Page 57 of Forced Prisoner By the Bratva

She extended her hands, and I gently placed the infant in her arms. Her face lit up with a bright smile, her expression full of love as she gazed at the cute little thing.

Tessa was exhausted yet radiant, with her skin simmering in the lights. Her eyes sparkled with mirth, and her face glowed with elegance as she sang for our baby, her voice low, sweet, and melodious.

As the heartwarming scene unfolded before me, I knew instantly that Tessa was a woman I couldn't live without. She wasn't just the mother of my child; she was more than that. She was the one woman who completed and made me feel whole—like a man.

Tessa was the light in my dark; my life would be so empty without her. I'd grown so attached to her, and now that the baby had arrived, I felt even more connected to her than I'd ever been.

This wasn't just a sense of obligation as the man of the house. No. It was beyond that. It was something infinitely more complicated and consuming. This woman had turned my whole life upside down, and I couldn't envision my future without her.

For the first time in my life, I felt vulnerable but also undeniably complete.

My lips curled into a smile, and a soft sigh escaped my lips.

I'm a father now,I thought, my eyes fixed on the baby in my wife's arms.I really am a father now.

I felt my heart gladden, and my face lit up with an even broader smile.

Chapter 23 – Tessa

It had been a little over two months since I gave birth to the child that essentially changed my life forever. Nothing was the same anymore, and it was like the baby had stolen all of my time, my attention, and even my strength.

No one had prepared me for this: the after-effects of giving birth. Child labor was one thing, but raising an infant was an entirely different thing altogether. Why didn't anyone tell me just how stressful and demanding these babies could be?

I barely slept and had no time for myself, my business, or my husband. The little thing—my precious daughter—just didn't give a shit what I had to give up to attend to her. Babies were attention seekers, and boy, was that exhausting.

Erik had offered to hire a professional babysitter, and even the older maids in the mansion suggested they take care of the baby. However, I refused. I was polite, of course; I just wanted to be with my baby at any cost.

I’d endured the pain of child labor, so handling this baby's demands shouldn’t be such a big deal. Plus, this was an opportunity to spend more time with one who opened my womb.

Our little girl meant the world to me, and there was nothing that I wouldn't do for her. Devoting my time and attention was a small price to pay, and I would willingly pay it without hesitation.

Despite the stress and aches and exhaustion that came with caring for and raising this baby, there was a kind of joy and fulfillment deep within me that I couldn't explain. I'd never felt that much joy before, that much happiness and fulfillment. Ironically, all of those intense emotions came from the one person that stressed me out the most in the world. How intriguing.

Everything about my daughter was fascinating: her tiny form, her rosebud lips, and those adorable green eyes. At some point, I may have grown so attached to her that I became selfish with her, sort of. I didn't want anyone else holding her, and maybe it was because I was scared of anything bad happening to her.

I didn't trust anyone else with my daughter, not even the maids who worked for me. I was so overprotective of her that her life was my number one priority.

I was doing too much—handling and overseeing everything that concerned my child—but I couldn't help it. I couldn't bring myself to stop even if I wanted to.

Erik's lifestyle wasn't encouraging, either. The man had enemies here and there—violent and dangerous men who would do just about anything to see him suffer. If I was sure of one thing, it was how much Erik loved our daughter. He would gladly lay down his life for her if it ever came to it.

What if word got out that Erik was now a father? What if one of his many enemies decided to attack him by going after our baby?

Erik was more than capable of keeping us both safe—that was an established fact. But for how long would he keep us safe? How long until one of his foes got to us in order to make him suffer?

I was so afraid of the future and what it had in store for us that I didn't realize how much I was losing sight of the present.

I'd ignored everyone and everything around me because I deluded myself into thinking that I was devoting all of my time to my kid. But was that really what I was doing, or was I just running away from my problems?

Erik's feelings about me remained unclear, and I was afraid to face him, to talk to him about it. He had slithered his way into my heart, but I wasn't sure if I had done the same withhis. I couldn't determine if this feeling was mutual or one-sided since he wasn't exactly the type of man to express his emotions verbally.

The uncertainty of where I stood in his life and who I was to him had me all riled up. Thank God for this baby for keeping me occupied. I knew I needed to have a talk with my husband about our current situation and get the clarity that I needed. But I was afraid.

If I hadn't felt so much love and affection for this man, maybe things would have been a lot easier for both of us. However, that wasn't the case here; it was the exact opposite because I couldn't help but love him.

Was it really love? Maybe. It was the only logical explanation as to why he was on my mind all the bloody time.

Despite how distracted I appeared to be, despite how nonchalant about him I seemed these past months, he was always in my head. I missed him more than he'd realized, but I had to distance myself for a while.

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