"Love," I called out the moment I saw my wife walk through the door.
I quickly rushed toward her and checked her over, making sure she was okay.
"Hello, Shanti San," Gisell and Madelyn greeted while I continued inspecting my wife.
"I thought you were just dropping my wife off," I commented.
"What a warm welcome," Madelyn said sarcastically.
"Sweetheart, don't be rude," my wife scolded me.
"I was worried. You weren't answering my messages. I went looking for you at some of the cafés we usually go to, but I couldn't find you," I said anxiously.
"Relax, Shanti. Just like I promised, your wife arrived in thirty minutes or less… I think," Gisell said as she sat down on the couch next to Madelyn.
"Girls, would you like anything in particular to eat?" Paulina asked.
"Eat?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes, sweetheart. The baby wasn't satisfied with just cookies and juice," my wife informed me.
"I'd like something like seafood, Pau," Gisell requested.
"That sounds good. I also want something that comes from the sea," Madelyn agreed.
"What about sushi?" my wife suggested.
"That would be amazing," they both accepted.
Why did it have to be sushi? I don't like sushi, and to this day I've told Paulina that, but she always forgets.
"Sushi," I said nervously.
"What's wrong, love? You don't want sushi?" Paulina asked affectionately. "You love sushi," she reminded me.
"Well, sweetheart…" I said, nervous.
"You lied to me," she frowned.
"No, of course not—well, I mean…" I stammered.
At that moment, I heard my friends bursting into laughter, nearly crying from it.
"Seriously?" Paulina raised an eyebrow. "When were you planning to tell me you don't like sushi?" she said, crossing her arms.
"Love, I forgot, I swear. We almost never eat it, so it slipped my mind," I excused myself.
"Relax, friend. We already told her the sushi story so you wouldn't have to," Gisell said.
"You told her?" I asked, embarrassed. "You know that—"
"You stabbed the sushi. When you tried it, you almost threw up, and you drank the soy sauce by mistake to get rid of what you claimed was the bad taste."
"And don't forget she choked on the sushi and we had to make her spit it out," Madelyn added.
"And we got banned from the place," Gisell finished, "because you said the sushi was awful."
"Why did you eat the sushi if you don't like it?" Paulina asked.
"Because you like it," I defended myself.
"Aww, how sweet," they all said in unison, while my wife blushed.
"Is there anything else you don't like?" she asked affectionately.
"Nothing comes to mind right now. Maybe when I see something, I'll tell you," I replied with a silly smile.
"Alright," she agreed.
"I love you," I said, kissing her lips.
"We're still here," my friends complained.
"Sorry," my wife apologized.
"We'd better go. I don't want you two getting all lovey-dovey in front of us," Gisell said, standing up along with Madelyn.
"No, but you haven't finished telling me your stories yet," my wife complained.
"What were they telling you?" I asked, alarmed.
"Let your wife tell you. We're leaving," they answered in unison.
"Besides, Pau, don't think we're a bad influence, because it's your wife who makes us do these kinds of things," Madelyn said, playing the victim. "Anyway, goodbye, Pau," she said, touching my belly. "Bye, Baby San," she smiled as she headed for the door.
"Bye, Pau," Gisell said as she hugged me. "Bye, baby," she added, touching my belly before joining Madelyn.
"See you, friend. Take care of Pau and the baby," they both said.
"Of course," I replied proudly.
"See you on Wednesday for the game," Madelyn reminded me.
"I forgot," I admitted.
"You have Alzheimer's. You forget everything," Madelyn complained.
"I'm sorry, I have a lot of work," I defended myself.
"I'll remind her," Paulina offered. "Are you going to watch the Super Bowl?"
"Yes, that's right," Gisell confirmed.
"Katy and Maddison are watching it too. How about we watch it together?"
"Yes, that would be great," they replied in unison.
"Alright then, Wednesday here? Does that work for you?"
"Yes, see you on Wednesday," they said as they headed for the door.
"Love, can you order something to eat? I'm starving, and so is the baby," my wife said.
"Do you want sushi?" I asked, making a face of disgust.
"The baby doesn't love that idea," she laughed softly. "And before I forget, I have a surprise for you."
"For me?" I asked excitedly.
"It's going to be a mini you," she said, just as excited.
I stayed quiet, staring at her.
"You're not saying anything," she said, her tone changing.
"It's just that… I already knew," I let out a small laugh.
"How do you know?" she asked incredulously.
"Well, I don't know how it's possible, but I've been extremely sleepy, and above all, I've had way too many cravings—and they're all for sweets," I confessed.
"What?" she looked at me with puppy eyes, her eyes filling with tears. "Didn't I surprise you?"
"Of course you did, my love," I hugged her.
"Liar, you already knew," she tried to pull away from me.
"I'm not lying. When I was just starting to realize it, it was a huge surprise for me," I comforted her.
"Really?" she looked at me with those puppy eyes.
"Yes, love," I affirmed. "I'll order burgers," I said, and in an instant, her sadness turned into joy.
"Make it double meat," she requested excitedly.
"No problem," I said as I walked away to order the burgers.
After taking a shower, Paulina looked much more relaxed. I was waiting for her, seated at the table, ready to eat.
"Everything looks delicious," she commented as she sat down.
"Here you go, love, eat," I said, handing her her hamburger with a generous portion of French fries.
I watched her as she took a bite, and I couldn't help the curiosity that gnawed at me from the inside. With a bit of fear, I asked:
"How were things with my friends? Did you have a good time?"
Paulina looked at me, amused, before answering with her mouth full, her voice sounding like a squirrel's:
"You want to know what they told me, don't you?"
"Well, yeah… you know how they are. They exaggerate everything. Sometimes I think they even make things up because they don't really remember what happened," I excused myself while eating a French fry.
My wife watched me with a playful smile on her lips.
"Don't you think the forgetful one might be you? Because if two people remember the same thing, that's strange, don't you think?" she teased. "Besides, you know perfectly well what you did."
I sighed and defended myself with an innocent gesture.
"I'm not a Casanova. I've always said that."
"I know, love, you don't have to remind me," she smiled. "But tell me, are you going to let me eat alone? You've barely taken a bite."
"I'm not very hungry. Before you got here, the baby made me eat two chocolate bars," I confessed with a guilty smile.
"He's a glutton just like you," she scolded me sweetly.
I laughed, imagining the future.
"When they start eating for real, you'll have to deal with two gluttons."
Paulina shook her head, amused, but then her expression turned more serious.
"By the way, remind me never to leave our children alone with Madelyn and Gisell until they get married. I don't want a call from the police station saying they tried to sneak into a party and got arrested because of illegal substances."
I froze. Those idiots had told my wife that story.
"Or a call from the hospital saying our daughter is there because a fence fell on her," she added, clearly annoyed.
I swallowed hard. I knew I was in trouble.
"Love, that—"
Paulina narrowed her eyes and interrupted me with an inquisitive tone:
"What else do you have to tell me, my dear wife?"
I lowered my gaze, feeling cornered.
"The graduation party," I murmured.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"Well… actually, it was a pre-graduation party, because there were still six months left before we graduated," I tried to clarify, feeling more and more embarrassed.
Paulina raised an eyebrow.
"A whole semester?"
"Yes…" I muttered, wishing I could disappear.
"And what happened?"
I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the confession.
"It was a Saturday. We were on vacation, and Madelyn and I knew we were going to be extremely busy the following semester, so we decided to go out and clear our heads with Gisell. She wouldn't stop laughing because soon we'd have to defend our thesis and take our final exams. The stress was killing us."
Paulina watched me with a mix of curiosity and fear.
"We went out at seven in the morning. We wanted to be close to nature, so we decided to go fishing at a lagoon."
"Oh my God…" she murmured, terrified.
"To fight the cold, we drank a bit of alcohol… and magically, we stopped feeling it," I laughed nervously.
"And then?"
"Well… we drank so much that we didn't even feel the cold when we fell off the boat into the lagoon."
The look of absolute terror on my wife's face made me want to go back in time and shut up.
"But nothing happened to us," I tried to reassure her.
"You were so drunk that you fell off the boat?" she asked, stunned.
"Yes…" I admitted, embarrassed.
Paulina brought a hand to her forehead, incredulous.
"But ironically, after falling in, we caught a fish. And once we did… we left."
Flashback
"Gisell, can you stay still? The boat's going to tip over!" Madelyn warned.
She had barely finished speaking when Gisell lost her balance and nearly fell into the lagoon. Instinctively, I grabbed her sweater to keep her from falling, but in the process, I ended up falling in with her.
Madelyn leaned out of the boat, desperately searching the water. At that moment, Gisell clung to the edge of the boat with so much force that it rocked violently, causing Madelyn to fall into the water as well.
The three of us resurfaced, clinging to the boat so we wouldn't sink.
"You're such an idiot, Gisell," Madelyn complained, soaking wet and frowning.
We looked at each other for a second, and suddenly the three of us burst out laughing like maniacs. Still laughing, we helped Gisell climb back in first, then me, and finally Madelyn, who was the heaviest of the three.
"Anyone want another beer?" Gisell offered with a mischievous smile. "It's for the cold."
We nodded without hesitation.
After a few minutes, Madelyn finally caught something.
"I've got it!" she shouted excitedly, raising her fishing rod.
"Come on, pull it in!" we encouraged her.
"And who do you want me to pull it with?" Madelyn asked, lifting the rod even higher.
"Idiot, pull the fish out of the water!" Gisell exclaimed, exasperated.
Madelyn made one last effort and managed to get the fish into the boat. She lifted the rod proudly, only to reveal a tiny fish.
"That's embarrassing," I said, shaking my head in disappointment.
"At least I caught something. Let's see, show me your fish," Madelyn defended herself, crossing her arms.
We raised our hands in surrender while she kept celebrating her ridiculous catch.
End of flashback
As we were leaving, we saw that there were horses for rent and decided to ride them. It was a lot of fun… until we got lost.
Flashback
"Now you can admit that we're lost," I said, crossing my arms and frowning at them.
"But it was this way," Gisell defended herself.
"Yes, the sign said left," Madelyn added.
"And I'm supposed to be the one who doesn't know left from right?" I reminded them. "I told you the sign was wrong because it had fallen over."
With that, I turned my horse around and started heading back along the correct path.
"Well, we just have to go back," Gisell said, shrugging.
"That's what I've been telling you for over half an hour!" I snapped, exasperated.
End of flashback
Even so, our adventure didn't end there. We decided to go zip-lining—you know, love, from one mountain to another," I told her, remembering it with excitement.
Flashback
"Come on, Madelyn, jump!" Gisell and I shouted, our teeth chattering from the cold.
"Sir, can you guarantee this isn't going to break?" Madelyn asked, her voice filled with fear.
The guide, wearing an amused smile, tried to reassure her.
"Miss, I've been working here for over eight years, and no one has ever fallen because the zip line broke."
Madelyn sighed in relief, until the guide added with a mischievous smile:
"That said, people have fallen because the safety harness wasn't properly secured—but never because of the zip line itself."
Madelyn opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything, I pushed her without warning.
All we heard were her panicked screams and the loud insults she hurled at us as she went down.
End of flashback
And finally, before heading back to the city, we decided to take a small detour to jump from a helicopter.
Flashback
"For God's sake, tell my mother I love her!" Gisell cried, nearly in tears.
"Yes, I'll tell her," Madelyn replied, laughing.
"And tell my mother I love her too if you see her," I asked. "Although, well… she's up there and you're going down," I teased, bursting into laughter.
Before Gisell could reply, I signaled the instructor to release her. Her scream of terror echoed through the air before she disappeared into the fall. Then it was Madelyn's turn, who, although terrified, had already resigned herself to nearly dying of fear in every adventure. Finally, I jumped. I was so scared that I screamed until I lost my voice.
End of flashback
"You did all of that in a single day?" my wife asked, incredulous.
"I'm not finished yet," I reminded her. "We got back to the city between six and seven in the evening…"
"You spent the whole day without changing clothes?" she asked, bewildered.
"Yes," I said shamelessly. "Then we went out to eat, but only junk food, and since we were still full of adrenaline, we decided to go to a nightclub."
Flashback
"Madelyn, why doesn't she love me?! Why doesn't she love me the way I love her?!" Gisell shouted as a sad song played in the background.
"I don't know, friend, I don't know… Oh, wait, maybe because she's miles away and because she's a damn actress who doesn't even know you exist," Madelyn replied sarcastically.
"Calm down, friend," I tried to comfort her. "If it makes you feel any better, Kate MacGrath doesn't pay attention to me either," I sobbed.
"Hey, you pair of schizophrenic maniacs, do you want something to drink?" Madelyn asked, rolling her eyes.
"Yes!" Gisell and I replied in unison.
"What do you want?"
"Something that rips Sadie Sink out of my heart," Gisell shouted, still hurting.
"I don't even know why I ask," Madelyn rolled her eyes again and walked away.
A few minutes later, she returned with our drinks. Gisell grabbed hers as if it were water.
"Wasn't there anything stronger?" she asked, staring at her already empty glass.
"Of course—your car's gasoline. If you want, I'll go check," Madelyn teased.
At that moment, the club host announced over the microphone:
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for open bar! If you want free drinks until sunrise, take a seat in front of the bar and participate in our contest."
We didn't even think about it; we ran to the bar and sat down. Luckily for us, the three of us managed to make it among the contestants. We were confident we'd win.
"The rules are simple," the host continued. "You must drink as much as you can in 15 minutes. The last one standing wins—but only if they're still conscious, not passed out!" he emphasized. "We start in 3, 2, 1… now!"
Drinks started coming nonstop. Shot after shot, round after round. By the end, only Madelyn, Gisell, me, and two other girls were left. Everyone else had either passed out or run to the bathroom.
They counted our shots—we were tied. Then they announced a tiebreaker, but this time it would be with full glasses instead of shots. As soon as we saw them, we wanted to back out, but the other contestant called us chickens.
And that's when we decided to take the challenge again…
Now there were only five minutes left, and we were lifting the glasses as if they were water. It looked like we were going to end up tied again, until the other girl suddenly threw up and passed out beside us. Her friend, seeing that vomit had landed on her shoe, stood up immediately to shake it off.
Something you should never do when you're drunk, because alcohol hits you like a truck when you stand up. And that's exactly how she ended up collapsing too. Everyone was celebrating—except us—because if we moved even a millimeter, we'd end up just like them. Their friends were already lifting them up to take them away.
We turned slowly and realized the mess we were in. We looked at each other and, without saying a word, I mouthed, "let's go." They both nodded, and somehow we managed to stand up and stagger our way toward the exit.
Once outside, we realized we couldn't take another step—we were completely wasted. However, by sheer luck, Gisell's sister was coming out of another club with some friends. They helped us get to the car, and Gisell's sister drove, dropping each of us off at home safe and sound.
End of flashback
"Your definition of 'living life to the fullest' is doing stupid things, sweetheart," my wife said, frowning.
"No, not at all, love. My definition of living is having fun," I clarified.
"So you want me to do the same as you and almost die every time I go out?" she asked, incredulous.
"I never said that!" I defended myself.
"Don't forget that from now on you have to take care of yourself… actually, not just yourself—your life," she reminded me seriously. "And don't forget we're going to have a baby. And that baby needs both of their mothers, not just one," she added tiredly.
"Love, those days are over. Of course I'm going to take care of our baby," I tried to reassure her.
"I'm not telling you to stop living, love. I'm just asking you to be careful and not make me get up in the middle of the night to go see you at a police station," she warned me.
"Understood," I said, half laughing.
.........................
I am five months pregnant, and the most inconceivable thing is that Shanti is the one with the cravings, while I'm the one suffering from the terrible pregnancy symptoms.
A week and a half ago, she nearly bought out the entire chocolate section of the supermarket, while I was dealing with morning and evening sickness. I can't even be near fish without feeling disgusted and running to throw up. On top of that, I'm extremely sensitive—everything makes me sad.
One day we watched a movie where a dog died. I cried throughout the entire film, and when it ended, Shanti had to comfort me. Another time, while we were walking through the park, we saw a family of ducklings swimming with their mother. One of them lagged behind, and I burst into tears, convinced it had been abandoned.
Another episode happened at the supermarket: I saw a child alone and thought he'd been abandoned. I ran to help him, but his mother was actually on the other side of the aisle. The child was crying because they wouldn't buy him candy. Shanti had to apologize to the mother and then drag me out of there.
One night, while watching television, I started crying because I felt my body wasn't the same anymore, and I thought my wife would stop loving me. Once again, Shanti had to comfort me. And don't even get me started on the time we were watching a documentary about gazelles. In one scene, a lion ate a baby gazelle, and I cried for more than ten minutes until Shanti managed to calm me down.
Pregnancy has made me far too sensitive. Every morning and every night I feel nauseous, while my wife just throws herself onto the couch with enormous bags of chocolate, because that's the only thing the baby craves. Anyone would think she's gained weight from eating so much, but no—she barely has time to eat properly because of her work. When I found out, I scolded her and got angry. I didn't speak to her until the next day, when I learned the reason behind her exhaustion: my wife and my father were opening a chain of pharmacies across Latin America.
My mother was also angry at my father for not eating properly, just like I was with Shanti. And even though the reason moved us deeply, I didn't forgive her right away.
The pharmacies were meant to help people with limited resources. They were rushing because they wanted to open them before the last two months of my pregnancy so they could be home with me.
But not everything went as planned. My father and my wife arrived just as I was about to give birth in our penthouse. I wanted to kill her for not getting there sooner, but I forgave her because of her adorable reaction when she met our daughter.
The nurse handed her the baby, and Shanti received her with tears in her eyes. However, in that very same moment, she asked the nurse to hold the baby again… and then she fainted, collapsing onto the living room floor.
Everyone came to see our daughter. They were so in love with her that she quickly became the center of attention. Nurses, doctors, and family members were dying to admire her.
"She's beautiful, my friend," Maddison said, completely smitten.
"You can tell she's a Scott—look at that blond hair," she added, gently stroking the baby's head. "I thought she'd be a mini version of your wife," she said, studying her with curiosity.
"And she is. My daughter is an exact copy of my wife when she was a baby," I replied proudly.
"You're joking, right? She might resemble her in some features, unless her donor—"
"My wife had blond hair, a bit less than mine, but yes, she did have it when she was a baby," I interrupted her.
Maddison looked at me in disbelief and then let out a nervous laugh.
"You're messing with me, right?"
"Believe it or not, that's how she was. I was surprised too, but Gina has a photo of her as a baby—and even a whole album from her childhood," I told her excitedly.
"Can I see that album?" Maddison asked with a mischievous smile.
"No," I said quickly.
"Did your sister-in-law not give it to you, or does it have embarrassing photos of your wife?" she teased.
"It's a Shanti album. What do you think is in it?" I laughed, remembering the pictures I'd seen.
"So bad, huh?" Maddison continued teasing. "Can you describe what she looks like in them?"
"I'll just say I don't know what she had against clothes, because in every photo she's either shirtless or without pants. Not to mention her clothes were always torn, because she kept falling and ripping them," I said, laughing as I remembered.
"That's so your wife," Maddison chuckled softly so she wouldn't wake the baby.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Madelyn and Gisell walked in.
"Good afternoon, we're coming in," Madelyn announced.
"Hi, girls! Come in," I invited them.
"Hi," Mady greeted.
"Look at that beautiful little thing. Oh my God, she's so blond!" Gisell exclaimed in surprise.
"She looks just like Shanti," Madelyn said proudly.
"Oh yeah, especially the hair," Gisell joked sarcastically. "Can I hold her?" she asked Mady.
"Yes, carefully," Mady replied, handing her the baby.
"Did you know Shanti was blond as a baby? A little less than Paulina, but she was," Madelyn told her.
"You're kidding, right?" Gisell whispered so she wouldn't wake the baby.
"Why does everyone think I'm lying?" Madelyn said, offended. "Paulina, you tell them."
"It's true. I saw photos of my wife when she was a baby," I confirmed.
"She has photos? I have to see that!" Gisell exclaimed excitedly.
"That's exactly what I asked," Maddison chimed in.
"It looks more like a prank album than a sweet, adorable baby album like most people have," Madelyn said, laughing.
"When they see Paulina's album, they'll melt with love. In all her photos, she looks like a fragile princess, so delicate… Although she still is, just without the innocence now, because Shanti corrupted her," she teased, while I rolled my eyes.
"By the way, what about my friend?" Gisell asked.
"She went with Gina to buy diapers and to check out my clothes," I replied.
"That seems well planned," Madelyn raised an eyebrow.
"And what do you think happened?" I asked obviously.
"She forgot," they all said in unison.
"She was so scared that she almost forgot I had to get in the car to come to the hospital," I recounted.
"Thank you, Paulina, for marrying her," Madelyn thanked again.
"This is the second time they've thanked you, Pau," Maddison teased.
"The second?" Gisell asked.
"Today Gina thanked you too," Maddison said, laughing.
It was inconceivable that these idiots couldn't handle anything on their own and that I had to come and fix everything. I hurried through the hallways of our partner's company, holding back my anger. I should already be with my wife, waiting for the arrival of our baby, who was only days away from being born.
When my phone vibrated with a message, my irritation grew. It wasn't just one message, but several: my mother-in-law and my two sisters letting me know that Paulina had started experiencing mild labor pains. Fear and frustration overwhelmed me. As soon as I read the notifications, I threw the deal to hell and turned around without caring about the consequences. My father-in-law, who until that moment had been watching me in silence, furrowed his brow, surprised by my reaction. But when he checked his own phone and saw the message from my mother-in-law, he understood immediately. Without thinking twice, he put everything aside to accompany me.
"Mr. Scott, if you leave, you'll be breaking the deal and will have to compensate us," the arrogant jerk in charge of the negotiation spat out.
"What insolence," my father-in-law replied. "Let me remind you that the one negotiating and, therefore, breaking the contract is you."
"It's a good deal," he insisted arrogantly.
"Tell Cooper to forget about being our partner, insolent brat. My lawyers will handle the rest," my father-in-law decreed with his usual coldness.
Meanwhile, my ears also caught my sisters scolding me for not arriving sooner. Fed up with the argument, I hung up the phone and turned to my father-in-law.
"We must leave now."
"What could be more important than this deal?" the foolish negotiator insisted.
"The birth of my granddaughter," my father-in-law intervened, in a chilling tone.
"And my daughter," I added, annoyed.
"So what? I couldn't be at my son's birth, and it wasn't a big deal," he said indifferently.
At that moment, something inside me snapped. I wanted to punch him in the face.
"That's why you're divorced and only see your son once a month," I spat, raising my voice.
"Ma'am, calm down," intervened the only coherent person in that room, the same one we had dealt with before this idiot took control. "We can find a solution."
"I'll provide the solution," I said directly. "If you want to close the deal, it will proceed under the same conditions, but he won't be in charge of anything."
"Excuse me!" exclaimed the offended man as I walked away.
"I will not accept any counteroffer from Cooper," my father-in-law decided. "And I want this brat demoted. I'm not as benevolent as my daughter-in-law."
Finally, we managed to leave and get home just in time to take Paulina to the hospital. My nerves betrayed me, and I almost left her in the parking lot. I also forgot the diapers and clothes I had prepared for her, grabbing only a diaper bag in my rush.
When I finally held my baby for the first time, the emotion overwhelmed me. She was so tiny, helpless, and fragile that fear of breaking her took over me. And then, unable to control it, I fainted.
During Paulina's recovery, my mother-in-law and my sister kept a close eye on her. I, as much as I wanted to help, barely had any idea how complicated postpartum recovery could be. What I did know for certain was that I would take three months of maternity leave. My attention was no longer on business, but on my wife and daughter.
Meanwhile, Cooper eventually accepted our conditions, and the contract went through. But for me, that had no relevance at that moment.
The first few days were exhausting for Paulina. As for me, I was a little more familiar with the situation thanks to my nephews, although that didn't spare me from a few sleepless nights and minor traumas.
Our baby turned out to be a glutton and a little brat, but nothing that breast milk couldn't fix.
She's asleep now. I told my wife as I joined her in bed.
"Thank you, love. I don't know what I would do without you. My little sunshine won't sleep if you're not here," she said, sad. "Apparently, you're her favorite."
"Honey, that's not true. Don't you see how she ignores me when she's with you, especially when she's glued to you eating?" I reminded her.
"She's a glutton, just like you," she laughed. "I just hope she's not a Casanova like you," she joked.
"I've never been one," I defended myself.
"Oh, even worse if she doesn't realize she is," she joked again, making me laugh.
"I just hope she doesn't have a boyfriend or girlfriend until she's thirty, and that no one sees her," I complained.
"That'll be difficult. But if you're looking at our daughter, she's beautiful. She has wavy blonde hair and those greenish eyes she inherited from your grandmother," she reminded me.
"I know," I sighed, defeated.
"Little Soleil Natalia Vega Scott has you wrapped around her little finger," she teased.
"Just like her mother," I flirted back.
"And remember, there are six more babies to come," she reminded me, making me laugh.
"Honey, I think we'll just have one more. I don't want you to suffer," I said seriously.
"Are you having second thoughts, Shanti?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not, love, but I don't want you to suffer," I contradicted her.
"There are always other methods, so don't worry. Don't make me complain to my mother-in-law," she threatened.
"Okay," I replied, surrendering.
Who would have thought that the little one would become more than the family's darling? My mother-in-law almost kept her for herself. She even had a schedule for the baby and I think they had already paid for primary, secondary, and even university.
When Soleil turned two months old, we went to the beach, and she came back looking like a little red shrimp. My mother-in-law also paid for a beach photo shoot for her.
Neither Paulina nor I wanted to go back to work, but we had to.
Paulina cried before being separated from Soleil. My sisters and my mother-in-law flatly refused to let her have a nanny. So my mother-in-law, more than willing, offered to take care of her. Of course, we accepted; it was much better for us.
The morning we returned to work, we left the baby with my mother-in-law. She was asleep and well-fed.
Paulina gave countless instructions to my mother-in-law before we left. My mother-in-law just laughed at how scared Paulina was.
"Mom, if the baby needs me, you go to the hospital. You know she doesn't like her formula much, so just call me or take her to the hospital," Paulina said while looking at the sleeping baby.
"I know, honey. Don't forget I've had a daughter too," my mother-in-law reminded her.
"I know, Mom. It's just so hard to leave her," tears streamed down her face.
I hugged her to console her before planting a kiss on my baby, who was sleeping deeply.
"You should go or you'll be late," my mother-in-law said, and I nodded.
"Goodbye, my love," I said, leaning down to kiss the baby's round cheek. Paulina did the same.
"I don't want to leave her," Paulina continued, tears in her eyes.
"Honey, we've already talked about it," I reminded her. "Thank you, Mother, we'll go now."
"Goodbye, Mom," Paulina said, still watching our daughter.
On the way to the hospital, Paulina gradually calmed down, although it was clear she was very distressed about leaving our daughter.
"Love, it's in your mother's hands. She knows what to do," I reminded her.
"How come it doesn't affect you?" she asked, annoyed.
"Of course it affects me, love," I replied calmly. "I just remember our agreement: if the baby doesn't settle, I'll quit and stay with her until she's older, just like you," I reminded her.
"I'm sorry for being so rude, love," she apologized as she rolled up the car windows to drop us off.
"Love, believe it or not, I understand you," I soothed her, giving her a kiss on the lips.
I thought it would be a sweet kiss, but Paulina turned it into a passionate one, and I went along with it.
"We have twenty minutes," she murmured.
"That's enough," I murmured, biting her lower lip.
I reclined the seat as I straddled her. However, we heard another car parking beside us. It was my father-in-law, so very frightened, we stopped and waited until he left. I was always grateful that our car had tinted windows.
"Do you think he saw us?" Paulina asked, scared.
"I don't think so," I replied. "But we better get out, because if he doesn't find me in the office, he'll figure it out."
We got out of the car and hurried to my office.
We still had fifteen minutes and were trying to make the most of them, but Mary was already at her desk, which forced us to slow down and curb our desperation to get into the office.
"Good morning, Mary!" we greeted.
"Good morning, Paulina and Shanti!" she replied happily. "How's the little sunshine?" she asked tenderly.
"She's asleep," Paulina answered nostalgically.
"You should have brought her, I would've taken care of her," Mary offered.
"Thanks, Mary, but who would do your work?" I reminded her.
"Oh, right!" she said sadly. "I hope the little sunshine comes when she's older," she added.
"That's the plan," I replied excitedly. "Do we have any pending tasks?"
"For over three months," she replied, making me swallow hard.
"I'll call you in a few minutes," I said, ready to enter with Paulina.
I left my briefcase on the desk, and before starting work, I was already stressed.
"Your day's going to be rough," my wife commented.
"Seems like it," I replied, looking at the pile of documents on my desk.
"I know you can do it," Paulina hugged me to comfort me.
"Thanks, love," I kissed her. "I know you'll have a good day," I reassured her.
"Thanks, love," she kissed me. "Do you think you can make time to eat with your wife?" she asked, making me smile.
"Of course, always for my wife," I smiled, kissing her.
In the middle of the kiss, Mary called me on the line.
"I think they need you now," Paulina laughed.
"Will you give me another kiss?" I asked, pouting.
"Answer first," she requested.
"Mrs. Scott, there's someone asking for you. They say they're a relative," I heard Mary say.
"Who is it?" I asked, surprised, since my sisters never announce themselves—they just come in.
"Lucía Castro," she replied.
"Lucía!" I exclaimed, surprised. "Alright, let her in," I said, then hung up.
"Everything okay, love?" Paulina asked, curious.
"She's my cousin, and she wants to see me," I informed her.
"Your cousin?" she asked, equally surprised.
"This way, ma'am, please," Mary directed her, then left to close the door.
"Hello, cousin," she greeted me.
"Lucía," I said, surprised—it really was my cousin.
"You're the one from the supermarket," Paulina said, reminding me that that day she had mentioned a girl watching me.
"Lucía, what brings you here?" I asked, intrigued.
"Please, have a seat," Paulina invited, and she did.
"Honey, I have to go," Paulina told me.
"Already?" I complained.
"She's your wife," more than a question, it was a statement.
"Yes, she's my wife," I smiled.
"See you, honey, nice to meet you," Paulina said, leaving.
"Thank you for having me," Lucía said, embarrassed. "I know it was you who gave Marcos the money to pay the debt we had," she looked at me, waiting for my response. "And I came to thank you."
"It's okay. Marcos asked me for help, and I was able to help him. That's all," I said curtly.
"I also came to apologize. Sorry for treating you badly, and especially after my aunt passed away," she said, her voice breaking. "Before you were born, she was like our mother. My mother was my mother, but we never understood how, being of the same blood, my aunt and my mother were so different. My aunt always took care of us, she was always there for us, she even took us to our first day of school," she recalled, tears in her eyes. "But when Gina was born, all her attention went to her. Still, she would attend our school events and spend weekends with us. However, when Johanna was born, she dedicated herself completely to them and stopped seeing us the way she did before they were born. And although we resented you, because when you were born, we thought she had forgotten us," she confessed.
"Less than two months ago we found out it was my father who told my aunt to stay away from us, because it was my mother who should be taking care of us. At the time, we didn't know, but everything made sense. My mother showed up to an event and my aunt didn't. It was the first and only event my mother ever attended, and well, it coincided with your birth. As children, the easiest thing for us to do was to hate you."
"When we found out she had passed away, we wanted to die. Even though we were already grown, we didn't understand and we were blinded by pain. She was the only one who showed us love, and in our minds it kept repeating that you were to blame, because if they hadn't had you, she would have stayed with us and we would have known she was sick. We could have saved her."
"We were in a really bad place, Shanti. She was like a mother to us, and in a second she was taken from us, just like she was taken from you. But also our second mother, our grandmother, devoted herself only to you from that day on. We felt abandoned again. We thought that something was always being taken away from us."
"And for all of that, I'm asking you for forgiveness," she said with tears in her eyes.
"For years, you made our lives impossible because of that," I said, shaken.
"I'm sorry, but a few months ago we found out the truth. We overheard our parents talking—they were remembering my aunt, and my father was reproaching my mother. That same day, Marcos confessed to me that it wasn't his boss who lent him the money to pay our debt, but you, despite how badly we treated you. You didn't refuse. You gave it to him."
"I gave it to him because Marcos wasn't a bad person to us. Besides, I wasn't going to allow his daughters to go through hardship," I replied.
"The day he came home with the money, and even more than he needed to pay, he was so happy. I asked him, but…"
"I told him not to say it was me who gave it to him, because you might reject it," I finished for her.
"That's exactly how it was. He told me his boss had given him a loan, which I found strange. Because a month later, his boss left, and I thought we had to pay it back. But Marcos said he would wait."
"And two months ago he confessed to me that it was you who gave him the money. Since that day, I've been looking for you—more than anything, I've been looking for you to tell you everything I've had stuck in my heart. I will pay you back everything you lent us, even if it takes me a while," she said, distressed.
"You don't have to do that," I replied. "Didn't Marcos tell you my condition?" I asked.
"Condition?" she asked, confused.
"When I gave him the money, I told him: pay your debt and be at peace. Also, buy nice gifts for your children and your wife. You must take them out to eat that same day, and the smiles and happiness they give you will be my payment," I told her.
"We can't do that," she refused.
"You already paid me, Lucía. Your children's smiles did. The relief you both felt when you got rid of that debt did. The fact that you all shared a happy dinner together did. Lucía, having my money piled up does nothing for me if it doesn't make me happy or if I can't use it to help someone."
"I know your daughter is also starting university this year. It's better if you save for her education. Support her."