Chapter 144: She was my everything
Michael’s POV
After we arrived in Manchester, I did not travel the world. I was tired. I wanted to rest.
So, we stayed indoors for a few days, but those days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months.
My belly gradually grew bigger, but it did not make me any happier, as I got more depressed by the way.
I would sit by the window, watch the clouds and the sky till the sun set.
I was counting the days, wondering why there was no word from Noah. Wondering why it was taking so long.
I wanted to know if the faith I was exercising was simply foolish. I was tired and I cried for days on end.
I wrote in the diary. Writing about my listless and painful days, writing about how much I missed him, cussing at him just to vent my frustration despite knowing it was not his fault and I had chosen this path in my own.
I was bitter.
The pregnancy made it even more unbearable as the baby caused me to remember Noah every single minute.
I couldn’t even drink to try and forget because it would be harmful to the baby.
I could only throw my silent tantrums and cry.
For six months, Noah did not show up, and no word from them either. And then it was time for the baby to come.
The delivery wasn’t easy. It was hard and I was in pain. I wanted to die so many times. I wanted to give up.
I couldn’t bear it but somehow, I kept going.
I kept fighting to bring to life the baby that had our hopes and dreams. The baby symbolized our happiness and peace.
I fought till the end and won.
I thought... After I gave birth to this child, I would open my eyes to find Noah carrying the baby with a smile on his lips and tell me how proud he was of me.
Tell me I had worked hard and I was finally getting rewarded.
But... When I woke up, the person carrying my baby was Alyssa and there was no sign of Noah.
I was devastated. I wondered if it would be best to just end my life there. But the gentle cry of the baby I had fought hard to bear woke me up from that delusion.
She was gentle. A ray of light. A ray of hope.
I cried, holding her in my arms.
She was soft, and I had found peace in my heart, but it was only momentarily.
I had postpartum depression. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat properly. I kept staring at the baby, and the worst kept creeping into my head.
I hated myself more and more. I cried and went into drinking.
I had nothing to lose by being drunk so I let myself go.
I grew lean, despite Doctor Ro’s efforts to give me a balanced diet so I could regain my strength and health, as well as heal properly from my belly being torn open to get the child out.
It was as if I were suffering from a certain withdrawal symptom. Yes, I was suffering from severe withdrawal from my mate.
Was he suffering the same way? I don’t know but I did hope he was doing better than I was so he could complete the goddamn mission and hurry back into my life.
Why was it taking so long? A year had passed and still no word from him.
Two years and it felt like I was on the brink of running mad, literally.
The presence of the child did not change many things. I at least wanted to be responsible and try to look sane in front of her.
My baby Olivia. Her pure smile and her milky skin... She was my everything. And she was the reason why I was still so sane despite being on the edge for so long and not seeing the one I wished to see.
Her eyes... They were a clear reflection of Noah.
When it seemed like I was getting to the edge so many times, I’d stare at my daughter, stroke her hair, and tell myself that she was ’proof’.
Doctor Ro and Alyssa were deeply worried about my rapidly declining mental state and how weak I looked, so they considered the option of actually contacting Noah so he could at least come to see me once, but when they contacted Sebastian, they heard from him that Noah wasn’t exactly sane either.
He wasn’t running mad like I was, but his temperament grew worse by the day, and at least it was their enemies that were facing the brunt.
He had a plan though. Since I couldn’t continue like that, they had to do something for him.
For Noah who was holding on and not holding back in his dealings, he did not need to see me. If he did, he would risk dropping everything, so he would make a video, say everything he wanted to say to me, and then Sebastian would use multiple means to transport it just so it wouldn’t be tracked.
It took about two months before it got to me and when I played the video, when I saw how well Noah was doing, I cried.
I didn’t cry because I was jealous of how well he was doing despite my own suffering, I was crying because I was relieved.
He said to me multiple times how much he missed me, how much he loved me, and how much he wanted to be with me and our daughter.
He had a pic of when she was just born but he said that it wasn’t enough.
He also apologized for not being competent enough. He wasn’t there when I needed him. He wasn’t there to watch our daughter open her eyes for the first time.
He wasn’t there for anything and that brought him to tears. He wished he could just end things and come to me but he was not very competent.
He talked for a long time, summing the video to 3 hours long, and I enjoyed it.
I listened to his voice as if he were right next to me while I leaned on his shoulder and rethought my life.
It was thanks to this video that I was able to pick myself back up.
It wasn’t easy, but I was ready to set aside my depression for not just my daughter’s sake, but for Noah, who was staying strong in hopes of reuniting with us one day.
I started eating well and thinking of what to do with my time. I’ve been jobless for the past two years and most of the money being spent was from the funds Noah had procured for us.
I still had my money but hadn’t touched it once.
I decided to be productive. Even if I wasn’t working for money, I needed to find a hobby that would take up my time and steer me away from the path of depression.
One that was gentle, quiet, and peaceful.
That was how I opened a flower shop and we moved houses just so I could stay above the flower shop.
Things started to feel right again. I apologized to Alyssa and Roland for worrying them so much and thanked them for always taking care of Olivia for me.
Alyssa began to walk and then she had her second birthday. She started talking as well and her first word happened to be,
"Noor."
It took me by surprise. I would’ve just glossed it over as baby chatter, but she knew what she was saying. She went to the picture of Noah I had by my bedside table and pointed at it, repeating the word over and over.
It was at that point that I knew for certain that she was calling Noah.
I hugged her and it brought me to tears, of course. I was a crybaby after all.
And I think Olivia took that trait from me as well. As annoying as it was, I had to deal with it since I caused it, haha.
She cried over little things, as well as big things. Anything she knew she could not solve, she would cry over it. Whatever she did not like, she would cry over it. If she was finding it hard to fall asleep, she would cry.
And I’m not talking about the usual baby cries.
Olivia was four years old and she still cried for these things. It was as if to her, crying was her best way of communicating.
Still, she was super smart. Had that fast brain of a genius, just like her father. And her healing abilities were too notch as well.
It would’ve been worrying if she healed right away as soon as she got injured because people would start looking at her weirdly. But thankfully, it healed all at once after three hours, which was our observation.
She was an Alpha’s daughter, so she was not your average werewolf cub.
She... Was my daughter.
End of Michael’s POV
At the airport, Noah landed with no bodyguard and no Sebastian in sight.
He wore a nose mask and a hat to hide his face as he had actually booked a flight without Sebastian’s knowledge.
No matter what he did, he just couldn’t rest. He couldn’t sleep either. He... Wanted to see his daughter, as well as the mother who gave birth to such a beautiful soul.
The thing they had been trying so hard to avoid had come to them. Noah had run away and had landed in Manchester.
