He groaned.“This is what hell must be like.”
He looked around once more, silently willing someone—anyone—to return and help.But no.Azlyn, his guards, even the furniture… all had abandoned him to face the diaper demon alone.
“You’re all going to be fired,” he muttered to no one, then sighed and glanced down at Griffin.“Sorry, little man.”He paused.“What’s your name again?”
The baby blinked up at him.
“Griffin!”Zayn remembered suddenly.“Well, Griffin, I think it’s time we changed that stinky diaper, don’t you?”
He started to lay Griffin on the floor, then stopped.“No.That’s not going to work for a royal prince.”
His gaze fell on the long scarf Azlyn had used to carry Griffin earlier.Dropping the diapers and wipes, he grabbed the scarf and arranged it in a padded bundle on the floor.Then, carefully, he set Griffin down on the makeshift changing mat.
“That’s better, eh?”The baby didn’t answer, far too interested in watching Zayn with fascinated, unblinking eyes.
“Let’s get this done, shall we?”Zayn said, kneeling down.He unsnapped Griffin’s onesie and opened the diaper.It was, in fact,veryready for a change.
The task took longer than it should have—partially because he was out of practice, but mostly because this wasn’t just any baby.This washisson.He found himself taking extra care, checking everything twice, and making sure the fit was snug and comfortable.
He’d changed his cousins’ babies plenty of times, but this… this was different.
“Feel better?”he asked as he lifted Griffin back into his arms.
After tossing the dirty diaper in a trash can in the nearby kitchen, Zayn looked around.“Food?I guess you’re getting hungry right about now, aren’t you?”
Griffin stared silently up at him.
Zayn chuckled.“You’re not going to give me any warning, are you?”
Still nothing.Just more solemn baby staring.
He searched the bags and found a pack of bottles.Opening the packaging one-handed was harder than expected, but he managed.He washed a bottle, read the formula instructions three times, and then mixed it.After heating it in the kitchen’s spotless microwave, he returned to the white sofa—carefully, because everything was still ridiculously white.
“This place was a terrible choice for a baby,” he muttered to Griffin as he sat down.
The second the bottle came into view, Griffin perked up—squawking, wiggling, and reaching with frantic baby energy.
“Alright, alright,” Zayn said, adjusting his grip as he offered the bottle.Griffin latched on with surprising intensity, holding the bottle in both hands as he continued to stare up at his father.
Zayn stared back.
“So, tell me about yourself,” he said softly.“What are your hopes and dreams?What would you like to accomplish in this world?”
Griffin kept drinking, eyes locked on Zayn’s face.
Zayn pulled him a little closer.
A son.
He still couldn’t quite believe it.But maybe, if he said it enough times, it would start to feel real.
Chapter 20
Azlyn pressed her back against the wall as if it might hold her up when her own legs threatened to give out.Her gaze locked on the man she’d once thought she loved—a lifetime ago, or maybe just a year, before everything had shattered into sharp, jagged pieces.
The past twenty-four hours had been a storm she couldn’t outrun.She’d lost her best friend.She’d been shot at by strangers whose faces she still couldn’t picture without feeling her pulse spike.And now, the man who had broken her heart had somehow stepped back into her life as if the universe had decided she hadn’t been punished enough.
Her chest ached, not just from fear or shock, but from the hollow place where Olivia’s voice should have been.The one person Azlyn would have called to make sense of this mess was now lying in some cold, dark space—alone.No more late-night bottles of wine on Olivia’s couch.No more shared laughter over ridiculous dating stories.No more teasing about Azlyn’s chronic singlehood and her fondness for grumpy solitude.The ache deepened, clawing into her ribs until she couldn’t breathe.Olivia would never… she’d never… God, she was gone.
