Chapter 246: Chapter 246

Chapter 0246 I nod my head and follow them.

We first enter a separate room where they sanitize us before giving us a medical gown, gloves, and masks to wear. Once that is done, we are then taken to the NICU unit. We pass a few babies who were also in incubators before stopping at one in particular.

Mary smiles at us. “Noah, meet Iris.”

One look at her, and she had me wrapped around her tiny fingers. She wasn’t my blood, but she already. has my F***ing heart in her hands.

Iris, though small, is beautiful. She had her eyes closed, so I couldn’t see her eye color, but everything else, from her nose to her l*ps and the piece of hair that was sticking out of her pink hat, was Ava. She was a spitting image of her mom.

I feel my heart break watching the tubes sticking out of her. She didn’t deserve this. She should still be cushioned in her mother’s womb.

She’s alive.

Right. That’s what matters.

“Can I hold her?” Noah asks in a small voice.

Mary was right. Noah was already shaping up to be a great big brother. The love and care he has for his sister were plastered all over his face. There is no F***ing way you can miss it.

“No, honey, you can’t... But you can touch her only if you promise to be careful.”

He nods. Mary helps him get his hands inside the incubator. He softly touches her cheeks, and she leans into him, though she doesn’t wake up.

We stay inside for a while until the nurse lets us know it’s time for us to leave. I walk back to the waiting room with Noah after we get out of the protective gear. I felt like I was in a F***ing dream. Like I was in the present, but not at the same time.

“Where is Theo?” I ask my brother while taking a seat near him.

Nora was by herself, and she looked so sad. So heartbroken.

“He’s with Ava. The nurse couldn’t let both of them in so Nora went first.”

Mary comes back again and asks who else wants to see Iris. Reaper step forward No “How’s Iris?” he asks.

“Beautiful” Noah still looks mesmerized. “For some reason, I think she looks like Mom.”

“He’s right,” I add. “She’s the spitting image of her mother.”

We stay in silence after that. A few moments later, Reaper comes out, phone in hand. He answers and, after a few words, hangs up.

leave but “It’s time for me I’ll be in contact.” He tells me “For Ava and Iris’s sake I’m willing to put our differences aside and catch the bastard that did this to them.”

“Fine,” I mutter, and give him my hand, which he shakes.

“Aren’t you going to wait to see her?” Theo asks as he emerges from the room.

“Not today. I’ve run out of time.”

With that, he turns and leaves. I watch him, wondering why he left in such a hurry. My question is answered when Ethan walks in, escorted by police officers.

I can’t figure out if Reaper’s hurried rush has something to do with seeing his brother, the police, or both.

I feel the familiar anger every time I think about Ethan, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive him for playing and I I deceiving Ava.

Standing up, I’m about to confront the bastard when a hand clamps down on my shoulder.

“We pulled some strings to get him here,” Theo begins. “You’re a father, so you understand that he has as much right to be here as the rest of you. Probably more, given he almost lost his daughter.”

That stops me in my tracks as I watch Nora stand up and hug him. He hugs her back while fighting his emotions.

“Don’t start a fight. It isn’t worth it. Besides, I think you’d much rather go see Ava.”

I grit my teeth but nod my head. He’s right. No matter Ethan’s sin, he deserves to see the daughter he came close to losing.

I turn around just as the nurse calls for the next visitor. I ask if it’s okay if Noah and I go in together, and thankfully, she agrees.

We go through the same procedure we went through before seeing Iris. The moment we get inside her room, my tough resolve crumbles Her head was wrapped in a bandage. The neck was in a neck collar. She had scratches on her face, probably from the glass that broke during the hit. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she had all these tubes sticking out of her and machines surrounding her.

I take one of her hands while Noah takes the other one.

“Mommy,” he calls, but of course she doesn’t answer.

She looks so peaceful. As if she were just sleeping, but we all know that’s not the case, and that’s what breaks my heart.

I try to force the words out, but nothing leaves my mouth except a strangled cry.

‘Please come back to me,” I beg. “I need you‘

I k*ss her palm and then run my hand down her cheeks, hoping against all hope that she’ll wake up soon.