Breaking Free, Loving Again -The Flash Marriage with Mr. CEO - Chapter 822

Chapter 822: Little bundle of joy.

Arwen didn’t know how much time had passed, but slowly —little by little —her consciousness began to return. Her eyes fluttered, and her fingers twitched instinctively reaching out for whatever warmth was closest.

“Moon!”

Aiden’s voice cracked. That same desperate plea —raw and trembling —echoed the night he had saved her from the accident.

A sound she could never forget.

He still sounded as anxious as before. As though scared to lose her.

Did she scare him that much?

Maybe she did, again. But she promised to reassure him all over again —to show him that nothing could pull them apart now. Nothing.

“Didn’t you trust my word, husband?” she murmured, finally forcing her eyes open.

And the first thing she saw was him.

Aiden looked haggard. Utterly, devastatingly haggard. His eyes were bloodshot, and his usually sharp features had gotten softened because of exhaustion and fear. In a matter of hours, he looked as if he had aged decades.

Wait … it has just been hours, right?

The question crossed her mind, and she almost instantly asked, “How much time has passed?”

Aiden’s brows drew together, but he answered without hesitation, “Six hours, forty-eight minutes, and fifty seconds.”

Arwen paused at his meticulous calculation. She held herself back from commenting on it, instead giving him a subtle teasing smile, she asked, “It’s just been six hours, and you are looking like this. Just what kind of disaster did you go through, husband?”

Aiden’s lips twitched. “The kind where my wife passes out and stops responding. That kind.”

“Ide —”

He didn’t let her finish. He leaned in, burying his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her in like he needed the proof that she was still there. Still breathing. Still his.

“I was terrified, Moon,” he whispered against her skin. “I was very terrified.”

She weakly raised her hand, brushing through his hair. “I am sorry,” she whispered back. “I didn’t mean to scare you, husband. I was just too exhausted. I didn’t know when my consciousness got subdued, and I fainted.”

Aiden knew that. The doctor has explained it to him, but still, that explanation wasn’t enough to calm him down. He wanted to feel her like this to believe that he hadn’t lost her. That she was still there with him.

He exhaled shakily, then pulled back. Letting his fingers gently caress her cheek, he nodded, finally relaxing. “Thank you for not leaving me, Moon. For if you did, I would have crossed heaven and earth to bring you back.”

She smiled at his words, but then, shaking her head, she said, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you go through those extreme lengths. I am not going anywhere.” Her eyes softened with emotion before she darted them to look around. “By the way, where is our little one?”

Aiden froze. Completely.

While Arwen’s brows only tugged in a frown when she didn’t see the baby there. She turned to glance back at Aiden, her eyes clearly holding doubts. “Husband.”

He looked away.

She reached for his hand and tugged him back to make him look at her. “Don’t tell me you —”

“I didn’t look,” he blurted.

Arwen blinked. “… you didn’t look?”

“I didn’t want to leave you.” He sounded almost defensive. “To take a look at him, I had to leave you, and I couldn’t do that. So, I didn’t look.”

Arwen stared at him.

Aiden stared back, unrepentant.

She sighed, half exasperated, half amused. “You absolute child.”

“I am not,” he tried to protest, only to pause at her sharp glare.

“You ignored our newborn child.”

“I was too concerned for you.”

“That sounds more like an obsession to me.”

“Well —then I am obsessed!”

She laughed helplessly. “Husband …”

He looked miserable. And stubborn. And so deeply in love that her heart softened all over again. “So, you don’t even know if we have a son or daughter?”

The answer was clear on his face. Before she could say anything more, a knock rattled the door.

Jason pushed and stepped inside, finally taking a sigh of relief. “Oh God, you are finally awake, Arwen. Don’t ask me what disaster we went through all this while when you weren’t.”

“Dr. Clark, you were waiting outside?” Arwen asked, a little surprised. If her calculation was right, then it must be already quite late at night.

Jason’s gaze darted to Aiden once before he said, “Not just me. We have all been waiting outside all this time.”

“You all?” she asked, flicking her eyes at Aiden once before getting back again to Jason.

Jason nodded, keeping his pressed tight before stepping inside and behind him came everyone.

“Grandpa, Dad, Anna, Lawyer Thorne —you all have been here all this while?”

Everyone’s gaze darted to Aiden as though silently complaining about him. Arwen noticed their gaze as well. She sighed.

“Husband, what did you do this time?” she asked, gently tugging at his arm.

Aiden looked at her and furrowed the brows of his own. “I didn’t do anything.”

“He didn’t,” Idris spoke, stepping forward. “We stayed because we were concerned. We couldn’t leave without confirming that you were alright.”

“Dad, I am fine,” she said, softening. “It’s so late already. You and Grandpa should have returned home to rest.”

She then looked at William. “William, why didn’t you take Grandpa back?”

“Young Madam —”

“I wanted to stay,” Morgan interrupted firmly. “I still need to see my great-grandchild.”

Arwen paused at that. “… Wait.” Her eyes slid to Aiden suspiciously. “You still haven’t seen him?”

“How can we?” Jacob voiced, sounding a little impatient. “Aiden has strictly forbidden us from taking a look.”

Arwen’s gaze darted to Gianna —who nodded instantly, confirming Jacob’s words.

Arwen pressed her lips together and looked back at Aiden. “Will you care you explain this, Mr. Aiden Winslow?”

Aiden gazed at her, his brows drawn like he was the one losing patience there. His exhaustion was kicking in, affecting his mood clearly. “What’s there to explain? You are the mother. You went through extreme struggles to bring him into the world. You get to see him, touch him first. And that’s … non-negotiable.”

“You —”

She wanted to argue. But when she tried to find a logic against his logic … she couldn’t. In the end, she only said, “I wouldn’t have minded if they had seen or touched him before.”

“I would have,” he said firmly and decisively. “I would have minded it. And hence, I didn’t allow them.”

She looked at him, an urge to pinch his cheeks, making her fingers twitch. “Fine,” she whispered. “But now I want to see him. And so does everyone else. So will you allow?”

The nurse —who had been waiting near the door —immediately stepped forward, asking, “Should I bring the baby now?”

“Yes, please,” Arwen said warmly. As the nurse left, Arwen turned to Aiden. “You’d better hope our child doesn’t hold this against you. Because if he or she did, —”

“I am going to make upto him,” Aiden replied.

“Oh yes,” she asked as though she was very interested. “Let me see how you would do that.”

Aiden didn’t answer, his nerves suddenly fidgeting beneath his skin.

Everyone else straightened like schoolchildren waiting for exam results.

Moments later, the nurse returned —carrying a tiny, pink-blanketed bundle.

The room grew silent.

Arwen’s breath caught, and she could no longer look away.

Aiden forgot how to breathe entirely.

The nurse walked forward and placed the baby gently into Arwen’s arms.

Arwen gasped the moment she felt the little life in her embrace. The presence wasn’t unfamiliar at all —she had carried it for more than nine months. But still, it all felt very new.

“Oh … oh my little one …”

Aiden leaned in —slow, trembling —like he was scared the moment might shatter if he blinked too hard.

“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Winslow,” the nurse said, “You have a beautiful daughter.”

Their daughter yawned.

And Aiden froze.

Arwen smiled at the nurse, and she turned to look at Aiden. She couldn’t help but capture his expression in her heart. He looked very like the father she imagined him to be.

“What?” she tried to tease him. “Regretting your decision of not having her look before. She might even blame you for that when you grow up.”

She knew he was regretting because she knew how badly he wanted a daughter.

“I wouldn’t give her the reason to complain,” he whispered back. “I will make up to her.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Arwen softly chuckled. She turned to look back down at their little bundle of joy. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She is the prettiest,” he murmured, reaching a shaky hand towards the baby —only to hesitate inches away.

Arwen noticed his hesitation. Smiling, she whispered, “You can touch her. She will like your gentleness.”

He looked at her, and she nodded again in encouragement.

So he moved his hand again, slowly … gently … his fingertips brushing their daughter’s tiny fist.

The bay stilled.

Then —

Her fingers curled —right around Aiden’s. As though she recognized him.

“She —” Aiden was taken aback. He turned to look at Arwen as though asking her to explain it.

Arwen herself didn’t know how to react to it. Looking at him, she smiled, their emotions mirroring in each other’s eyes, sharing the same joy … the same happiness. “Seems like she recognized you.”

Aiden swallowed hard. Emotion clogged his throat. In that, holding her tiny hand, he realized something: his heart had forever expanded.

He leaned and kissed Arwen’s forehead, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Thank you, Moon,” he murmured. “Thank you … for giving me a family. For giving me her. Another reasin to breathe. I swear … I will spend my whole life protecting both of you. My wife. My daughter. My whole world.”

Arwen’s eyes softened, and little by little, the new family of three melted into that quiet perfect moment —full of warmth, love, and beginnings.