The Unwanted Wife (Unwanted #1)(63)
“Do you hate our baby?” he asked painfully, keeping his face buried in her hair.
“Of course not. I love her so much it hurts. But I feel like such a failure.”
“Oh God, sweetheart, just let all it go,” he groaned. “Let yourself love her. Allow yourself to be happy.”
“But what about you? I promised you…”
“For God’s sake, just stop it.” He shook her slightly. “I told you before, I don’t want out of this marriage. And if you give me nothing but daughters for the next twenty years, I would consider myself blessed.”
She made a muffled sound as she buried her face in his neck and wept. She so desperately wanted to believe him. He rocked her soothingly and after a long while, he released her and gently lowered her until her head rested on the pillow.
“Why don’t you rest, cara, and when you wake up, I think it’s time you meet your daughter and give her a proper welcome into this world.” Theresa stared up into his dark, handsome face, barely noticing when her cousin got up and left, squeezing Sandro’s taut shoulder on her way out. Her vision started to blur after a while and she fell asleep still trustingly clutching one of her husband’s large, capable hands in both of hers.
She awoke to the sound of angry, hushed voices and blinked groggily as she tried to get her bearings.
“I don’t want you anywhere near her.” She heard Sandro hiss furiously and tried to concentrate on the drama unfolding in her doorway where she could see two large men silhouetted. One was unmistakably Sandro, and the other…she narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to focus a bit better. It looked like her father.
“She’s my daughter and I’ll damned well see her when I want to,” the other man blustered, confirming that he was, indeed, Jackson Noble.
“So that you can damage her more than you already have?” Sandro asked, almost shaking with rage. “I won’t let you get close enough to hurt her like that again. And you can forget about getting that grandson you want anytime soon. I refuse to give you the pleasure.”
“Well, then stay married to her until you do, or give up the vineyard,” her father sneered.
“The vineyard never meant as much to me as it did my father. You can have the damned place back. I want your grasping paws out of my business and the taint of your presence away from my marriage. You won’t be getting your hooks into Theresa again, and you most certainly will not be any kind of presence in our children’s lives.”
“Sandro…” Theresa sat up slightly. “It’s okay. I want to speak with him.”
“Theresa…” His voice shook with anger as he stepped into her slightly darkened room. “No.”
“It’s okay.” She smiled, her lips trembling. “He doesn’t have the power to hurt me anymore. I want to see him.”
“Theresa…”
“Sandro.” Her voice was firm and brooked no argument, and he sighed before stepping aside to let her father in.
“Father.” She nodded warily as she watched the large, handsome man whose affection and approval she had craved her entire life enter the room.
“Theresa, you look none the worse for wear,” he observed in the cold, distant voice he always used on her, and she immediately went back to that insecure little girl who had never understood why her daddy didn’t hug her and didn’t want to spend time with her.
“Have you seen my daughter yet?” she asked, her voice strong and sure. Not betraying the little girl who still lurked somewhere inside.
“Not yet, no.” He seemed uncertain in the face of the new strength in her and unsure of what to make of it.
“It’s funny,” she suddenly observed, “what having a baby does to you. You would go out of your way to protect that new life from anybody who would threaten its happiness. I won’t allow you to hurt my baby the way you hurt me. I don’t want you in her life unless you’re prepared to love her in the way you were unable to love me: wholeheartedly and unconditionally.” As if on cue, a nurse brought a fretting, pink-wrapped bundle into the room. She paused for a moment, sensing the tension in the room before pasting a bright smile onto her lips and bringing the baby over to Theresa.
“I think that it’s way past time this little one meets her mother properly.” Theresa’s entire face lit up, and her heart filled with overwhelming love as the nurse placed the beautiful infant into her arms. She finally took inventory…counting fingers and toes, stroking downy black hair and velvety skin. She even enjoyed it when the little one opened her rosebud of a mouth and started to wail angrily.
“Hello there, sweetheart,” she whispered. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” The nurse brusquely proceeded to give her a crash course in breastfeeding, ignoring the way Theresa’s face flamed when the older woman started talking about breast pumps and let-down reflexes. Her father shifted uncomfortably while Sandro sat down at her bedside, a mixture of amusement, overwhelming pride, and bewildered love on his face. She had never seen him look more vulnerable or more protective. He sent a warning glare her father’s way, before his unsettling scrutiny shifted back to her. Theresa, in the meantime, was struggling to conceal her milk-swollen breast from them after the nurse unceremoniously yanked the bodice of her nightgown down. The woman obviously thought that Theresa had nothing to be embarrassed about in front of husband and father. She fumbled with a towel but it was Sandro who reached across and draped it over her shoulder to cover her breast and the baby’s head. The baby found her nipple and latched on with enough force to make her wince. He concealed her from her father but kept the towel up on his side so that he could watch, ignoring her flustered glare.