Kaden could not depart from his wife's side. Even with his children in the ICU and under the careful watch of their godparents, even when they cried for their parents, and seldom slept, Kaden held his wife's hands in disbelief. How could this be? At every single check up, they said Lina was healthy. They ensured the couple that the triplets would pose no threat to her body. When filling out the forms, they had ticked she was a human girl, but Kaden was a Pure-Blood. The reaction should've worried the doctors, for a human carrying a vampire? It was not unheard of, but the many births recently were all safe.
Claymore Conglamorate's Chairwoman had spearheaded a new medication to aid human women in vampire births and Lina had been taking the prescription ever since they received word of her being pregnant.
The possibilities of implications should've been zero-to-none. Kaden tried to wrap his head around the fact that he could've done this to her. His own flesh, blood, and kin.
Right as the man was spiraling into despair, there was a knock on the door. When there was no response, Sebastian walked in like no big deal, with Isabelle and Krystal close in his tow, and nurses wheeling in the babies.
"They've passed the three-day inspection," the nurses proudly stated. "Healthy set of lungs, underweight but that is normal for premature babies, and—"
"Put them in the ICU again," Kaden coldly stated without even glancing at them.
"Sir—"
"My babies…" Lina murmured, turning her head in confusion.
Kaden jolted out of his chair at the sight of her eyes slowly opening. She rapidly blinked and then groaned, her lips parched. She glanced at him, almost with exhaustion and irritation.
"Kaden?" Lina mumbled, confused and bewildered by what was happening. Why was she hooked to so many wires, what was that obnoxious beeping in the background, and how come so many faces greeted her?
"I need to do skin to skin," Lina grumbled, attempting to sit up.
"Easy, dove, Kaden demanded, grabbing a spare pillow and placing it behind her. "You were in a coma for three days, you shouldn't move!"
Lina slowly blinked. Then, horror dawned on her. She what?! "W-where are my triplets, I—"
"Right here," the nurses told her with a side-eye to the husband in disapproval. To think this man was going to turn the children away, he would have regretted it the second they wheeled the babies out.
"Let me hold them," Lina insisted whilst reaching for the buttons of her gown. She felt her breasts were heavy and knew they were full of milk. She hoped in her coma, it was being pumped so that she wasn't weighed down by it.
"Dove of mine—"
"You better have not neglected them," Lina irritably told him with a glare just as a baby girl in pink was handed to her. The second it happened, her heart melted into a puddle.
"Oh, she's so precious," Lina cooed as the sleeping child whimpered and stretched her arms. She placed the baby against her chest, letting out a sigh of relief upon the warmth of the child's skin.
"Your first son," the nurse warmly told her whilst passing another to her. "And your second."
Lina blinked in disbelief. Soon, her arms were filled with all three. The oldest was a girl and the last two were both sons. What are the odds of this? She could only imagine raising them would take an entire village. One child would cry and the other would follow suit.
"Give him to me," Kaden muttered when he saw the youngest nearly slipping from her grasp. He took the baby in his care and was surprised to see ruby-red eyes. All of them possessed his traits.
Kaden swallowed, wondering if they were immortal too, but that'd be impossible. Pure-Blood ran through Kaden's veins long enough to potentially alter his genetics. Immortality was a completely different story that Kaden wasn't willing to explore. One thing was for certain, his daughter and sons would live much longer than anticipated.
"Aiden," Lina suddenly said to him. "The youngest is Aiden."
Kaden wryly glanced at the child who shared a similar name as him. It seemed a trend ran in their friend circle. Whether or not he liked it, Aiden resembled his mother. He could see the faint outline of Lina's button nose, gentle lips, and wide eyes. Then, he glanced at his only daughter. She was just three days old and he knew he was going to be obsessed with her.
"Adina," Kaden said. "Our daughter."
Lina's lips twitched in agreement. "And our middle?"
"You decide," Kaden mused. "Sons for you, daughter for me."
Lina laughed under her breath, her chest warm with the sight of him holding Aiden endearingly. She always wondered if they'd make great parents, given how horrible their upbringing was.
Seeing Kaden peacefully carrying Aiden like a national treasure, with more tenderness in his eyes than he realized, Lina knew she made the right decision. Even when the doctors warned her these triplets would cause implications for her body, she still took the risk. It was either that, or getting rid of two of the children, and that was a price she wasn't willing to pay.
Lina made sure this was kept a secret from Kaden. She had been certain her immortality would save her from all of these troubles.
"Klade," Lina said. "L from my name, Kade from yours."
"I prefer Kade," Kaden mused.
"Don't be greedy, let him have a letter from me too," Lina chuckled whilst she gently nudged the blanket lower to see her middle child.
Klade peered up at her in a silence that made Lina worried. The baby simply stared at her, revealing startling vampire eyes. Instead of being afraid, she caressed him gently on the face and smiled with understanding. Then, she bent and kissed him fondly on the forehead.
"What a beautiful son you are," Lina murmured. "I will cherish you all with more love than my childhood can afford."
In response, Klade blubbed his mouth in a popping noise that made her grin. She kissed him on the forehead, only for Klade to wriggle in response. She glanced at her quiet daughter, who revealed little to no personality.
"Adina," Lina cooed, hoping to get a reaction. "My little Princess."
Adina innocently blinked, then writhed in the blanket. Lina realized that in three days, it felt as if Adina had grown. She naively blinked and realized that perhaps, all of the babies did. Vampire children matured at a quicker rate than humans, which was why there were specialized schools dedicated to their speedy education.
"Now that the couple is happy again, gather around for photos!" Isabelle chirped as if Kaden hadn't just tried to send the children away earlier. She would make sure to complain once this happy moment came to a closure.
"Smile!" Isabelle cheered whilst pulling out her phone.
Kaden immediately approached his wife with a knowing glance. He slid onto the bed, as if with the intention to do something else. To everyone's relief, he wrapped an arm around her, and for the first time since the birth, revealed a smile. His happiness was rare on occasions that didn't involve Lina. he always seemed to smile for her and only her.
Click!
Isabelle took multiple photos, all from different angles.
"Adina, Kladen, and Aiden," Lina murmured the names almost to engrave their faces and features into her memory. She glanced up at her husband, almost with an eager smile.
"We might as well be living happily ever after right now," Lina laughed.
"Only you would say such a thing after fainting during the pregnancy," Kaden grumbled as he swished Aiden in his arms.
Kaden sulked to himself in nearly every photo until she rested her head upon his shoulders. Immediately, Kaden's expression softened. He glanced at the babies in between them and could only let out a quiet sigh of relief. Then, he leaned against her and smiled for the camera, but only when he was looking at her.
"Now that is a photo worth a thousand words," Krystal commented when Isabelle revealed the phone to her.
Completely unbeknownst to them all, this would be the one image the triplets used against their father for the most ridiculous of arguments, whose fault all stemmed from one man—Kaden.
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