Assassin to Assassin [Narry]

Chapter 42.

She opens her mouth wide at me, her tiny body wriggling around as she stares. I can't help the ridiculous grin that spreads on my face. Her and Niall are the only two people who have kept me going through all this, kept me sane. Through these dark times, Cara is the light shining at the end of the tunnel.

"Can I...can I hold her?" I ask hesitantly. Eamon looks questionably at Helen, who gives in and nods. I beam at them both and bend down to pick up Cara from her pram, pressing her close to my body with my arm pressed against her back. She gurgles happily at me, her hands resting against my shoulder. I coo at Cara as I hold her and I can see Niall smiling fondly at me.

Helen suddenly clears her throat and says, "I think we were wrong about you, Harry. We'd like you to have full custody of Cara. We were wrong to judge you." I blink at them both, stunned.

"What made you see sense?" I croak, feeling smug.

"A little birdie knocked some sense into us." Helen winked, glancing briefly at Niall. She's about to open her mouth to speak, when someone from the funeral service taps her on the shoulder to speak to her. Once they've disappeared and left me with Cara and the pram, I turn to Niall.

"Did you have anything to do with this, Ni?"

"Do with what?" He asks, smiling innocently. I frown at him but I can't argue with him because I have Cara in my arms and nothing else mattered at that point.

The following night, Niall is at work. He's back shift so I'm taking care of Cara. I am definitely smitten for her. Her eyes are big and beautiful, her cheeks flushed and she's flashing me toothy grins that I can't help giggling at. I've dressed her in some sort of baby pink frock that Nadine bought for her and matching frilly white socks.

She's lying on my lap just now and I'm supporting her with my hands - she's that small she could fit from my forearm to my elbow. I gaze down at her, sighing heavily because I'm looking at the double of Nadine. Is this what I have to live with now? A reminder of how horrible I treated Nadine? I could've done better. Nadine could still be alive. Couldn't she?

With this horrifying thought on the back of my mind, I bathe and change Cara into her baby grow, place her in her cot and put the baby monitor on before heading out to the living room. I know that Niall is going for dinner with Liam after his shift so I decide to be romantic for a change.

I scatter rose petals from a bouquet of roses that I bought earlier at the florist shop from the front door and left a trail up to the bathroom. I lit the bathroom with scented candles and filled the bathtub with bubbles and bath salt.

Clearing my throat, I head into the living room and tie my hair up before checking the time. He should be home in five minutes. Smirking devilishly, I head back into the bathroom and take off my shirt and pants before getting into the bathtub, feeling the warm of the water soaking up my skin. I sit there for a few minutes before I hear the familiar Irish accent call from the living room.

"Hello...?" Niall calls.

"In here!" I call back, waiting patiently. Seconds later, Niall appears in the doorway, looking drained and tired. He smirks at me.

"Being good to yourself, are we?" He teases and I roll my eyes.

"No, I want you to join." I reply sheepishly and he he bites his lip, hesitating.

"What about Cara?" He asks.

"She's asleep, I've got the monitor on." I assure him, gesturing to the baby monitor that sits on one of the bathroom cabinets. Niall nods and quickly undresses himself before settling into the bathtub opposite me. He sighs with relief, sinking into the water, our knees briefly bumping together. I reach out to the bottle of champagne and glasses that is sitting next to me and I our ourselves some glasses.

"I know this isn't the night of luxury you probably had in mind, but -"

"It's perfect, Harry." Niall cuts me off and I can't help but grin.

"Really?"

"Mhmm. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." Niall reasons, shrugging carelessly. I set down my glass of champagne and lean toward him in the water. Niall starts to breath quickly as our noses brush together, our lips gently moving against each other.

"Looks like things are finally working out for us, eh?" Niall whispers, his accent thick.

"Mhmm." I hum in approval, kissing him feverishly. The warm water laps against our skin as I kiss him, my hands are holding his face and our bodies are mingling together in the bathtub. I loved being this intimate with him. I was definitely in love with Niall.

"I pull away from him for a second and reach out to grab the champagne glass before clinking it with his own.

"To us." I say, pressing the tip of the glass to my lips.

"To us." Niall echoes.

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