[BL] CRAVING HIM: Addicted to His Voice-Chapter 365: Promises Before the Surgery

~Zayn’s POV~

He didn’t answer; he couldn’t take his eyes off the boy. "Zayn... whose child is this?"

I didn’t go into a long explanation. I just leaned down, bringing my son closer to the man who had missed so much. "Liam," I said softly, "meet Grandpa."

My father’s breath hitched. He looked at me, then back at the boy, his lips trembling. "Did you just... did you just call me ’Grandpa’?" He spoke the word as if it were something fragile, something he was afraid to break just by saying it.

"I did," I replied firmly.

A choked sob escaped his throat. He looked at me, his eyes searching mine for the truth. "You have a child? My God, Zayn... you have a son." He flicked a glance toward Evric, then back at me, his mind clearly spinning, trying to piece it all together. "How...? I don’t..."

"It’s a long story," I interrupted gently. "We have plenty of time for that later."

He looked back at Liam, a tearful smile breaking through his weary expression. "Oh my goodness... he’s so cute. He’s perfect."

I leaned closer, wanting Liam to get a better look at him, but my father instinctively held up a weak, trembling hand to stop me. "Wait, be careful, Zayn. A hospital isn’t the safest place for a little one. I don’t want him to catch anything." He looked at Liam, his voice softening into a coo. "Grandpa is a bit sick right now, little man. I can’t touch you just yet. But seeing you... You are the best medicine I could have ever asked for."

Tears streamed down his face as he whispered, "He looks exactly like you did when you were three. I can’t believe I almost missed this... I can’t believe I nearly left this world without ever knowing he existed."

"Stop being negative," I urged, my voice trembling just a little. "You’re seeing him now, that’s what matters. You have to get through this surgery, Hudson. You have to, so you can watch him grow. He needs his grandfather."

He smiled, a flicker of genuine hope returning to his eyes. "I’ll try, Zayn. I’ll try my best."

The doctors entered shortly after, signaling that our time was up. We stepped back out into the hallway, joined by Liana and Evric. The next few hours were a blur of nervous pacing and heavy silence. Finally, the surgical team returned, announcing it was time to move him to the operating theater.

"Can I see him for just one more minute?" I asked the lead doctor, my heart hammering against my ribs.

"Of course," he said, nodding toward the door. "But make it quick."

I took a deep breath, clutched Liam to my chest, and stepped back inside the room alone.

I stepped back into the room, the scent of antiseptic heavy in the air, carrying with it the weight of unspoken words. My father lifted his gaze from Liam to me, his expression delicate and fragile.

"I... I have something I need to tell you," I began, my voice trembling slightly as I searched his eyes for a reaction. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, feeling the weight of the words pressing on my chest. "Evric and I... we talked about this last night..." I paused, swallowing hard, the silence stretching between us. Finally, with as much certainty as I could muster, I murmured, "Our wedding... is in one month."

His eyes widened as he looked at me, caught off guard.

"Aside from us, you’re the first person to hear this... and I’m officially inviting you," I said, a tear slipping down my cheek. My voice wavered, heavy with emotion. "But I’m not inviting you as a guest, Hudson... I’m inviting you as my father."

I let the word hang in the air, fragile and raw, the first time I’d said it aloud in years. "Father... you have to come out of that surgery alive. I’m putting everything on the line here. I need you... I need my father at my wedding."

A shuddering sob tore from his chest. "I... I will be there," he gasped, his voice raw and strained with a sudden, desperate determination. "No one will take my place." His eyes flicked to Liam, then back to me, locking with a fierce intensity I hadn’t seen in years. "I’ll fight, Zayn. I promise it. I’ll fight harder than I ever have for anything in my life. I want to see this boy grow... I want to see all of you. And I will be there, I will not miss your wedding... I’ll be there to watch you get married."

He smiled through his tears, a trembling whisper escaping his lips: "Congratulations." In that fleeting moment, the decade-long distance between us seemed to collapse. We had given him a reason to hold on, a light to guide him through the shadow of the anesthesia. "I’ll come back stronger," he vowed, his voice carrying a quiet but unbreakable determination.

The nurse knocked softly on the door, signaling that time was up.

"We have to go now," I whispered, lifting Liam higher in my arms as they began to wheel the gurney toward the surgical suite.

"I love you, Zayn," my father rasped as the wheels began to turn. "I love you both so much."

I couldn’t respond right away; my heart was still lodged somewhere in my throat. But as he reached the door where Liana waited, I watched her lean down, pressing a gentle, loving kiss to his cheek.

"Come back stronger, Father," she whispered.

Finally, the words slipped from my lips, soft but steady. "I love you, Father." Liana added her own, telling him how much she loved him and how much she wanted to sit down and share a proper meal together. The words felt lighter, more natural this time, as if they had been waiting all along to be spoken.

We stood in the hallway, watching until the double doors of the surgery wing swung shut, leaving us with nothing but hope. I held Liam tightly in my arms, feeling the boy’s small weight grounding me. Evric came to my side, resting a reassuring hand on my shoulder and leaning close. I glanced up at him, letting a shiver of relief pass through me as he whispered, "He’ll come back stronger, Zayn. I promise. He’ll be back."

I pressed my forehead briefly against his chest, drawing in a shaky breath, then pulled back to face Liana. She looked so small and worried that I instinctively reached out, wrapping her in a tight, reassuring hug. I wanted her to feel some of the steady strength I was clinging to myself as the long wait stretched ahead.

Hours began to bleed into one another. The hospital hallway, once a place of movement, became a stagnant purgatory of hushed voices and the distant hum of machinery. Meera arrived later that afternoon, her presence a welcome distraction for Liam, who was growing restless.

"Meera, Liana," I said, looking at my sister’s pale face. "Take Liam and go out to the car for a bit. Get some fresh air, maybe walk around the lot. You need to breathe something other than this hospital smell for a while."

Liana hesitated, but after a firm nod from Evric, she let Meera lead her away. Now, it was just the two of us. Evric and I sat in silence, our fingers interlaced so tightly.

The lead surgeon stepped out. He was still wearing his blue scrubs, his mask dangling from one ear, and his eyes were shadowed with exhaustion. He didn’t say anything at first; he just stood there, scanning the waiting area until his gaze locked onto mine. He pulled a pair of gloves off, the snap of the latex echoing like a gunshot in the quiet hall.

He walked toward us with a slow, measured pace, his face unreadable, a mask of professional detachment that made my blood run cold.

"Mr. Smith," he began, his voice low and gravelly. He stopped a few feet away and took a deep, heavy breath, looking down at the floor for a moment before meeting my eyes again. "The surgery..."