He held her close to his face and spoke again. “I promise I’ll never leave you, sweetheart. No matter what. I’ll always take care of you. I’ll always protect you. And every night, I will always come home.”
When we went home the next day, I was exhausted. I was constantly feeding her and rocking her back to sleep so she would stop crying. If I weren’t so tired, I would just keep going, but I’d reached my limit.
Cato put her in the crib next door and joined me in the bedroom, but her wails were so loud, they couldn’t be ignored. With the doors open, a baby monitor was unnecessary.
“I can’t let her cry like that.” I pushed the sheets back.
“Baby, rest.” Cato put me back in bed and tucked me in.
“She needs me, and I know you have work tomorrow.”
“I took a few days off. I’ll take care of her so you can get your strength back.”
Cato Marino, the billionaire banker, took time off to take care of his daughter? “I thought you were going to get a nanny or something?”
“Eventually. But for now, I think it’s best if we’re the ones taking care of her. It’s important for bonding. I don’t want Martina to come into this world and be cared for by a stranger. It should be us.”
A wide smile melted across my face. “I know I’m super tired right now…but you are Cato, right?”
He smiled and pulled the sheets to my shoulder. “I’ve got her. You just rest. You grew a person inside your body for nine months and then pushed her out. You’ve done enough.”
I gripped his hand. “If I weren’t a nightmare down below, I’d be fucking your brains out right now.”
He chuckled then kissed my palm. “You can make it up to me later.”
7
Cato
I was a father.
As Siena grew bigger over the last few months, the inevitable truth looked me right in the face. Then I watched her do the most difficult thing any woman could—give birth. After lots of screaming and lots of pain, my daughter arrived.
And my life would never be the same.
She was beautiful, healthy, and perfect.
I would never forget the moment I held her in my arms for the first time. All I wanted to do was protect her, hide her away from all the terrible things in life. I only wanted her to see kittens and rainbows. That moment changed me, for better or worse. I was filled with love but also hatred. How could my father ever hold me and then walk out? How could he turn his back on his two sons without feeling dead inside?
I could never do that to Martina.
Regardless of the sleepless nights, the dirty diapers, the stains she would leave all over my clothes, she was still my family—and you never turned your back on family. I took her into her bedroom and rocked her in the chair, unsure what else to do with her. She wasn’t old enough to talk, just old enough to stare at me.
I stared back.
When she was quiet like this, being a parent felt like the easiest thing in the world. But I knew this peace wouldn’t last forever. The road ahead would be difficult, and I would have to learn so many things. I didn’t even know how to change a diaper.
Thank god for YouTube.
When Siena woke up, she stayed in bed and had dinner on a tray. I sat in a chair by her bedside with Martina in my arms. She was so small she could easily fit into just a single arm. With her little fingers and little toes, it was difficult to believe she would grow up to be a woman someday.
“How was she?” Siena’s hair was pulled back, and even though she’d slept all day, she still looked exhausted. Her body must still be in disarray after pushing out another person. Her eyes were filled with such fatigue that it seemed like she hadn’t slept at all.
“There were a few hours when she wouldn’t stop crying. I fed her, changed her, rocked her…nothing worked.”
“Maybe she was cold?”
“I don’t know. But she stopped eventually. The rest of the time, I just held her in the rocking chair. She stared at me and I stared at her.”
Siena smiled. “That sounds nice.”
Martina started to cry a second later, her wails so loud, they nearly shook the walls.
“Not so nice anymore,” I said with a chuckle.
“She’s probably hungry.” She moved the tray aside then lifted up her shirt to reveal her swollen tit. “I’m uncomfortable anyway.” She took Martina from my hands and positioned her at her breast.
Martina latched on right away.
I watched Siena breastfeed our child, and now everything felt even more real.
Siena watched our daughter for a long time, affection in her eyes and a smile on her lips. “I can keep her. I’m sure there’s stuff you need to do.”