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The girls put the food on the table. There’s a lot of it. Tortilla, croquetas, patatas bravas, and a paella pan the size of a car tire. Valentina tells me Sofia has outdone herself, and I can see why. It looks delicious.

It’s just what I needed.

CHAPTER 32 – Isabella

Tuesday, December 16

Raul has been at the hospital since Alycia’s water broke last night. He’s pacing back and forth, checking his phone for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. Lexa’s knee surgery was booked for this morning weeks ago, so both my daughters are in this building at once, two floors apart.

“I thought you said you were going to sit down,” I remind him, and he sighs. “They’ll be fine. The three of them.”

“I know, I know,” he says. “But it’s been almost twelve hours. We should hear something soon.”

“You can’t speed up a surgery or labor,” I say. “Especially not by walking up and down the corridor.”

He runs his hands over his face. “I’m nervous.”

“I know,” I tell him. “We all are. But Valentina will text us as soon as she knows anything.”

“How are you taking this so well?” he asks. “I mean, I know Lexa asked for Valentina to be the only one with her in pre-op and recovery, but still… it’d be killing me. And not just that… with Alycia in labor, how are you so calm?”

I smile. “I’m not calm. I’m just hiding it better.”

He looks at me, surprised. “You are?”

“Yes,” I say. “I’m terrified for both of them. But I’ve learned to control my emotions, to not let them show. Twenty-two years in a director’s box next to Ewan. You learn to keep your face still when the score’s against you.”

“You’re incredible, Isabella,” he says.

I laugh. “No, I’m not. I’m just good at pretending.”

He sits down next to me. “Do you think I can go back in?”

I raise my brow.

“Alycia kicked me out after I attempted to show her how to breathe for the third time,” he explains with a wry smile. “She said I was annoying her.”

I chuckle. “Maybe you should give her some space. She’ll let you know when she’s ready to see you again.”

He nods, but I can see the disappointment in his eyes. He wants to be there for Alycia, to support her, to hold her hand.

But he also knows he can’t force it. She’s the one giving birth, not him. She’s the one in control.

“Raul,” I say softly. “I know I’m not good at showing it and even less saying it, but I just wanted you to know that I’m glad it’s you.”

He blinks. “You are?”

“Yes,” I say, looking him in the eye. “Not so long ago, I didn’t want you coaching my club. Now I’m glad that you’re the father of my grandchild, and that you’ll be by my daughter’s side in any way she’ll let you. You’re a good man, Raul, and Valentina is wonderful. The two of you have been good for this family. Truly.”

He smiles and his eyes water. “Thank you, Isabella.”

I pat his arm. “You’re welcome. And I’m sure Alycia knows it too, even if she doesn’t say it. She’s been hurt, and once a Delvaux is hurt, we get incredibly defensive and stubborn.”

He laughs. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

We sit in silence for a while, and I think about the past and the future. I think about Ewan, the girls, and the club. I think about how much everything has changed.

I even think about the way Ewan and I were able to co-exist in the same waiting room three weeks ago, the night Lexa got hurt, without fighting. There were moments when I caught him looking at me with regret and remorse in his eyes. I didn’t return the look.