Taming the Bitch (COMPLETED)

Chapter LVII - BABY BOOK

Vincent walked around the nursery once more, breathing in the fragrant mixture of English rose, milk, and lavender that filled the room. His fingers brushed against the frames of various photographs lined up on the long desk beneath Nic's portrait hanging on the wall. He looked at each photo, committing them to memory.

His eyes lingered on the gold-framed photo at the far left end of the desk, unable to look away. It captured Gabrielle's exhausted yet beautiful face as she kissed the newborn whose crying features pressed against her cheek. Her head was wrapped in a blue hairnet, her wrist adorned with a hospital bracelet matching the paper-white skin of the baby she cradled.

Vincent didn't notice the tears that streamed down his cheeks until they splashed onto the wooden desk below as he reached for the frame. His thumb brushed against the faces of his wife and daughter, printed in the photograph.

His heart ached, torn with regret that he had not been there to witness the moment himself—to feel their baby's warmth for the first time or to ease the pain Gabrielle must have endured while giving birth to Nic.

He wasn't there then. He was here now—but he knew he would have to leave again. Holding the frame, he turned his gaze to the far right end of the desk, where another photo showed Gabrielle kneeling close to Nic. The little girl's face shone with delight as she showed her mother a butterfly perched on her forefinger. It was the most candid shot he had ever seen; none of them noticed the camera, their eyes locked on each other.

He reached for that frame as well, repeating the gesture of touching their faces with his thumb. His shoulders shook as he surrendered to the flood of tears and the desperate cries he could no longer suppress. All he could do now was embrace them through photographs. Love them from afar.

The desperate cries of a father as he looked at this album of his wife and daughter's lives—captured in dozens of photographs lined along the desk: the first time they held each other, the baby box filled with Nic's "firsts," Gabrielle nursing her for the first time, her first toothy smile, her first swim, her first steps, her first time reading... All the milestones he had missed because he had not been there.

But the tears he shed now were not just for the firsts he had missed. They were for all the seconds, thirds, and countless future moments in Nic's life from which he would be absent. The baby book would continue to fill with precious memories of her life—with Gabrielle—but without him. A week from now, perhaps a photograph of her riding a horse with her mother. In a month, a photo of her trying to climb a tree. Next year, Gabrielle teaching Nic to balance a bicycle... He could only anticipate the photos and feel the desperation of knowing that all he could ever do was... anticipate.

He knew, now more than ever, that he would never truly be in the photographs—or worse, in their lives.

"Give her time..." said a deep, manly voice from behind. Vincent sniffled, wiping the tears from his face before looking at the man who had brought him here.

"You know it will never be easy for Gabby... she has isolated herself all these years, with only Nic as the air she breathes," Adrijan said, his gaze falling on the photographs with sadness. He was far from perfect himself, but he knew exactly what Gabrielle needed most right now—and that was him. He was the only one who could help heal his best friend.

"Thank you, Adrijan... for being with her all these years... I couldn't be more grateful that she has you."

"She was there for me, not the other way around. What I've done for Gab is nothing compared to what she's done for me and my family... she saved my mother, you know that now, don't you? Give her time, Vincent... let her breathe." His green eyes met Vincent's blue ones.