Chapter 842

Ryan was basically always by my side whenever he wasn’t working. With a little more free time on my hands, I got to do the things I enjoyed–flower arranging, reading, and even learning to paint from Ryan. We shopped together for all kinds of baby stuff, too. He’d already hired people to build a playground in the garden downstairs, and both kids’ rooms were totally decked out and ready.

Those last few weeks of pregnancy felt like they dragged on forever. Just as I hit nine months, I started spotting and rushed to the hospital. After the doctor checked me out, he said I might need a C-section because one of the babies was breech.

At this point, I didn’t care how these babies made their grand entrance–I just wanted the whole delivery ordeal over with and to finally “unload” this belly.

But Ryan was all about the details, asking the doctor every single question he could think of.

When they wheeled me into the operating room, the cold in the air was almost unbearable. Still, this strange surge of courage and hope kept me together. I lay on that chilled table, clinging to my faith. The doctors and nurses were incredibly kind, but no amount of reassurance could fully drown out my fear. My body just started shaking all on its own.

I kept my eyes fixed on the harsh glow of the surgical lights, and with their glare filling my vision, memories of everything I’d survived to arrive at this moment flashed through my mind.

At last, the silence broke with the sound of a baby’s first cry. Then came a second–one was sharp and loud, the other softer, more gentle.

“A perfect set–a boy and a girl!” the nurse said with praise, as she brought the two tiny, wrinkled faces close for me to confirm. Staring at those fragile little lives that had just been pulled from my body, I felt an overwhelming urge to cry–my eyes stung with tears—but I knew I had to keep it together. So I simply nodded in quiet acceptance, and they whisked the babies away.

After everything was done, they wheeled me out of the operating room–and the very next second, Ryan was right there. He rushed straight to my side, grabbing onto my cold, trembling fingers. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I looked up at him, only to see his own eyes red and shining with unshed tears too.

“Vic, thank you… You’ve been through so much,” he leaned down and whispered hoarsely in my ear, his voice thick with emotion.

“Wait–boy-girl twins? How did that happen?” I said, still a bit bewildered lying on the hospital bed. My parents stood nearby, each cuddling a baby and grinning ear to ear.

Ryan let out a soft chuckle. “Actually, I’ve known we were having boy-girl twins for a while now. I just kept it to myself.”

I pouted at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He smiled warmly. “I just wanted it to be a little surprise.”

My mom beamed. “Boy-girl twins are the best! A son and a daughter–so lucky! These two look a lot like Ryan.”

Ryan bent over with a smile, checking out the little ones. “Come on, Mom, I think they take after Vic more."

The pain from my incision still lingered, but as I chatted with everyone, sleep quietly crept up on me–before I knew it, I’d drifted off. And honestly? Holding my babies, knowing it was all finally over… I’d never felt so fulfilled.

For the twins’ one-month milestone, Ryan didn’t throw a big party, but we still ended up swimming in gifts. Jared and Nathan probably got the news from Yvonne and sent presents our way too.

While the butler was sorting through the gifts, he glanced up in surprise. “Mr. Ryan, looks like Nathan Hallman sent a gift too.”

Ryan walked over with one of the babies in his arms and glanced at the list. “Uncle Ed really went big this time.”

I hesitated for a moment, feeling a wave of guilt. Ryan looked down at the little one in his arms and said, “Seriously, of all things, Uncle Ed decided to hand over a chunk of assets. The kids are barely a month old.”

I kept quiet, almost sheepish–Uncle Ed was always ridiculously generous.

Vivian, Ryan’s mom, sent over an extravagant gift too. I guess it might have been thanks to his growing success, because she’d started treating him with a lot more kindness lately.

But Ryan once confided in me, saying whatever he’d needed from his mom, he didn’t want anymore. He told me he wasn’t looking to mend things with her now, that from here on out, he wouldn’t keep much contact. For Ryan, it was clear–I and the kids were his real family now.

His words really tugged at my heartstrings. It showed just how much he’d carried that ache of not being truly loved all this way. Maybe having felt both coldness and warmth, Ryan knew better than anyone–that real warmth is what we all crave most.

First it was their one-month celebration, then came their wobbly first steps at age one, and before we knew it, two-year-old tantrums were in full swing. Now the twins were almost three, standing on the brink of starting preschool–time really had flown by.

“I don’t wanna go to school!” Ethan, our son, sassed with his hands on his hips, stubborn as ever.

“If Ethan’s not going, I’m not going either!” Emma puffed up her cheeks, following Ethan’s lead with an adorable pout.

Ryan glanced between the two troublemakers, rubbing his forehead. “Didn’t we settle this last night? What happened to all that enthusiasm?”

Ethan bolted straight over to me, clinging to my arm. “Mom, Dad’s so mean! I want you to take me to school!”

For a three-year-old, he was seriously good at making his demands heard. Looking at that little face - basically Ryan’s mini-me - I just couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, I’ll take you both.”

Ryan gave me a resigned look. “I’ve got the day off today, so once you drop them off, make sure you come back home, okay?”

I paused for a second, realizing exactly what Ryan meant by that.

So I got the twins ready and drove them to preschool. Watching them march through the gates with their little backpacks slung over their shoulders, looking all proud and confident, I couldn’t help but smile. Then I headed back home.

With the nanny and housekeeper both out running errands, Ryan wasted no time–he trapped me right in his arms the moment I came home.

“Vic, you’ve been neglecting me for so long, you know?” he pouted, sounding adorably aggrieved.

That’s when it really hit me–ever since we had the kids, they’d been glued to me nonstop, and our married life just wasn’t the same anymore. But now, with the twins finally off to preschool, it felt like we were finally getting our time as a couple back.

Lying beneath Ryan, I felt that sweet satisfaction only a newlywed could really savor. People always say once a guy hits thirty, that’s when everything shifts.

Oh, almost slipped my mind that Ryan was just twenty-eight. Our story’s nowhere close to over–there’s a long road ahead for us.