She sat by the cradle, watching them, as if she were monitoring their lives with every blink.
A nurse approached.
“You should rest a little.”
Lucia shook her head.
“If I fall asleep… what if they disappear?”
The nurse didn’t know what to answer.
But Alejandro, who was listening from the doorway, did.
He entered slowly.
He sat down next to her.
“Then we’ll both sleep here.”
Lucia looked at him in surprise.
Alejandro settled into an uncomfortable chair, crossing his arms.
“I’ll watch first. Then you.”
For the first time…
Lucia smiled.
Three days passed.
Isabella woke up.
Her eyes opened slowly, confused, weak… until they met Alexander’s.
There was silence.
A silence heavy with all that had gone unsaid.
“I thought… you had abandoned me…” she murmured, her voice breaking.
Alejandro shook his head, approaching.
“I was an idiot. But never again.”
Isabella cried.
And Alejandro too.
Lucía was at the door, observing the scene.
I didn’t understand everything.
But I felt something.
Something warm.
Something I’d never had before.
Family.
The following days were a transformation.
Isabella began to recover slowly.
The babies, who finally had names — Mateo and Sofia — were growing stronger every day.
And Lucia…
Lucia changed.
