LOGINChapter Eighty-OneRoman couldn't stop thinking about what Harper had said.She falls in love with the little moments.Not grand gestures.Not expensive surprises.Moments.The kind that became memories without anyone realising it at the time.For three days he thought about it.Every evening.Every morning on the drive to work.Every quiet moment between meetings.Until one answer kept coming back.The park.Not just any part of the park.One very specific spot.The pathway beneath the old oak tree.The place where he'd first been out on his morning run and had seen Daisy walking towards him, gently pushing Lillie in her pram.The place where he'd slowed down because a little girl had smiled at him from her pram before he'd even known either of their names.The place where he'd met the woman who quietly changed his entire life.It wasn't where he'd fallen in love.That had happened slowly.Every day after.But...It was where everything had begun.One afternoon, Roman found Sarah fol
Chapter EightyA week after the babies came home, life had finally begun to settle into a rhythm.Not a perfect one.There were still sleepless nights.Still bottles warming at three in the morning.Still mountains of washing that somehow never seemed to end.But it was their rhythm.And Roman found himself smiling more than he ever had before.It was a quiet Wednesday afternoon.Sarah had taken Lillie to the park while Daisy fed Violet upstairs before putting her down for a nap.Across the road, Emma had taken Theo and Poppy to their swimming lesson, leaving Harper at home with the twins while they slept.Roman glanced across the street from his office window.Then picked up his phone.Can I come over for five minutes? Don't tell Daisy.Harper's reply came almost instantly.Now I'm intrigued. Come over.Five minutes later Roman was standing in Harper's kitchen.She poured him a coffee before narrowing her eyes."What have you done?"Roman looked offended."Nothing.""You only look th
Chapter Seventy-NineThe first full day with everyone home began at exactly 2:14 a.m.Or at least that was the first time Roman looked at the clock.Violet had decided she was hungry.Very hungry.Roman carefully climbed out of bed before Daisy could move."I've got her."He whispered.Daisy opened one eye."You don't have to do every feed.""I know."He smiled."I want to."By the time he'd changed Violet's nappy and settled into the rocking chair with her bottle, Daisy had quietly joined him.She rested her head against his shoulder."I told you to stay in bed."Roman murmured."I know."She smiled."But I missed you."They sat together in the dim light of the nursery.Neither saying much.Just watching Violet drink her bottle with complete determination."I think she gets her appetite from you."Roman teased.Daisy nudged him gently."I was eating for two.""You definitely reminded me of that."She laughed quietly.The sound was enough to make Violet pause for a second before carry
Chapter Seventy-EightThe first night.Every parent remembered the first night.Not because it was easy.Because it wasn't.By seven o'clock that evening, both houses had become wonderfully chaotic.Tiny cries echoed through nurseries.Bottles were warming.Sterilisers hummed quietly on kitchen counters.Baby monitors flickered to life.Blankets seemed to disappear only to reappear somewhere completely different.Daisy looked around the kitchen and laughed."We've been home three hours."Roman looked up from measuring formula."And?""It already looks like we've lived with a newborn forever."Roman followed her gaze.A muslin cloth hung over the back of a chair.A tiny pair of socks sat on the dining table.A bottle brush rested beside the sink.He smiled."I like it."Daisy did too.Upstairs, Violet let out a tiny cry.Not a loud one.Just enough to let everyone know she'd woken up."I've got her."Roman said immediately.Daisy smiled."I know you do."He disappeared upstairs while D
Chapter Seventy-SevenThe morning everyone had been dreaming about finally arrived.Not with panic.Not with rushing.Not with fear.With excitement.The night before, the consultant had walked into the NICU with the biggest smile any of them had ever seen.He'd looked at the four parents.Then at the three babies.And simply said—"I think it's time."No one had spoken.They'd all just stared at him."The babies are ready to go home."There had been tears.Lots of tears.Happy tears.Relieved tears.The kind of tears that had been building for weeks.Now, less than twenty-four hours later, everyone woke before their alarms.Not because they had to.Because they couldn't sleep.Roman was already downstairs making coffee when Daisy walked into the kitchen.She smiled the moment she saw him."You didn't sleep."Roman laughed."I think I managed about an hour.""Me too."They looked at each other.Then both started laughing.Today.Their little girl was coming home.Across the street, No
Chapter Seventy-SixEver since the consultant had spoken about preparing the babies to come home, everyone had been thinking ahead.The nurseries were ready.The tiny clothes had all been washed.The car seats had been fitted.Everything was slowly falling into place.Now there was just one thing left.One Sunday evening both families gathered at Roman and Daisy's house after dinner.The children were upstairs.Lillie already asleep.Theo and Poppy watching a film before bed.The fire crackled quietly in the sitting room.Everyone looked relaxed for the first time in weeks.Roman poured coffee while Noah handed out slices of leftover cake."I've been thinking."Roman said.Daisy smiled."That usually costs us money."Noah laughed."Or furniture."Roman ignored both of them."I'm serious.""So am I."Daisy grinned.Roman looked towards Sarah and Emma."There's something we'd like to ask you both."The room became quiet.Sarah and Emma exchanged a glance."What is it?"Emma asked.Harpe
Chapter SeventyThe conversation nobody wanted happened on a Tuesday morning.Everything had been going well.The babies were growing.The babies were stronger.The babies were needing less support.The babies were progressing exactly how the doctors wanted.For the first time since Christmas, ever
Chapter Sixty-NineA week into January, the hospital had become a second home.Not that anyone wanted it to be.But routines had formed.Morning rounds.NICU visits.Coffee runs.Updates.More coffee.The babies were growing.Slowly.Steadily.Exactly as the doctors wanted.Every tiny gain felt eno
Chapter Sixty-SixThree days after the babies were born, the hospital had become everyone's normal.A strange normal.One nobody wanted.But a normal all the same.Mornings started in NICU.Afternoons were spent moving between recovery rooms.Evenings were spent staring at monitors.Watching tiny c
Chapter Sixty-FiveThe day after the babies were born felt strangely unreal.Nobody had slept.Nobody had eaten properly.Nobody knew what day it was anymore.Christmas.Boxing Day.The day after.Everything had blurred together.Three babies.Three incubators.Three tiny fighters.And somehow life







