I watch her disappear down the hallway with Emilia, the tiny bundle pressed against her chest and I swear the whole flat exhales with her.

She looks drained. Not the quiet kind of tired you shake off with a nap, this is the kind that settles into your bones. The kind I wish I could take from her and carry myself.

Max and Pietra sit across the living room. Pietra keeps the conversation soft, gentle, like she’s afraid of waking the baby from two rooms away. Max…doesn’t say anything.

Every time he looks at me, it’s like he’s weighing something in his head and losing the fight with himself.

I don’t blame him. But it doesn’t make it easier to sit with.

I lean against the kitchen counter, arms crossed, eyes flicking toward the hallway every few seconds. I can hear her humming, whispering, pacing. I can almost feel every shaky breath she takes through the wall.

A few Minutes passes before she comes back. When she steps into the room, her hair’s a mess, her shoulders slumped, but she’s smiling.

“She’s finally asleep…” She murmurs and I pull her into my side without thinking. My arm fits around her waist like it’s always meant to be there, and I press a kiss to her temple. She melts into me with this tiny sigh that feels like a victory.

Max looks at us again. And I know, this is the part he hates.

Not the baby. Not even the fact that she’s mine.

But the closeness. The ease. The way we’ve fallen into this without hesitation.

Pietra tries to lighten the mood. Max barely reacts.

I’m trying to keep it together, trying not to let the tension choke the room, so I murmur, half under my breath. “I wonder if he's dreaming already…”

She shoots me a look that could knock me flat. “Lando. Not now.”

Too late. Max’s head snaps up. “What?”

“It was just a joke." I say, raising my hands a little, trying to soften it.

He’s not buying it at all.

“A joke? You think any of this is funny?” Max’s voice rises, sharp enough that Pietra sits up straighter. “You got my sister pregnant and now you’re making jokes while I’m trying not to completely lose it?”

“I’m not making jokes." I say, forcing my tone to stay calm. “I’m just trying not to drown everything in drama.”

She tries to stop us, but Max waves her off like we’re background noise.

“I can’t just switch it off, alright?” He spits, staring at me like he still can’t believe I’m real. “You slept with my little sister. You have a baby with her. And I…I can’t get that out of my head, mate!”

Something snaps in me.

“You think I planned this?” I fire back. “You think I woke up one day like, ‘Hey, let’s make a baby with Max’s sister’? It was a mistake, Max! A one night stand! It happens!”

His chest heaves like I punched him.

And honestly? I hate how true the words are.

Because it was a mistake. Until it wasn’t. Until she wasn’t.

“Stop it!” He shouts, making Pietra flinch. “Am I the only one here who realizes how insane this all is?!”

I step closer. "I don't just love her like a friend or something casual, Max. I take care of her. Of our daughter. I chose to stay. So if you're angry, maybe it's not because l screwed up, but because you don't know how to deal with it."

{{user}} steps between us, eyes glossy with exhaustion. "Can you both just be normal for once? Emilia just fell asleep. I just calmed her. I haven’t slept more than two hours in days. I’m done."

We both go quiet instantly. She looks like she’s about to collaps. The anger drains out of Max first. Then out of me.

Pietra tugs gently on his sleeve. He presses his lips together. “I’m sorry. It’s just…a lot, okay? I don’t know how to process all this.” Then he turns to me. “I know you’re here. And I see that you love her…but I need time. More than just a few weeks, alright?”

I nod. Because he’s right. Because he’s trying, even if it comes out messy and loud.

Then he looks at her again, and there’s something raw in his expression, fear, love, confusion all tangled up. “You’re my sister. And now you’re a mother…it’s just…hard.”