Just with help this time.
I nodded, rubbing my cheek against Yianna’s soft hair. Both babies were born with full heads of hair, just like Tia had. I could’ve spent all day looking at them, breathing in their sweet smell.
Aris moved quickly, pulling a dress shirt over his t-shirt and replacing his shorts with trousers. The transformation from daddy to businessman was jarring.
“Will you be okay with both?” He was buttoning his shirt now. “I could take them with me to the office.”
That made me smile. I tried to imagine the CEO of Olympus Motors walking through headquarters with two newborns. “We’ll be fine. The staff’s been real helpful.”
Aris bent down to kiss my lips, then my forehead. Then he kissed Yianna, who got her share of daddy’s kisses every day. He moved to Perry and rested his hand on the baby’s chest before he straightened and crossed the room.
He paused at the door, his hand on the frame. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, yes?”
Then he was gone.
I sat there with two sleeping babies and a growing unease about what that text had said. The not knowing was almost worse than any answer could be.
But what could I do? Sit here and worry myself sick with a newborn in my arms, or try to focus on something I could actually control?
I shifted Yianna in my arms and pulled my laptop onto the bed beside me. The Black Ember performance reports filled the screen. The campaign had been running for weeks now, and I hadn’t looked at the numbers since the twins were born.
My eyes burned as I scrolled through Chauncey’s emails. The summer collection creative needed final approval, the influencer content calendar was waiting on my review, and the analytics showed some engagement patterns I needed to address before they became problems.
I should’ve been concentrating, but my mind kept drifting back to Aris’s abrupt departure.
A knock at the door saved me from spiraling completely. “Come on in,” I called out, glancing up from my laptop. The door opened, and in walked Kayla with TJ strapped to her chest, followed by Domna and Irida.
“Well, look who it is!” I sat up straighter, happy to see them. Domna was moving slowly with Irida’s steady hand guiding her, but she was looking much better than when she first came home a week ago.
“Good to see you moving around more, Domna. You getting stronger every day.”
“Each day is better than the last,” Domna said with a smile. “And I’ve been missing these little ones.”
Irida helped her sister-in-law settle into the chair near Perry’s bassinet. Domna’s eyes immediately went to the sleeping baby.
“May I?” Domna asked, her hands already reaching.
“Of course.” I watched as Irida lifted Perry from his bassinet and placed him in Domna’s waiting arms. Her entire face lit up.
“Hello, my little Periklis,” Domna whispered, her voice full of emotion.
Irida turned to me, her eyes fixed on Yianna in my arms. “Oh, look at this precious angel,” she cooed, already extending her arms. “These old arms are just aching to hold her.”
I transferred Yianna to her. “She just ate, so she’s all milk-drunk and happy.”
“That’s when they’re the sweetest,” Irida said, cradling Yianna. “Hello, little one. Your Theia Irida is here.”
Before living at the estate, I thought I’d never have a minute to myself with all these relatives around. But this place was huge enough for everyone to have their own space and privacy.
“So how you holding up, Mama?” Kayla asked me.
“Ask me again after I find a nanny and move them to their nursery.”
“You can always hire me,” Irida said, “I work cheap.” Everybody laughed, especially when she added, “Don’t judge my parenting based on my son. Judge me on Kostas instead. He’s the most sensible of all the Christakis boys.”
“I wish Periklis were alive to meet his namesake,” Domna added, looking down at Perry’s face.
Irida nodded in agreement.
