Chapter 213: Chapter Two Hundred and thirteen

Chapter Two Hundred and thirteen

Malachi’s POV

But she carried the weight of this, the constant demands and needs and crying, while I got to escape to my office or to meetings or to anywhere that wasn’t filled with the sound of an unhappy infant.

When Alicia finally came home two hours later, she found me on the couch with Lia finally, finally asleep on my chest, both of us looking shell-shocked and exhausted.

"How did it go?" she whispered, carefully sitting beside me without jostling the baby.

"She cried for two hours straight and I have no idea why," I admitted, my voice rough from the tension of the afternoon. "I tried everything. Fed her, changed her, rocked her, walked with her, put on music, turned off music, gave her toys, took away toys. Nothing worked. She just cried until she literally exhausted herself into sleeping."

"Welcome to parenting," Alicia said with a sympathy that told me she’d been through this many times while I was working. "Sometimes they just cry and there’s nothing you can do except survive it and wait for it to end."

"How do you do this every day?"

"Because I have to. Because she needs me and I love her and there’s no other option." She leaned her head on my shoulder, careful not to disturb Lia. "But it’s hard. God, it’s so hard sometimes. People act like motherhood is all joy and fulfillment, but they don’t talk about the hours of crying or the days when nothing you do is right or the way you feel like you’re failing constantly because you can’t figure out what they need."

"You’re not failing," I said immediately. "You’re amazing with her."

"And you’re amazing with her too. You just had a hard afternoon. It happens to everyone." She tilted her head to look at me. "How do you feel about hiring help? A nanny for a few hours a day so we both have time to work and neither of us is completely overwhelmed?"

"I thought you’d want to do it all yourself," I admitted. "Thought you’d feel guilty about letting someone else care for her."

"I did feel that way. But then I realized that running myself into the ground doesn’t make me a better mother. It just makes me an exhausted mother who doesn’t have anything left to give. If we hire someone we trust, someone who’s good with babies, it doesn’t mean we love Lia less. It means we’re smart enough to accept help when we need it."

"Let’s do it then. Interview people, find someone perfect, make sure we both have the time and energy to be the parents she deserves and the people we want to be."

Alicia kissed my cheek, a soft press of lips that conveyed more than words could. "Thank you for this afternoon. For taking care of her so I could focus on the foundation. For not complaining or making me feel guilty for leaving you alone with a cranky baby."

"She’s my daughter too. This is my responsibility too. You shouldn’t have to thank me for basic parenting."

"Maybe not. But I’m going to anyway because it matters to me that you understand how hard this is, that you don’t minimize it or dismiss it as easy work that anyone could do."

Lia stirred against my chest, making the little sighing sound that meant she was transitioning between sleep cycles. We both froze, waiting to see if she’d wake up crying again or settle back down. After a tense moment, she relaxed completely, her breathing evening out into the deep rhythm of genuine sleep.

"Crisis averted," Alicia whispered.

"For now. She’ll probably wake up the moment I try to move." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Then don’t move. Stay exactly where you are and I’ll make dinner around you."

"You don’t have to—"

"I want to. You spent two hours being screamed at by our daughter. The least I can do is feed you."

She got up carefully, moving toward the kitchen while I stayed frozen on the couch, afraid to breathe too deeply in case it woke Lia. From my position, I could see Alicia moving around the kitchen with the efficient grace that came from months of learning to do everything one-handed while holding a baby. She pulled out ingredients, started chopping vegetables, hummed softly to herself while she worked.

This was my life now. Not boardrooms and power plays and the constant maneuvering for position that had defined my entire existence before Alicia. This was domesticity and baby spit-up and trying to figure out why a four-month-old was crying. This was partnership and shared responsibility and building something together that was bigger than either of us alone.

And I loved it. Even when it was hard. Especially when it was hard, because the difficulty meant it mattered, meant we were doing something real and challenging and worthwhile.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Carefully, moving as little as possible, I managed to extract it and check the message. Maurice, asking about a potential consulting contract with a tech company that needed security protocols for their executive team.

Six months ago, I would have jumped at the opportunity. Would have seen it as validation that I could build something legitimate, something clean that had nothing to do with the Blackwood legacy of violence and crime.

Now, I looked at the message and felt only the mildest interest. I’d respond later, after Lia woke up and after dinner and after I’d had time to think about whether I even wanted to take on new clients right now.

Because this, right here, was more important than any contract. This moment with my daughter asleep on my chest and my wife making dinner in the kitchen and our life happening all around us. This was what I’d chosen when I’d walked away from Dark City and the family business. This was what I’d chosen when I’d followed Alicia to Italy and convinced her to give me a chance.

This ordinary, beautiful, challenging, perfect life.