Heartbreak Express

The garden looked like something torn from the pages of a storybook. Early afternoon in London, sunlight filtering soft and warm through a lace of late-spring leaves, casting everything in that golden glow that makes you believe, just for a moment, that the world wants you to be happy. I'd planned it all, every rose-touched, ribbon-wrapped detail.

Robert had pulled strings for the venue, a tucked-away garden just beyond Kensington, wild with peonies and laughter. Kimmy was there, glowing in her new fiancée era, that ridiculous, twin petite of mine. Her ring caught the light as she fluttered around, Dante had proposed two weeks ago in the middle of a thunderstorm with a ring pop and a real one, the most chaotic kind of romantic. Very them.

Natty and Asher showed up next, Isa barrelling in wearing a tiny linen vest like a toddler tornado I stood a little off to the side, one hand instinctively resting on my belly, five months now, and finally unmistakable. I'd stopped walking like myself and started waddling with purpose, only Kimmy knew what the day was really about.

Sebastian had no idea. To him, this was just a sunny London moment, a casual gathering before we fully disappeared into the cocoon of nesting I'd told him I wanted company, fresh air, that I missed our people.

What I didn't say was that I wanted him to find out today.

Kimmy slid up beside me, her mouth close to my ear. "You ready, mama?"

My throat tightened. I nodded. "He's going to lose his mind."

"Oh, he's going to cry. Big, CEO tears." She grinned, absolutely delighted. "He's going to sob."

I stood in the middle of the garden in a cream dress, soft, flowing, just barely clinging to the swell of me my hair was loose, falling in gentle curls, and I kept toying with the necklace resting at my collarbone. His initial, the first letter of the man who still, somehow, looked at me like I was a miracle.

Dante wandered over, all mischief and soft edges under his usual swagger. "He's here," he said, checking his watch and then I heard it. That low, unmistakable purr. His Maserati, rounding the drive my heart jumped straight into my throat.

I turned just in time to see the black car glide to a stop the door opened, and out stepped Sebastian.

God, him. Sharp as ever. Black suit, sunglasses, the kind of presence that didn't just enter a space it rearranged it. His gaze swept across the garden, taking it all in with a kind of detached elegance... until his eyes found me.

And then everything changed. His whole face softened, the wall dropped.

He crossed the lawn without a word, straight to me, as if nothing else existed and when he reached me, he bent, kissed me deep and familiar then brushed his thumb down the curve of my bump with that quiet awe he never said out loud.

"Missed you," he murmured against my skin.

I smiled, nerves buzzing. "I've got a surprise."

He raised a brow, amused. "Another cake? Because listen wifey, I love you, but your surprises tend to come with buttercream and at least one food coma."

"Not this time."

Kimmy clapped her hands loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "Alright, alright! Everyone gather! It's time to find out if Bella's pushing out a future linebacker or the next Vogue cover girl!"

Sebastian blinked. His head snapped to me. "Wait. What?"

I bit my lip, practically vibrating. "Surprise."

A murmur of curiosity swept through the crowd as they clustered around the decorated box, all white with pastel question marks painted on Robert had built it, and Natty had nearly cried taping on the ribbons.

"Love," I said gently, nodding toward it. "You pull the string."

He looked... stunned. Completely blindsided. "I... what's happening right now?"

"You're about to find out if your firstborn is a boy or a girl," I said, my voice soft, full of something I hadn't even known how to name until now.

He just stared for a beat, lips parted then nodded, slow and reverent. "Okay," he said quietly. "Okay."

He stepped forward, curled his fingers around the ribbon, and pulled and then... Pink.

Pink balloons bursting upward in a rush of colour and joy, streamers trailing like ribbons of spun sugar. A paper banner fluttered out from behind the box It's a girl.

My breath caught before the tears did.

I didn't even realise I was crying until I felt the warmth on my cheeks. Around us, people clapped, laughed, Kimmy full-on sobbing like it was her baby, Natty visibly shaking with Isa in one arm and Asher holding her waist, Robert letting out a proud little sound that was almost a cheer.

But Sebastian he didn't move. He just stood there, one hand lifting to rest against my belly like it anchored him. His voice broke when he spoke. "A girl?" he whispered. "We're having a daughter?"

I nodded, laughing through tears. "A daughter, baby."

He dropped to his knees and kissed my belly so gently it shattered me. "My girl," he breathed. "Our girl." And then he looked up at me, his eyes shining, wide and wet with something so fierce and fragile I could barely hold his gaze. "I'm going to love her so well, Bella," he said. "She's going to know every day just how wanted she is."

Even Robert had to look away, dabbing at his eyes. Dante muttered something that sounded suspiciously like fuck, Kimmy made a choked wail, and then Natty reached for my hand. She squeezed it tight. "Okay," she whispered, half-laughing through tears. "A son and now, now I have a goddaughter? They're going to be married by nineteen. We are officially family. No takebacks."

Sebastian stayed on his knees, forehead resting against the curve of my belly. His voice was thick when he looked up again. "I love you," he said. "And I love her. Already."

I knelt with him, pressing my forehead to his. My heart beat so loud I couldn't hear the garden anymore. "Our girl," I whispered.

And the garden moved on around us laughter, sunlight, the sound of Isa squealing as Asher tossed him into the air but in that sliver of time, the world shrank down to three heartbeats. Me. Him. And the daughter we were already hopelessly in love with.