Chapter 0309

Hannah

I stood there, frozen in shock, staring at the tiny bundle in Lily’s arms. A baby. My sister had a baby. When? How? Why was this the first I was hearing of it? Why, when I asked if I heard a baby crying the other night, had she kept it from me?

“Surprise!” Lily exclaimed, her face beaming as she hurried toward me. “Hannah, meet your niece, Olivia.”

“I… what?” I stammered, unable to form a coherent thought as I stared down at the tiny face looking up at me. “When… when did this happen?”

Lily’s smile faltered slightly. “I sent you letters,” she explained. “I’m assuming you never got them.”

I shook my head, still trying to process the information. “No, I… I never received any letters.”

“I figured as much,” Lily said. “I guess they must have gotten lost in the mail.”

“But I heard the baby crying on the phone the other night,” I said. “Why did you lie?”

My sister looked a bit sheepish. “I figured you didn’t know, so I decided to surprise you. Please don’t be mad.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Of course I’m not mad. But how… when?” I reached for the little bundle and pulled the fabric aside, revealing the scrunched-up face of a newborn. My niece couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old. She was beautiful—she had her mother’s nose.

Lily laughed softly. “It’s a bit of a crazy story, actually. I didn’t even know I was pregnant until my water broke. The doctors called it a ‘ghost pregnancy’—my stomach stayed flat, and I even got my period throughout. But here she is, my happy little surprise. Born just three weeks ago, happy and healthy.”

I reached out tentatively, and Lily gently placed my niece in my arms. The weight of her, so small and warm, brought tears to my eyes. To think that I would soon be holding my own little one…

“She’s beautiful, Lily,” I whispered.

My sister beamed. I glanced up at her, eyeing her ring finger. Noticing my gaze, she quickly said, “The father isn’t in the picture.”

“Oh.” I looked back down at my niece, and for a moment, I considered what it would be like to raise my own little one without a father; I supposed if my sister could do it, so could I. If anything, it just made me want to tell her about my situation even more, but not yet. Later.

As I cradled my new niece, I felt a presence beside me and looked up to see Noah, his eyes fixed on the baby. He looked just as surprised as I was.

“Noah,” I said, bouncing the baby a little, “did you get any letters from my sister?”

He looked at me with genuine confusion in his eyes. “No, I didn’t. This is the first I’m hearing about it too.”

I searched his face for any sign of deception but found none. For once, I believed him. I didn’t think he had intercepted any letters; perhaps they had just gotten lost in the mail.

“Well,” Lily said brightly, “the important thing is you’re both here now. How about we head inside? Mom and Dad are dying to see you.”

As we walked toward the house, I couldn’t take my eyes off my new niece. Her tiny fingers wrapped around one of mine, and I felt a surge of love so strong it almost overwhelmed me. In that moment, I imagined how it would feel to hold my own child soon, and the thought almost brought tears to my eyes.

“Can I hold her?” Noah’s voice broke through my reverie.

I stiffened, instinctively tightening my grip on my niece. The thought of Noah holding her, of his hands on this innocent child, made my skin crawl.

But before I could object, Lily chirped, “Of course! Uncle Noah should get a turn too.”

Reluctantly, I passed Olivia to Noah, every muscle in my body tense as I watched him take her. But to my surprise, he cradled her with such gentleness, such care, that I found my shoulders relaxing despite myself.