Chapter 297 - 316.

Emilia and Adrian returned into the room again. Apparently, they had been counting the minutes.

The door opened, and Emilia entered first, carrying a small gift bag. Adrian followed with two drinks and the expression of a man who had already warned his girlfriend not to trip over her own feet in her excitement.

Emilia ignored him. "Where is he?"

Kylie lifted her head from the pillows. "Hello to you, too."

Emilia stopped beside the bed. "Hello, my darling, beautiful, wonderful best friend who has just produced an actual human being."

Kylie grinned. "That was a mouthful."

"I’ve been practising."

Adrian set the drinks down on the table. "She has, unfortunately."

Emilia shot him a look.

Kylie burst out laughing. "Get out. Both of you."

"No," Emilia said immediately, pulling a chair closer to the bed. "I’ve come to see the baby."

Christian stood beside the bassinet. "He’s right here."

Emilia turned. And stopped.

The expression on her face changed so quickly that Kylie almost laughed again.

"Oh," Emilia whispered.

Adrian came to stand beside her.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The baby slept peacefully, one tiny fist resting beside his cheek.

Emilia leaned forward slightly. "He’s so small." She whispered, as if she hadn’t seen him before.

Christian smiled. "That tends to be how newborns work."

She looked at him.

"Do not ruin this moment for me, Christian Sinclair."

"Wouldn’t dream of it."

Adrian placed a hand at the small of her back.n"Go on."

Emilia looked at Kylie. "Can I?"

"Of course."

Christian carefully lifted his son from the bassinet and showed Emilia how to support his head. She listened with a concentration that would have impressed any professor, then settled into the chair.

Christian placed the baby in her arms.

Emilia looked down. Her lips parted. "Oh, my goodness."

Kylie smiled.b"That was my reaction, too."

"He’s perfect."

"I know."

Emilia looked up.b"You’re not supposed to agree so quickly."

"Would you prefer that I pretend to be surprised?"

"Yes."

"He’s hideous. We should return him."

Adrian closed his eyes. "Please don’t encourage her."

Emilia laughed, looking down at the baby again. "Hello, little man."

The baby stirred in her arms.

Emilia’s entire face softened. "Hello."

Adrian watched her. Something quiet moved across his expression.

Kylie noticed.

Emilia’s cheeks warmed when she noticed Adrian looking.

Kylie made a gagging sound. "Oh, please. There is a baby in this room. Show some restraint."

"You are literally married to Christian," Emilia reminded her.

"Exactly. I have suffered enough romance to recognise the symptoms."

Christian leaned down and kissed Kylie’s cheek. "You’re welcome."

She pushed his face away, laughing.

Emilia looked back at the baby. Then, suddenly, she lifted her head. "Wait."

Everyone looked at her.

She stared at Kylie. "What is his name?"

The room fell quiet.

Emilia blinked.

"You can’t expect me to sit here holding this beautiful little boy without knowing his name. I’ve been waiting for this moment for months."

Kylie smiled.

She looked at Christian.

He was already looking at her.

A small, private exchange passed between them, full of affection and the shared knowledge of a decision that had become more precious with every passing day.

Then Kylie turned back to her best friend.

"William."

Emilia went still. "William?"

Kylie nodded, her smile widening. "Will."

Christian nodded beside her. "William Finn Sinclair."

For a second, Emilia simply stared at them. Then she looked down at the baby.

"William Finn Sinclair," she repeated softly.

Adrian came closer, resting a hand on her shoulder. "That’s a lovely name."

Emilia nodded, still looking at the baby. "It is."

She swallowed. "Hi, William."

Kylie watched her best friend grow quiet.

Emilia had been there through so much of Kylie’s life. She had seen the loud, fearless girl who could turn any room into a party. She had seen the woman who sometimes hid behind jokes when something hurt too much. She had stood beside Kylie through heartbreak, fear, anger, and the slow, difficult work of learning to trust love.

And now she was holding Kylie’s son.

A little boy with a name she would remember for the rest of her life.

Emilia looked up. "I’m going to spoil him with so much privillages."

Christian answered immediately. "Absolutely not."

Emilia stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"He would grow up with no extra privillages."

"I am his aunt."

Adrian nodded thoughtfully. "I believe she’s right."

Christian turned to him. "You’re supposed to be on my side."

"I’m on the side of reality."

Kylie laughed. "Oh, I like him."

"You liked me before," Adrian pointed out.

"I like you more now."

Emilia looked down at William.

"Your parents are ridiculous, sweetheart. Don’t worry. Aunt Emilia will make sure you grow up with proper taste."

"Proper taste in what?" Christian asked.

"Books. Music. Food. Everything."

Kylie lifted a finger. "Absolutely not. I am teaching him my music taste."

Christian looked at his wife. "Taylor Swift?"

"Obviously."

"Then I withdraw my objection."

Emilia gasped. "Traitor."

Christian shrugged. "I have chosen my side."

Kylie leaned back against her pillows, smiling so widely that her cheeks hurt.

This was her life. Her husband. Her son.

Her best friend, who had become family long before either of them knew what their lives would look like.

And Adrian, who loved Emilia with a steadiness that made Kylie quietly grateful every time she witnessed it.

Emilia looked at William again.

"Hello, William Finn Sinclair," she whispered. "I’m your aunt, and I need you to understand something very important."

Adrian chuckled. "Here we go."

"You are going to be loved so much that it will probably become embarrassing."

Kylie laughed. "That’s true."

"And you are going to have the most annoying parents in the world."

"Emilia!"

"What? It’s important that he knows the truth early."

William moved one tiny hand.

"He agrees with me."

........

Emilia stayed in the chair for several minutes after that, reluctant to return William to his father.

Christian accepted his son back with the solemn care of a man being entrusted with the most valuable thing in existence.

Emilia watched him settle William against his chest.

"He’s going to own you," Emilia declared.

Christian kissed the top of his son’s head. "I have made peace with that."

Adrian pulled another chair closer to Emilia.

"Come and sit properly before you fall asleep standing up."

"I’m not tired."

"You’ve been awake since five."

Christain was about to speak back when Mrs. Sinclair arrived with a small bag Cbristaun had asked her to go and get when the baby had arrived, and a bouquet of pale pink roses,

Christian saw her through the glass panel in the door.

For a moment, he simply watched her.

She stood outside, speaking quietly to the nurse.

She looked different from the woman who had once entered his life expecting every person in it to rearrange themselves around her decisions.

She was still elegant, and composed. Still unmistakably Mrs. Sinclair.

But there was a softness to her now, and an uncertainty that Christian had rarely seen in his mother.

When the nurse opened the door, Mrs. Sinclair looked inside.

Her eyes found Christian first. Then Kylie. Then the baby.

Her expression softened. "I showed up just in time," she whispered.

Christian stood. "Mother."

She looked at him. "Christian."

Mrs. Sinclair smiled. "May I come in?"

He stepped aside. "Of course."

She entered quietly.

Her eyes travelled around the room, taking in the flowers on the table, the folded blanket beside the bassinet, Emilia and Adrian sitting together, Mrs. Hayes near the bed, and Kylie resting against her pillows.

Kylie looked up, and smiled.

"Hello."

Mrs. Sinclair stopped.

She smiled back. "Hello, darling."

Kylie held out her hand. "Come here."

Mrs. Sinclair crossed the room. She took Kylie’s hand gently, bending to kiss her cheek.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Kylie admitted. "Hungry. A little sore. And very offended that nobody told me how much work this would be."

Mrs. Sinclair laughed. "Had someone told you, would you have changed your mind?"

Kylie considered this.

"Probably not."

"Then perhaps they were wise to keep quiet."

Kylie laughed.

Christian watched them.

There was a time when he would have expected this meeting to be difficult.

Christian looked at his wife.

Kylie gave him a small smile.

He smiled back.

Then Mrs. Sinclair turned towards the bassinet. "May I see my grandson?"

Christian’s face softened. "Of course."

He moved beside the bassinet, carefully lifting William into his arms.

Mrs. Sinclair approached.

For a moment, she simply looked. Then she brought a hand to her chest. "Oh, my goodness."

Kylie smiled. "That was my exact reaction."

Mrs. Hayes laughed. "Mine, too."

Mrs. Sinclair smiled at them, and looked at the baby’s face. "He’s beautiful."

Christian’s expression softened. "Thank you."

She glanced at him with a smile. "You look very happy."

He laughed quietly. "I am."

She looked at him for another moment. Then her eyes filled. "Oh, Christian." Her voive broke. "I am so proud of you."

Christian swallowed. He smiled at her. "Would you like to hold William?"

Mrs. Sinclair looked at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mother."

She washed her hands, listened carefully as he explained how to support William’s head, and settled into the chair beside the bed.

Christian placed his son in her arms.

She looked down. Her expression softened completely. "Hello, little William."

The baby stirred.

Mrs. Sinclair smiled. "Oh, my little buy."

Kylie watched her.

There was something deeply moving about seeing Christian’s mother holding their child.

Not because it made the family complete. They had been a family before William arrived.

But because this moment represented something that had once seemed impossible.

A family learning how to love one another without demanding that anyone become smaller to make room for someone else.

Mrs. Sinclair looked up. "Thank you."

Kylie blinked.

"For letting me be here."

Kylie’s expression softened. "You’re welcome."

Mrs. Sinclair looked down at William again. "I know how much I have to be grateful for."

Kylie reached for Christian’s hand. He took it immediately.

Mrs. Sinclair continued quietly.

"I also know that I have made mistakes. I know that being here today doesn’t erase them."

Kylie held her gaze. "No," she said gently. "It doesn’t."

Mrs. Sinclair nodded. "I know."

Kylie smiled. "But we’re here now."

Mrs. Sinclair’s eyes filled.

"Yes, darling."

"We’re here now."

...

Mrs. Sinclair was still holding William when Rowan called from Scottland with Lucy. It was a shocker when Rowan and Lucy announced their relationship.

No one had seen it coming.

Mrs. Sinclair sat nearby, looking down at William with an expression of wonder when Emilia held the phone to William, letting Lucy gush over him, while Rowan smiled as she stared at him with admiration.

After the call with Rowan and Lucy, they called Adrian’s mum. She finally got her treatment, but would be unable to come.

William would go to her when they leave the hoapital.