Chapter 14 - THE LONGEST TWELVE MINUTES OF HIS LIFE
“Her heart rate is dropping.”
Those five words destroyed Ethan Mercer.
Doctors moved around me.
Masks.
Gloves.
Monitors.
Orders.
Someone explained that the umbilical cord was compressed.
They needed to deliver Lily immediately.
Ethan stood beside my bed looking terrified.
The nurse asked, “Are you the father?”
“Yes.”
I reached for him.
“He stays.”
They rushed us toward surgery.
Ethan wore blue scrubs and held my hand while the anesthesiologist worked.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
I did.
His eyes were wet.
“I’m sorry.”
“Ethan—”
“I know this isn’t the time.”
“Definitely not.”
A broken laugh escaped him.
Then his face crumpled.
“I love you.”
“I know.”
“I love her.”
“I know.”
“And whatever happens—”
“Stop.”
He stared.
“We’re not saying goodbye.”
The doctors began.
Pressure.
Voices.
The strange sensation of time stretching.
Then nothing.
No cry.
Ethan looked toward the surgical curtain.
“Why isn’t she crying?”
Nobody answered him immediately.
My heart stopped.
“Where’s my baby?”
A doctor said something about stimulation.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Then—
A cry.
Small.
Angry.
Perfect.
I started sobbing.
Ethan folded over my hand.
“That’s her.”
Another cry filled the room.
The doctor lifted our daughter briefly above the curtain.
Tiny.
Pink.
Furious.
Beautiful.
“Meet Lily Claire Mercer.”
Ethan cried openly.
I had never seen him do that.
Not once.
Two hours later, Lily slept against my chest.
Ethan sat beside the bed.
He touched one tiny foot with a single finger.
“She’s perfect.”
“She has your frown.”
“She’s eight pounds of judgment.”
“Five pounds, nine ounces.”
“Still intimidating.”
I smiled.
Then he stood.
“I’ll let you rest.”
“Ethan.”
He stopped.
I looked at the chair.
“Stay.”
His eyes searched mine.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He sat.
Not beside me.
Not in my bed.
Just nearby.
Exactly where I asked him to be.
At sunrise, Daniel arrived carrying coffee and news.
Vanessa had accepted a federal plea agreement.
Graham would testify.
Michael’s case had been reviewed, and prosecutors were considering reduced charges based on evidence of self-defense and Richard’s violent history.
The stolen money had largely been recovered.
The trust was safe.
For the first time in months, there was no emergency waiting behind the next door.
Daniel placed one final folder beside me.
“What now?” I asked.
He smiled.
“Nothing bad.”
Inside was the deed to the Mercer mansion.
Ethan had transferred his entire interest.
To me.
I stared at him.
“Why?”
He shrugged.
“You were right.”
“About what?”
“It was your home too.”
I closed the folder.
“I don’t want it.”
“I know.”
That surprised me.
“Then why transfer it?”
“Because returning something isn’t the same as expecting you to keep it.”
I stared at him.
And suddenly I knew.
May you like
I knew what I wanted to do next.
But Ethan would have to wait until Lily and I left the hospital to hear my decision.
