Page 194 of Captive Heart

My gaze remains transfixed on the tiny life swaddled in blankets in Penny's arms.

My son.

Our son.

His small being eclipses all known affection with its gravitational pull, a cataclysmic shift within my soul.

"Come here," Penny's voice beckons softly, like a feather against canvas. Her gentle Southern warmth wraps around me like jasmine tendrils at twilight.

Approaching hesitantly, the weight of my empire and sins dissipate like shadows at dawn. In our bedroom sanctuary, the past seems distant. Like a whisper drowned out by new life's sighs.

"Sit with us," she murmurs, protective yet inviting. Her world has become mine irrevocably.

Perched on the edge of the bed, tension lingers within me. Penny's hand reaches for mine, grounding and pulling me from darkness. She guides me down beside her.

Seated beside her, the truth crystallizes. This child may command a greater share of my heart than I ever thought possible. My love for Penny is fierce. But this new love is violent in its perfection.

"Look at him, Hades," she whispers. Wonder and inexhaustible that I hear in her voice love resonate deep within me. "He's ours."

"Ours," I echo. A commitment tasting of eternity I never envisioned making. Ready to lay down empires for a boy who holds my heart in his beats.

Penny looks up into my face, brushing a strand of hair from hers.

“What should we call him?”

A name instantly jumps to mind and I say it before I can think it through all the way.

"Caelan," I say. I’m testing the name, as if it is a sacred incantation filled with every hope for his future. “A strong Scottish name.”

She looks down at him and offers him a pinky finger. He catches it and holds it, his lovely blue eyes staring off in the distance.

“Caelan,” she whispers. “What do you think, my boy?”

“He looks a little angry.”

Penny laughs, a melody soothing the edges of my soul that smolder.

"Just like his father," she chuckles, her words a gentle echo in the air. Leaning in, I press a kiss to Caelan's soft crown, feeling the armor of Hades crack ever so slightly.

"Always," I vow silently. It’s a promise to shield them from any storm. Penny nods in agreement, resting her head on my shoulder, a symbol of our unbreakable bond through shadows and light. Holding Caelan in my arms felt weightless yet profound, a universe encapsulated within my grasp. My hands trembled with a different power, cradling his fragile breaths like threads of life.

"He needs his father," Penny whispers softly. “Boys always need their fathers.”

And with that, she entrusts our son to me, her faith unwavering. Her trust becomes an anchor grounding me in this new reality, despite the menacing shadows of my past. Gratefulness swells within me as I hold our child close.

As the nurses retreat at Penny's gentle request, leaving us cocooned in intimacy, it's just us. Just Penny, Caelan, and me. A trinity bound by blood and an unspoken covenant written among the stars. Tears trace paths down my cheeks as overwhelming love surges through me. Penny's comforting voice wraps around me like warmth on a winter night as she encourages me to let go.

"It's okay," Penny reassures me as tears flow unbidden. Her touch is tender against my face as if absorbing my emotions. In her eyes brim understanding and compassion that unravel me completely.

"I never knew love like this," I admit through cracked words. Reduced from kingpin to whispers and tears by the sheer force of love for both the woman before me and the child nestled in my arms.

Penny smiles, her lips curving into a masterpiece that rivals the celestial bodies for sheer beauty. She is no longer just the painter who captured light on canvas. She has become the light itself, illuminating the darkest recesses of my soul.

"Neither did I, Hades. I thought I knew what love was, but this..." She pauses, her gaze flickering between Caelan and me, "...this is beyond anything I've ever felt. You've given me the world, a family, a safe haven."

Our confessions hang suspended between us, fragile and profound. In the seclusion of this room, with our son a tangible manifestation of our bond, every word we exchange weaves us tighter together, an intricate tapestry of commitment and devotion.

"Love you, Persephone. More than power, more than vengeance. More than life itself." My throat tightens around the declaration, the truth of it resounding through my core.

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