Black Limit
Page 17
“I don’t think I can do this,” I say, tears running down my cheeks. “I’m so scared.”
“It’s going to be fine, Ellie. Everything will go well.”
“Aiden, I have to tell you something,” I whisper through the pain. “I don’t want to feel anything. I know that this may make me sound like one of those not super enlightened mothers, but I just don’t. I don’t want to feel any pain. I just want it to be over.”
“Well, if you want, you can get a C-section. Remember, you were telling me about that?”
I nod.
“There will still be pain afterward though,” he says.
“Yes, I know, I know. But I’ll be in recovery. It will be over.”
“Ellie, this is your experience. I don’t want you to suffer more than you have to. Whatever you want, honey. I just want both you and the baby to be fine.”
I take a few deep breaths. Just knowing that this is an option is making me feel better. Okay, okay, if everything goes to shit and I don’t want to do this anymore, I will have a C-section, I decide. It’s my choice. I’ve read plenty about it. Planned C-sections take about twenty-five minutes and you don’t feel a thing. They give you an epidural and you just lie there as they take the baby out. The recovery isn’t bad either. You can even go home the next day if you want.
I take a deep breath as we walk into the hospital. They immediately place me into a wheel chair and wheel me into a room with my doctor and nursing staff. I realize that C-sections aren’t for everyone and emergency ones can be hell, but somehow the idea of having one instead of facing an unknown number of hours in labor puts me at ease. If I want, this can all be over very quickly. And then, right before the doctor says anything, I make the decision.
Two hours later, they wheel me out of the recovery room into my own room. My husband and our son are already there. The procedure took about twenty minutes, not counting the epidural and all the setup. Then they took me into the recovery room for forty-five minutes where they wrapped and unwrapped my legs and stomach, while I lay there unable to feel anything. Once they transfer me to the hospital bed, they hand me my son. I’ve seen and felt him on my chest in the operating room, but it’s not the same thing as actually holding him now. I take him into my arms completely overwhelmed with emotions. Tears start to flow down my face.
“I love you, Ellie. You did so good,” Aiden says. A little tear glistens in the corner of his eye as well.
“I love you, too,” I whisper.
We stare at our baby, who is sleeping soundly in our arms.
“I have some news for you,” Aiden says, without looking away from the baby. He’s talking about the possible trial. I should have some sort of reaction, but I can’t really elicit one. It’s almost as if all of that is background noise now.
“Please don’t tell me bad news right now.”
“I won’t,” Aiden says.
Wait, did I hear that right? I look up at him. He shrugs.
“I won’t tell you any bad news,” he repeats himself.
“What do you mean?”
“Thurston called. They are dropping all charges.”
“Really? Are you serious?” I gasp. “What made them change their minds?”
“Apparently, Mann’s boss had it out for me. His family was family friends with Blake’s family. He kept pushing them to file charges, but Mann only agreed to meet with you. The police told them that it was a very flimsy case, if that. Finally, after the sit-down, he just decided to not go ahead with them after all. They’re dropping all charges.”
“Oh my God!” I exclaim. A wave of relief sweeps over me. For a moment, it feels like I’m going to drop the baby.
“I’m so…happy,” I whisper. “It’s over. It’s really over?”
“Yep.”
“You hear that, Tristan? Mommy is not going to prison!” I say.
“So, you want to name him Tristan?” Aiden asks, looking at both of us lovingly. I shrug.
“We’ve talked about that name a lot, remember?”
“Oh, yes, of course. It’s one of my favorites as well. I just wasn’t sure it was your favorite.”
I smile at him. “It is.”
“Well, Tristan it is,” he says, giving me a peck on the cheek. We had decided on the middle name a while ago. “Welcome to the world, Tristan Finn.”
Chapter 53 - Ellie
When he surprises me…
To say that the days that follow are easy would be an understatement. We are first-time parents, learning largely as we go. But we get through them. The days and nights all melt into one, but somehow one month passes and then another and Tristan keeps getting stronger and stronger. He weighed eight pounds seven ounces at birth and didn’t lose much in the coming weeks. Much to my surprise, Aiden took time off from work and spent a lot of time with us. He offered to hire help, but I said we should wait on that for some time. Let’s try to do this ourselves.
The best thing about the experience was how much Aiden helped out. Well, no, that’s not the right word. He’s the father. Taking care of his child should not be called ‘helping out.’ But you know what I mean. He connected with Tristan right away and spent a lot of time with him. He took on the responsibility of taking care of him most nights so I could get rest and sleep. After a while, we started splitting the night. I would take care of Tristan until around two a.m., feeding him once or twice as needed. And he would take care of the rest of the night until around eight. After a while, we got into a groove. Things started clicking and slowly but surely, Tristan started to eat more and more during the day and less and less at night.
“I have a surprise for you,” Aiden says on the morning of Tristan’s third month birthday. It’s early afternoon and the day has already been action-packed. We’ve dressed Tristan up in a cute new outfit, took pictures of him, fed him, he spit up all over his new outfit, we changed him into an old onesie, swaddled him, and put him in his swing for a nap.
“Oh, yeah?” I ask, sleepily. I got about eight hours of sleep last night, thanks to Aiden, but going to sleep so late has been taking a toll, nevertheless. I feel tired most days until well into the evening.
“Yep,” he says. His eyes light up with that mysterious twinkle I haven’t seen in a while. He sits down next to me on the couch.
“Is it a nanny? Because I might be more amenable to the idea of a night nurse right now,” I say, stretching out in his lap.
“Yes, we can get a nanny or a night nurse, if you want,” he says. “But that’s not what this surprise is.”
I look up at him. He pets my head and smiles at me.
He pauses for a moment, trying to formulate his words just right. My heart skips a beat. Oh, no, I think. What if it’s something bad?
“Will you, Ellie Rhodes Black, sail away into the sunset with me?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, sitting up, a big wide smile spreading across my face.
“I want to take you and Tristan to the Caribbean where the sand is snow white and the water is crystal blue.”
“For how long?” I ask.
“For however long you want. But I was thinking we can start with six months and go from there.”
My heart skips a beat, again. This time in excitement.
“Really? We can do that? Really?”
Aiden nods and takes me into his arms. “We can do anything we want.”
“When are we going?” I ask.
“The yacht is in Miami. The plane is ready to go now.”
“Now?” I ask.
“Any time we want. I was thinking we’d leave tonight.”
“But what about packing? We have to get everything together.”
“The yacht has everything we need, for us and Tristan,” he reassures me. “All you need is to pack some of your personal things and I’ll get some of Tristan’s.”
“Are you packed already?” I ask. He nods.
I wrap my fingers firmly around his hand and bring it up to my lips. I don’t kno
w what adventures await our little family in the future, but I know that I can’t wait to find out. After giving him a kiss on the lips, I get up and go pack a bag.
Thank you for reading BLACK LIMIT!
I hope you love Aiden and Ellie as much as I do! If you did, I know that you will love Sophia and Jax. One-Click DEBT Now!
“Her words make me ache and yearn for more.” - Dancer in the Dark
“Dark and addicting!” - Lexi Rae, bestselling author
I owe him a debt. A big one.
A dark and dangerous stranger paid for my mother’s cancer treatment, saving her life.
Now I owe him. But I can’t pay it back with money, not that I even have any.
He wants only one thing: Me.
His for one year.
Will I walk away in one piece?
One-Click DEBT Now!
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Books by Charlotte Byrd
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About Charlotte Byrd
Charlotte Byrd is the bestselling author of many contemporary romance novels. She lives in Southern California with her husband, son, and a crazy toy Australian Shepherd. She loves books, hot weather and crystal blue waters.
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