Updated Mar 22, 2026 • ~2 min read
Chapter 29: First Week Home
MAREN
Day three with Isla.
We’re home.
Our apartment.
Now with a tiny human.
Who screams.
A lot.
“Why is she crying?” Jasper asks for the hundredth time.
“I don’t know. I fed her. Changed her. Burped her.”
“Maybe she’s tired?”
“She just slept.”
“Maybe she’s not tired enough?”
We’re disasters.
New parents.
Clueless.
Exhausted.
But also:
In love.
With this tiny, perfect, screaming human.
***
Visitors come daily.
Conrad brings meals.
Valeria brings baby clothes.
Imogen brings advice.
Sienna brings coffee. (Bless her.)
Even the King Industries board sends a gift basket.
Olive branch.
Peace offering.
“Congratulations to the Ross-King family.”
Ross-King family.
I like the sound of that.
***
JASPER
Fatherhood is terrifying.
I’ve led companies.
Managed millions of dollars.
Negotiated impossible deals.
But this tiny baby?
She’s more intimidating than any boardroom.
“What if I drop her?”
“You won’t drop her.”
“What if I do something wrong?”
“You won’t.”
“How do you know?”
Maren looks at me.
Exhausted. Beautiful. Patient.
“Because you love her. And that’s enough.”
I hope she’s right.
***
Night three.
Isla finally sleeps.
Four whole hours.
Miracle.
I watch her in the bassinet.
Tiny chest rising and falling.
Perfect little face.
My daughter.
A year ago, I was alone.
CEO of a company I didn’t love.
Living up to a dead father’s expectations.
Trapped in a forty-year feud.
Now?
I have Maren.
I have Isla.
I have a family.
Real. Imperfect. MINE.
And I wouldn’t change anything.
***
MAREN
One week with Isla.
We’re getting the hang of it.
Mostly.
Feeding schedules. Diaper changes. Sleep deprivation.
It’s hard.
But also:
Perfect.
Conrad visits.
Holds Isla.
Tears in his eyes.
“She looks like your mother.”
“You think?”
“Same nose. Same chin. She would have loved her.”
I’m crying.
Again.
(Postpartum hormones are real.)
“I wish Mom was here.”
“Me too. But she lives on. In you. In Isla. In this family you’ve built.”
He looks at Jasper.
Then back at me.
“You did good, Maren. Better than good. You ended a war. With love.”
That’s all I ever wanted.
Love.
Family.
Peace.
And now I have it.
END OF CHAPTER 29
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