Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 1041 : Shared Perfections

*Leo*

Despair slowly and painfully ate away at me as I gripped Bianca’s limp and pale hand. Tears stung my eyes as I kissed her palm gently, willing for her to open her eyes and come back to me.

My heart was splintering as I looked at Bianca’s face. She was normally so full of life and light. Even with her pale complexion and the dark bags beneath her eyes, she was breathtakingly beautiful. Her long lashes were brushing against her sunken cheekbones, her long hair laying limp against the pillow.

Time ceased to exist. I had no idea how much time had passed since Bianca and our children were admitted to the hospital. I was vaguely aware of the sun rising at least once but I wasn’t even one hundred percent certain of that.

However long it had been, I was only sure that I spent the whole time by Bianca’s side, barely letting myself blink as I waited for her to open her eyes for me.

I heard footsteps entering the room, heels clacking against the smooth floor but I didn’t look up. It was likely just another nurse going to poke and prod at my fiancee. I found myself shifting even closer to Bianca protectively when the person entered.

“Leo.”

I startled at the voice, tearing my eyes away from my fiancee’s face with difficulty to look over at her mother.

Bianca truly did get a majority of her looks from her mom. Both women had a heart-shaped face and rounded eyes that seemed to sparkle.

It hurt to look at the older version of Bianca. I had to fight not to avert my eyes too quickly.

I couldn’t find my voice as Bianca’s mom crossed the room toward me. It took me a long moment to notice that she was holding our son, swaddled in a soft baby blue blanket.

It was still surreal to see him. I must have only done so a couple of times in his entire life since I didn’t feel comfortable leaving his mother’s side.

I felt like a complete wreck. I was a father now and I was concerned for my children, especially my daughter, who was still in the NICU. Her little lungs haven’t formed all the way yet since Bianca had given birth three weeks early.

I should be checking on my daughter and taking care of my son but I couldn’t be away from Bianca, not when I wasn’t sure when I would see her smile and look up at me again.

I heard Bianca’s mom sigh before she approached me. She sat in the spare chair next to mine and reached out to put a gentle hand on my shoulder.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

My heart lurched at her question. Her daughter was unconscious on the bed in front of me and she was asking how I was doing. I felt my throat start to close up as more emotions rushed in.

I realized I couldn’t answer her question right away. I felt a ton of different feelings, not many of them good. I was relieved that Bianca was alive but the fear I felt toward losing her was so much stronger than that initial relief.

I felt like a failure for not being able to save her from all the pain and suffering she had to endure. I felt like a bad guy for being the one to put her in this situation.

I couldn’t believe that her protective mother was showing me any compassion at all. She should hate me for putting her daughter through this.

Bianca’s mom seemed to understand. She nodded as if I answered her question. “If I asked you to take a break, would you?” she asked gently but I could hear the doubt in her voice. “You need to eat. And to rest.”

This was a question I could answer with certainty. “I can’t leave her,” I said and my voice was hoarse. It was probably the first time I had spoken in over a day. I bowed my head, turning back to face Bianca again, squeezing her hand more firmly. “I don’t want to leave her.” 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Bianca’s mom was quiet for a moment. “I’m not asking you to leave her,” she said. “I only ask that you sit back and try to relax a little bit. Bianca wouldn’t want you rotting away at her bedside like this. The sight would break her heart.”

I flinched at her words, swallowing thickly. I looked into Bianca’s face now though and couldn’t imagine her wanting me to leave her side. She looked so fragile and small in the large hospital bed.

“Please, Leo,” Bianca’s mom said after another moment. “You don’t even have to leave the room. Just step over to the window and sit down. You are going to make yourself sick.”

I felt my jaw tighten even more than it already had. “I can’t,” I said through my teeth. “I promised Bianca that I could keep her safe and I failed. I need to stay by her side.”

Bianca’s mom fell silent again as she processed my words.

Before I could stop myself, I started to rant, my voice thick with emotion. “I can’t lose her,” I said brokenly. “She is the only family I have ever had. My parents haven’t been in the picture since I was a little kid and I was essentially in... foster homes for most of my life. I didn’t even know what being in a family felt like until your daughter came into my life. She is everything to me and I will never forgive myself if..”

I couldn’t even finish that thought and my eyes widened when I realized what I had almost said to Bianca’s mom.

“I understand,” she said, causing me to snap my head up so that I could look at her in surprise. She was smiling softly at her but her eyes were sad. “Believe it or not, Bianca has had her share of hardships, even if they aren’t the same as yours.”

I blinked, unsure of where she was going with this.

“She was always a serious child,” her mother went on with a sigh. “She was so hardworking that I often worried that she wouldn’t be able to slow down and enjoy all of the joys that life had to offer.”

“But now she has,” Bianca’s mom continued. She squeezed my shoulder. “Leo, Bianca is so much happier with you. She has a light in her eyes that I hadn’t seen since she was a small, carefree child. You brought that life back and I can’t thank you enough for that.”

My heart lurched. “Please don’t thank me,” I requested. “Bianca has done that for me as well and then some.”

“While that may be true,” Bianca’s mom said sternly. “It doesn’t change the fact that you improved her life. You should have seen the shimmer in her eyes when she told me that she was pregnant with your child. She was practically beaming, she was so excited.”

I looked down, digesting this. I hadn’t given the fact that we would be parents nearly as much as Bianca had. I was too focused on trying to continue my role as Don so I could protect her.

Bianca’s mom was far from done. “And these children are her gift to you. Bianca would be so disappointed to learn that you haven’t held them once since she fell unconscious.”

I flinched, knowing that that was most likely true. I thought about how excited Bianca was when I surprised her with the completed nursery. It was more than obvious that she had been looking forward to holding our little one.

I was horrified to be internally admitting that I had been waiting so that Bianca and I could hold them together but that was a poor excuse. Our children needed me now more than ever since their mother was unconscious.

I took a deep, steadying breath before what felt like the first time in days, I slowly let go of Bianca’s hand. I straightened in the hard, plastic chair I was in and held my arms out for my son.

Bianca’s mom smiled softly as she leaned forward so she could place my son in the crook of my arm. She adjusted my position slightly so that I could properly support his tiny head.

“Yes, just like that,” Bianca’s mom murmured approvingly, smoothing the baby’s blanket. She laughed lightly then. “Loosen up, Leo. You are so stiff. Look at your son, he’s so happy that you’re finally holding him.”

I obeyed. I had been so focused on not dropping him that I had yet to look into his eyes for the first time.

When I did, I was unable to hold back the sob that flew from my throat.

Our son had Bianca’s eyes, shimmering and perfect. I studied our boy, growing more emotional when I discovered that he also shared Bianca’s slender nose and face shape.

He was only a couple of days old and seemed to be studying me just as intently as I was studying him.

“Hi there, little man,” I murmured to him, amazed that my voice came out as a coo. “It’s nice to see you.”

My son just looked up at me with those amazing eyes. He grunted and tilted his head slightly.

Suddenly, one emotion stood out above all the others as I looked into my son’s face.

“I love you,” I told the newborn quietly. I stroked his tiny head with my fingers, smoothing down the wispy strands there. “You, your sister, and your mother are my entire world. I’m going to do everything in my power to protect you.”

My son clearly didn’t understand what I was saying but I found that that didn’t matter to me in the slightest. I still wanted to tell him that. It was a promise to him that I was planning on keeping for the rest of my life.

Suddenly, nothing else mattered but that vow. I might not have had parents to model myself after with my own children but I was still going to do my best. I was suddenly more determined than I had ever been before.

I spent the next hour or so just talking softly to my son. He was days old and I already felt like I could tell him everything.

“Don’t worry about your mommy,” I murmured when his eyes shifted toward the hospital bed even though I doubted he was really looking. “She had a rough couple of days but she’s resting and healing now. She’ll be able to hold you soon.”

“Leo.”

I jumped slightly at the sweet but raspy voice.

My heart leaped and I looked up to find Bianca’s eyes open. She looked exhausted but she was smiling softly as she watched me and our son.

I stood quickly, carefully shifting my son in my arms and pressing a deep kiss to Bianca’s lips, overjoyed that our family was together again.