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“I was scared.”

“I know.”

Another contraction begins. Her entire body tenses, and she grips my hand hard enough to hurt.

Good.

Let it hurt.

If I could take every ounce of this pain from her, I would.

I lean closer until my forehead rests against hers.

“Everything is going to be okay, Zvezda.”

Her breathing turns ragged. It’s as if she’s not in the room with us, and it’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced.

“Our daughter is going to be okay,” I murmur, a promise I can’t keep. But the doctor is focused, his hands steady, and the nurse works firmly beside him, checking vitals. Neither shows an ounce of concern.

Matilda squeezes my hand.

“And you are going to be okay.”

The monitor begins to change, as if it heard my promise and is questioning it. The nurse moves closer.

Matilda gasps.

I don’t move.

For the first time in my life, I let other people keep Deep Waters standing while I stay exactly where I’m needed. Money, territory, reputation, power—none of it will pull me out of this room.

I care about this woman.

And the little girl who is about to make me a father.

“Okay, Matilda, I need you to concentrate,” the doctor says loudly, as if he’s trying to speak to her through a thick fog. “You’re going to have another contraction in a moment. I need you to push when you feel the urge to. She’s close, and we have a team standing by.”

I hold my breath.

That’s all I can do. Everything is about to change. Right here…in this moment.

There’s no going back.

Epilogue

Vasily

Ten weeks after her birth, Eloise is asleep in my arms. My daughter.

That still feels impossible.

She’s tiny, ridiculously tiny, in a way that feels fragile. Her entire hand barely wraps around one of my fingers, and yet somehow this little person has managed to completely dismantle the man I spent forty-eight years becoming.

I should be working.

Instead, I’m staring at her.

The phone vibrates against my thigh. I ignore it, only willing to pay attention if it disturbs her. It stops, and I go back to staring at her face. Her soft features, scrunched up in sleep, and her round hands and chubby thighs.