CLAIMED // 18+

Final Chapter

One Year Later

SEBASTIAN

Being a dad has been rendered a lot more difficult for me than I'd ever imagined. Especially, as the dad of two incredibly hyperactive and strong twin babies.

"Tanya, you can't eat that!" I take the teddy bear off of Tanya's tiny hands before she puts her mouth on it and hand her the bottle of milk instead "Now, this, is something you can eat. It's yummy!"

But after taking one taste, Tanya immediately tosses the milk bottle into the air. "Tanya!"

Suddenly, behind me, Theo begins to weep.

"Oh god," hopeless, I just stay still for a second. Theo keeps crying for god knows what, and Tanya spills her milk all over her clothes and the carpet. She's literally grinning from ear to ear while her clothes are completely soiled. 

I finally take a deep breath and take Theo up to my arms and try to console him "don't cry, okay? Everything's fine! See, your sister seems just fine!"

Tanya giggles and grabs her teddy bear. She tries to eat it again, but I use my other hand to stop her from it. In the process, Theo begins to cry once again in my arms.

And yeah, being a dad is definitely the hardest thing I've had to do my entire life.

"Are you guys giving your daddy a hard time?"

Her voice coming from the doorway finally brings relief inside me.

I immediately turn around to see their mother standing at the doorway in a white nightgown. She walks over to me and takes Theo off my arms. She cuddles him, and whispers things to Theo which calms him down instantly.

"I'll never understand how you do that, Elaine."

"It's super easy," Elaine smiles at me "you'll get the hang of it, honey."

Elaine then plays with Tanya and Theo, and in moments, they become tired enough to tuck them in for the night.

I watch as she tucks the twins into their respective cradles, and plant a kiss on each of their foreheads. After all they did with me, watching my babies sleep so peacefully brings a different kind of adoration inside me.

I always thought I'd never have any paternal instincts, and that if I ever were to become a dad,  I wouldn't enjoy it. I thought I'd be somewhat like my own dad, who barely paid any attention to me and never taught me things that a normal dad would teach their young son. What he did teach me though, are things like using a gun or business ledgers. 

And I thought I'd be just that. But now that I'm a full-fledged father with two beautiful baby twins and a beautiful loving wife beside me, I'm completely different. I love my children with my entire soul, and I'd do anything for their happiness.

"We should go to bed too," Elaine wraps her arms around my chest.

I pat her head and hug her back gently "yes, we should." 

***

ELAINE

It's been over an year ever since the incident occurred, where I thought for a good moment that I had died, until I opened my eyes again within a week and felt my beautiful babies for the first time in my arms. What I thought would be the tragedy of my life turned into the most beautiful day.

In the last year, many things in our lives have changed. On the positive side-- we obviously became parents, I attended sessions with a therapist every week, and Paulina got herself a promotion and decided to go on a solo trip to Europe for 2 months. She told me that she even met a really charming man in Spain, and that she's totally in love with him. I chose to believe her. I mean, who am I judge? I did fall in love with Sebastian faster than a lightning myself.