"Last night... when you got out of bed, what was that about? Did something happen?" I asked, stirring my coffee absentmindedly as I sat at the kitchen table. Morning light spilled through the windows, soft and warm against the countertops, but I still felt half-asleep. 

I rubbed at one of my eyes, trying to get rid of the lingering crust and heaviness from waking up.

Across from me, Carla calmly chewed on a piece of pancake before answering.

"It's about Isabelle... we have a solution," she said simply.

The fork in my hand paused.

"O-Oh..." I replied quietly, swallowing hard before taking another sip of coffee.

The words should've relieved me more than they did.

I stared down into the dark surface of my cup, watching it ripple slightly as my hand shifted. 

Even after the results, after hearing with absolute certainty that she was biologically mine... something inside me still refused to connect fully.

I didn't hate her.

That was the part that made me feel worse.

Every time I looked at Isabelle, I felt protective. Responsible. But not... attached. Not in the way I thought a father was supposed to feel.

It was like my mind understood she was my daughter long before my heart did.

"I still just..." I started quietly, struggling to find the right words. "I don't really feel like she's mine."

The admission sat heavily between us.

Carla's expression softened slightly as she set her fork down, giving me her full attention now instead of brushing past it.

"Lela... she'd be raising her, like she was her own," Carla said carefully, watching my reaction as she spoke. "We would just be her aunt and uncle."

The moment the words left her mouth, I felt something inside me loosen instantly.

Relief.

Real, overwhelming relief.

A breath escaped me before I even realized I'd been holding it in, my shoulders easing for the first time since Isabelle had entered my life. It felt terrible to admit—even just to myself—but this... this felt manageable. 

Safe.

Perfect, even.

I rubbed my hand lightly against the side of my cup before nodding slowly.

"Yeah..." I said quietly, the tension in my voice fading. "Yeah, we can do that."

Carla smiled almost immediately, like she'd been hoping for that answer all along.

"Great," she said warmly. "I'm glad we're all on the same page."

I nodded again, more certain this time, and finally took another sip of my coffee. The knot in my chest that had been sitting there for days had eased into something lighter now.

Not gone completely.

But lighter.

—

"FUCKING HELL, WHAT IS THIS BABY?! A MONSTER?!" Carla screamed, her grip crushing my hand as another wave hit her.

"I know, I know—just breathe, cariño, you're doing amazing," I said quickly, staying right beside her despite the panic buzzing through my own chest. 

My hand tightened around hers instinctively while the other brushed damp strands of hair away from her face.

The room was loud with movement and voices, but all I could focus on was her.

"He's almost out, Carla... you can do this," I urged, trying to sound steadier than I felt.

Carla let out another strained cry, exhaustion and frustration mixing together as she pushed again.

"¡HIJO DE SU PUTO PADRE!" she yelled through gritted teeth, her voice echoing through the room.

Then—

A sharp cry suddenly cut through everything else.

The entire atmosphere changed in an instant.

I looked up just in time to see the doctor lifting our son carefully into the air, tiny and red-faced and very, very alive. His cries filled the room immediately, loud enough to overpower every bit of tension that had been there seconds before.

For a moment, nobody said anything.

I just stared.

Our son.

My chest tightened so hard it almost hurt as the reality finally hit me. All the fear, the stress, the waiting—it crashed together into something overwhelming and impossible to describe.

Carla fell back against the bed, breathing heavily, completely exhausted but already trying to look toward him.

And despite everything... she started laughing. Breathless, emotional laughter.

They carefully placed our son onto Carla's chest, and the moment he settled against her, everything seemed to slow down.

She wrapped her arms around him instinctively, cradling him close despite how exhausted she was. 

Our beautiful new life.. it had already begun, right there in that room.

I stepped closer to the bed, barely able to take my eyes off him. He was so small. Tiny fingers curled against Carla's skin, his cries already softening as he rested against her warmth.

"He's so adorable..." I whispered, my voice almost lost beneath the emotion tightening in my chest.

Carla looked up at me then, tired beyond belief but glowing in a way I'd never seen before. Tears gathered faintly in her eyes as she smiled.

"I love you so much, Miguel..." she murmured softly. "Thank you for this wonderful gift."

The words hit me harder than I expected.

I leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss against her forehead before letting my hand rest carefully against our son's back. He was real. Both of them were.

For a long while, neither of us spoke again.

We just stayed there together, holding onto the moment as if the rest of the world had completely disappeared. 

The noise in the room faded into the background, and all that mattered was the warmth between us, the tiny life resting in Carla's arms, and the quiet understanding that nothing would ever be the same again.

"...What are we gonna name him?" I asked softly, my eyes still fixed on the tiny boy resting against Carla's chest.

For a moment, she didn't answer right away. She just looked down at him, gently brushing a finger across his small cheek as he shifted slightly in her arms.

Then she smiled.

"Enzo," Carla said simply.

The name settled into the room so naturally it almost felt like it had always belonged to him.

"Enzo..." I repeated quietly, testing the sound of it as I looked at our son again.

Yeah.

It fit perfectly.

A small smile pulled at my lips as I leaned closer, resting my hand carefully against the blanket wrapped around him.

"Hey there, Enzo," I whispered gently.

His tiny fingers twitched slightly at the sound of my voice, and Carla let out the softest laugh beside me, exhausted but full of warmth.

The three of us stayed there together, wrapped in that quiet little moment, while the name settled fully into our hearts like it had been waiting for him all along.

—