Chapter 378

[ 1,075 words ]

Julian’s POV

“Yeah,” I said, my voice rough with emotion. “A baby. That is why Mommy needs extra rest right now. The baby is making her body work hard p>

Aiden looked back at Katia with something close to awe, then back at me. “Daddy, I don’t care about tomorrow. Can we take Mommy home? I want to take care of her. I can help. I can bring her water, and Mr. Choi can sit with her and p>

I shook my head gently, cutting him off before the worry could come rushing back.

“No, buddy. A long flight right now would be too stressful for Mommy. The doctor said she needs to rest here for a day or two until the nausea and tiredness get better. Then we can fly home when she is stronger. Okay p>

Aiden thought about it, chewing on his bottom lip the way he did when he was working through something big. Finally he nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “Then can I make her a plate of fruits? And bring some water? I can be really quiet. I won’t wake her up p>

I felt my throat tighten. I reached out and ruffled Aiden’s messy hair.

“Yeah,” I said. “That would be perfect. Go ahead. I’ll stay with Mommy p>

Aiden slid carefully off the bed and padded out of the room on quiet feet. I watched him go, then turned back to Katia. I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

“You scared me tonight,” I whispered against her skin. “But we’re okay. All of us. You, me, and this little one you’ve been keeping secret p>

I stayed there a moment longer, just breathing her in, letting the reality of it settle deeper into my bones. She was pregnant. With my child. And she hadn’t told me yet. I wasn’t angry. I understood. After everything that had happened with Delia and Jude and the mess waiting for us back home, I understood why she might have wanted to hold onto this one piece of joy a little longer.

Aiden came back a few minutes later carrying a small plate of cut fruit and a glass of water with both hands, moving with exaggerated care like he was carrying something precious. He set everything on the nightstand, then climbed back onto the bed on Katia’s other side, careful not to jostle her.

“I brought strawberries and apples,” he whispered. “And water. Do you think she’ll be thirsty when she wakes up p>

“I think she will,” I said. “You did good, buddy p>

We sat there together in the quiet room, the three of us soon to be four, while the city lights of Seoul glowed softly outside the window. Aiden eventually curled up against Katia’s side, one small hand resting lightly on her arm, and fell asleep again. I stayed awake a while longer, watching over both of them, my mind turning over everything that had happened and everything still to come.

I didn’t know how Katia would react when she woke up and realized the doctor had told me. I didn’t know how she would feel about me sharing the news with Aiden. But right now, in this quiet hotel room on the other side of the world, none of that mattered as much as the fact that we were together. That our son was safe and no longer crying. That the woman I loved was breathing steadily beside me, carrying a piece of our future.

I reached over and gently placed my hand over Katia’s, lacing our fingers together on top of the blanket. I stayed like that until my own eyes grew heavy, the steady sound of my family’s breathing the only thing I needed to hear.

I woke to find Aiden already dressed and standing at the foot of the bed, a small notebook clutched in both hands, his expression set with the seriousness of a general reviewing battle plans.

Katia was still asleep beside me, pale but breathing easily, the color slowly returning to her face after the night before. Dr. Park had left instructions taped to the mirror in the bathroom, and Aiden, apparently, had read every word of them himself before I had even opened my eyes.

“Daddy,” he whispered, though it was not really a whisper at all, more of a loud, urgent stage voice that he seemed to believe counted as quiet. “Mommy is not supposed to touch anything today p>

“Is that so?” I asked, sitting up carefully so as not to wake her.

He nodded, flipping open his notebook to a page covered in his own uneven handwriting, letters leaning in different directions like they had been written in a hurry.

“Mission one,” he said. “You will bathe her. Make sure the water is soothing. You have to put things in it that help her body relax p>

“Understood,” I said, fighting the urge to smile at how completely in charge he sounded.

“Mission two,” he continued. “After the bath, Mommy is not allowed to touch her phone. Not even a little p>

“That might be the hardest mission of the day,” I said.

“I know,” he said gravely, as though he had already anticipated this exact obstacle. “You will have to be firm. I will call Aunt Sam not to disturb her with work issues p>

“And mission three,” I said.

“I will make her something to eat,” he said, closing the notebook with a decisive snap. “If you help me p>

I looked at my son standing there in his pajamas, hair still messy from sleep, taking his mother’s recovery more seriously than most adults took anything, and felt something in my chest tighten in the good way, the way it only ever seemed to tighten around him.

“Deal,” I said. “Let’s get started p>

I ran the bath while Aiden supervised from the doorway, directing me toward the small basket of bath salts the hotel had left on the counter, lavender-scented and labeled, conveniently, for relaxation. He insisted on adding them himself, pouring with careful concentration, and then asked if warm milk helped too, because he had read somewhere that warm milk helped people sleep, and maybe it worked for baths as well. I told him it probably would not hurt.

Katia stirred when I carried her into the bathroom, blinking up at me with the confused, heavy-lidded look of someone not yet convinced she was fully awake.

“Julian,” she murmured. “What are you doing p>

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