Sweet Temptation by Cora Reilly

while whispering words of comfort. I wasn’t even sure what exactly I said,
hardly noticed the street ahead of us, but I got us there safely.
I’d never been present during a birth. Gaia hadn’t allowed me to witness this
moment of a baby being born. I hadn’t insisted because I wanted her and our
baby to be safe during labor. I didn’t want her arguing with me.
This time was different. In every regard. Giulia wanted me at her side,
needed me. I held her hand through every new wave of pain, felt her body
convulse under the force of it, marveled at her strength and her ability to gift me
with her beautiful smile whenever she got a respite. Seeing her in agony was the
worst thing I could imagine, but I was grateful that she allowed me to witness
this.
“One more push,” the doula encouraged after almost five hours of labor.
Giulia clutched my hand, her face scrunching up. She was tired and sweaty.
The floor was covered in fluid, my clothes were drenched with sweat and her
blood. It was a mess, and yet the most beautiful moment in my life.
And then a cry rang out. I tensed, holding my breath at the same time as
Giulia went slack with relief. I stared at Giulia’s red, sweaty face, contorted in
pain only moments ago, now filled with a bliss I could hardly comprehend. Her
eyes were frozen on the bundle the doula held up, but I could not tear my eyes
from my wife, from the woman who’d saved me and my children from a dark
path. Giulia slanted me a stunned look and finally, I dragged my gaze away from
her to see the little baby that had caused her such bliss.
He was wrinkly and smeared with blood, and it clicked. That bliss on
Giulia’s face… it crowded my chest, made me feel almost lightheaded with its
force. The doula came over to us and put our son in Giulia’s arms. Gabriel was
beautiful. I wrapped my arm around Giulia’s shoulders, kissing her temple, filled
with more gratefulness than I ever considered myself capable of. Her smile was
pure love, unrestrained joy.
I would have been happy with only two kids, but now that Gabriel lay in
Giulia’s arms, now that I’d witnessed his birth, I knew this would make our life
even more perfect.