Unsuccessful

Epilogue Part-2

Hardin's Point of View...

3 months into Tess's Pregnancy...

I enter the living room of our Washington penthouse, completely breathless from my 15km jog. I open my jog shoes and keep them in place. Ever since Tessa started living with me, she made it very clear that cleanliness is her top priority. She likes to do certain things her way and I am ok with that. She gave me a family, hell she is carrying my child again, I will climb mountains if she will ask me to.

"Tess..baby, I am back," I call for my wife as I climb up the stairs leading to our bedroom.

On the way, I quickly visit our daughter's nursery. As usual, Hope is wide awake and playing in her crib and Elsa is sleeping like an angel like she is. Both, Hope and Elsa are now 13 months old and they have started to show signs of their personality traits. Hope for instance is just like her mother, always waking up early whereas Elsa is like me, sleeping peacefully until no one tries to wake her up. Hope is less into throwing tantrums, but, Elsa is full with her tantrums. I want to stop the time, both of them are growing too quickly and too fast.

I bent down and kiss Hope's forehead. It's hot, she is burning. Without wasting time, I pick her up and cradle her in my arms. I give a quick kiss to Elsa and silently exit the nursery, switching off the lights on my way out. Hope looks at me with her big blue eyes and smiles. God, she is so young and yet she already went through so much. She is like her mother. I made Tess go through hell and yet she is with me, pregnant for the second time with my child.

As I enter our bedroom holding Hope in my arms, I see my beautiful wife standing on a stool and trying to lift a heavy box from the top shelf of our wardrobe. I gently lay Hope on our bed and sprint towards Tess.

"Tess, what the hell you are doing?"

Tessa stumbles a bit but I hold her waist and make her stand down from the stool.

"Hardin you home? You startled me."

"Tess, why were you standing on that stool? How many times do I have to tell you to not do such stuff? Baby, you are pregnant."

"Relax Hardin, I am pregnant, not elderly."

"Exactly you are pregnant. Start acting like one."

I tease Tess and get an eye roll from her, doing which she looks super cute.

"Hardin I was trying to get that toy box. I asked you to move that from the storeroom and you moved it at the top of the wardrobe."

"I will get that for you." I go inside our already open wardrobe and get Tessa her toy box. I lift it and put it on the other side of our bed.

I turn to see Tess playing with Hope.

"Yes, you hold her up. She is burning, Tess. Where are her fever medicines?"

Tessa looks at me and then back at Hope. She gently picks Hope in her arms and starts swinging her in her arms, the way Hope loves.

"I just hate it whenever she gets a fever."

I walk toward my wife and daughter and take a seat on our bed along with Tess.

"I know Tess. But, she gets her fever only once or twice in three-four months, which is ok, considering she is a baby and she overcame a big surgery, just a day later she was born. Our baby girl is a fighter just like her mother."

Tessa smiles and hands me, Hope. She walks to our wardrobe and brings a pink color bag, with Hope's name written on the front. Casey gifted two bags, one to Hope and one to Elsa, with their names are written on the front of the bags, and since they were gifted by Casey, Tess carries them everywhere. I hate those bags but I keep that to myself considering Tessa loves them. Tessa brings out a liquid medicine with a dropper.