Page 69 of Her Sweet Surrender
After they left, Brie and Sir walked to the hospital nursery and gazed at the tiny baby swaddled in a pink blanket with the nameWallace, Baby Girlattached to the crib over her head.
“I’m so sad for her,” Brie said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Sir put his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. “We can’t change what happened today, but we can commit to giving this child and Wallace the support they need.”
Brie shuddered. She turned into his embrace and held him tight. “I keep thinking that this was almost my fate—raising Hope without you.”
Sir placed his hand firmly on her stomach. “I am not going anywhere, babygirl.”
Tribute
As they drove home from the hospital, Brie stared out of the car window. Although she tried, she couldn’t stop replaying Kylie’s last few moments in her head. There had been nothing to indicate anything was wrong. Even Dr. Glas hadn’t been worried.
With the miracle of modern medicine, Brie never considered she could die during childbirth, and a chill of fear set in as she looked down at her stomach.
By the time they reached Rytsar’s home, Brie was in desperate need to hold Hope. She raced out of the car and started pounding on the door.
Rytsar was the one who answered it. The look of sympathy in his eyes alerted Brie to the fact that Sir had already texted him about what had happened.
“Where’s Hope?” she whimpered before he could even speak.
Rytsar pointed to the living room. Hope was on the floor, petting Little Sparrow. The pup’s eyes were half-closed, looking as if she was in dog heaven.
Brie ran to Hope, tears running down her face. She picked up her little girl and squeezed her against her chest. Never in her life, other than the day she was born, had Brie been so grateful to hold her little girl.
“I am sorry,radost moya,” Rytsar said gently, coming up behind her.
Brie nodded, but the emotions bubbled up once more making it impossible to speak.
She lowered her head, rocking Hope in her arms to keep from falling apart.
“It has been a harrowing day,” Sir said, laying his hand on her shoulder in comfort.
Rytsar glanced at his swollen jaw. “It looks like it was for you as well,moy droog.”
Sir gestured to his face. “What, this? This is nothing.”
Rytsar frowned in concern. “Would vodka help?”
Brie felt the dam of her emotions starting to break and shook her head vigorously. Needing solitude, she walked to Rytsar’s bedroom with Hope and lay down on his bed.
Hope stared at her questioningly as silent tears rolled down her face onto the pillow. When she reached out and touched Brie’s wet cheek, the innocent contact caused a painful sob to escape Brie’s lips, shattering her last vestige of control.
Brie pulled Hope closer as the immense sorrow she felt for Kylie caused a torrent of tears to unleash. The pain that followed consumed her until she felt the bed sink on both sides.
In an act of quiet solidarity, Rytsar and Sir joined her on the bed, fully clothed, and wrapped their protective arms around her as she hugged Hope tight.
The entire BDSM community reached out to Faelan after hearing about the tragic news, but he refused all contact with the outside world.
Even Brie and Sir were advised by Marquis not to visit when they spoke to him on the phone, but he assured them, “He is working through this difficult transition.”
When Brie asked how the baby was, Marquis was silent.
“Is the child okay?” Sir asked with concern.
Marquis took a moment before answering. “The baby is healthy and is being well cared for.”
Brie glanced at Sir, sensing Marquis Gray was keeping something from them.
