The Billionaire's Contract Bride

Lullaby for Two

Damian woke up to music.

Soft. Off-key. But familiar.

My voice. Singing the lullaby my grandmother used to hum. The one I told him about in Chapter 6, drunk on cheap wine.

_“Sleep, my darling, sleep so deep… mama’s here, and daddy’s keeping…”_

I didn’t know he was awake. I was curled on the tiny hospital chair, head on his bed, hand on his chest. Hand on my stomach.

He didn’t speak for a long time. Just listened. Watched me. Eyes dark and soft under the hospital lights.

When the song ended, he whispered, “Again.”

I startled. Looked up. “You’re awake. You scared me, you idiot.”

“Again,” he said. Voice rough from tubes. From pain. “For them.”

I hesitated. Then sang again. This time he joined. Voice cracked. Barely a whisper. But he knew the words now.

When I finished, his hand found mine. Pulled me up. Careful of the tubes. Careful of me.

“Come here,” he said.

I laid beside him on the narrow bed. Doctor would yell later. We didn’t care. His good arm wrapped around me. His bandaged side facing up, like he was protecting me from his own pain.

“You sang to me,” he murmured into my hair. “In Chapter 6. When I was drunk and you were scared of me. You sang then too.”

“Because you looked lost,” I whispered back. “You look lost now too.”

He pressed his lips to my temple. “Not lost. Just… rebuilding. With you. With them.” He shifted my hand to my stomach. Both babies kicked. “They like your voice.”

“Or they like their dad’s heartbeat,” I said. Kissed his chest, over the bandages. “It’s been steady all night.”

Damian closed his eyes. Exhaled. “Marcus said the insurance covers everything. The apartment. The surgery. Even prenatal vitamins.”

He paused. “I don’t have to be strong for a while, do I?”

I shook my head. “No. You just have to be here. Breathing. Choosing us.”

His thumb rubbed circles on my stomach. Over both babies. “Ava… if something happens to one of them… I don’t think I could choose. I don’t think I could pick.”

My chest tightened. The fear we’d been avoiding.

“I know,” I whispered. “So we won’t. We’ll fight for both. Like you fought for Carlos. Like you fought for me.”

He nodded against me. Then did something I didn’t expect.

He started singing. Low. Broken voice. The same lullaby. But slower. Like a promise.

_“Sleep, my darlings, sleep so deep… daddy’s here, and mama’s keeping…”_

He messed up the words. Cried halfway through. But he kept going.

For them. For me. For us.

The door cracked open. Nurse peeked in. Saw us. Smiled and closed it again without a word.

Isabella’s voice echoed down the hall: “I want to see him! He’s my fiancé!”

Damian didn’t even flinch. Just pulled me tighter. “Tell her I’m dead,” he murmured. Eyes still closed. “Tell her Damian Black died in Chapter 10 when he chose Ava. The man in this bed is just her husband. Their father. Nothing else.”

I laughed through tears. “You can’t be dead. Who’s gonna finish the cribs?”

His mouth curved. Pain and love. “We’ll finish them together. When I can stand again. Scrap wood and promises, remember?”

He drifted off like that. Singing fading to breathing. My head on his chest. His hand on my stomach.

The monitors beeped steady. Three heartbeats in sync.

Broke. Bandaged. But not broken.

Because in Chapter 1 he chose me for a contract.

In Chapter 21 he chose us for a lifetime.

And that was worth more than every tower he ever owned.