely wrapped in the little body she held. No one had ever made her feel this grounded.
She wishes he could see his son right now.
She pushed the thought away quickly.
This was her moment.
Her miracle.
Her new beginning.
Whatever happened next, she would do her best. For him.
Always.
She kissed his forehead one more time and whispered, “You saved me, little one.”
The baby sighed in his sleep, and Mia smiled like the whole world had been made just for them.
“I’ll protect you with my life”
