Page 52 of Forced By the Bratva

“Here is your baby, ma’am.”

I couldn’t wait to hold my child in my arms. I stretched out my hands and took the baby from the nurse. The baby made a tiny noise, causing tears to fall down my cheeks. He looked so much like Feliks—his hair, eyes, and nose.

Feliks stood up to have a clearer look at his baby.

“He is so adorable!” I gushed.

It was difficult for me to believe that I already had a child. It seemed like it had just been yesterday that I got married. I reminisced on my life more than a year ago, and it was nothing like this.

I never thought I would be here, carrying my adorable little child in my arms.

“Thank you so much,” I told the nurse with a smile.

She only nodded and walked away. I took my eyes back to Feliks. He smiled at me, and I returned the smile. Feliks turned around and watched the nurse as she walked away.

I felt discomfort in my bladder and shifted uncomfortably on my bed.

“What is the matter?” Feliks asked me.

Before he could say anything else, I pushed the baby toward him. “Please, hold him for a second. I need to pee.”

Feliks nodded and held out his hands. I gingerly placed the baby in his arms, and he kissed my forehead as I made my way to the bathroom. There was a tenderness to him that tugged at my heartstrings.

When I returned to the room, I met Feliks admiring the baby and kissing him, too. I stood rooted at the spot, watching them with a smile.

Feliks seemed really excited about the baby. I was, too. I could hardly believe that I was already a mother. I’d still been learning how to be a woman before I got married, and here I was.

I found myself laughing lightly.

Feliks turned around and saw me standing there, laughing at myself. He grinned at me, and I walked back to the bed and sat in front of him.

“I never thought I would be a mother so soon,” I told him as I stared deeply into his eyes.

“I never thought that I would be a father so soon. It was never even part of my agenda, but the heavens decided to bless me with a lovely wife.”

He paused and looked down at the baby in his hands. “And not just that... the heavens added another blessing. A beautiful baby.”

I smiled as I began to recall my childhood. I wondered if this child would possess some of the characteristics I had as a child and if I would be able to see myself in him.

I’d thought these memories were lost forever, but with my baby in my arms, I knew I had a second chance at life. I was smiling when the door gently opened.

Feliks and I turned toward the door at the same time.

The doctor walked into the ward with his stethoscope slung around his neck. “She’s okay now?”

He seemed a little surprised, and I wondered why. I smiled broadly as he walked up to me.

He placed his right hand on my cheek; I assumed it was to check my temperature. “I can see she’s doing some magic here,” the doctor teased.

He lifted my left wrist and read my heartbeat with the stethoscope. I could see a slight look of shock on his face, but the shock was replaced with a hopeful expression as he nodded his head and sighed. He turned to Feliks, who was still holding our baby.

“She’s perfectly fine,” the doctor informed Feliks.

Feliks smiled broadly. He didn’t seem surprised at all. “I can see that.” He nodded.

“Congratulations to you both.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Feliks and I chorused.

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