Chapter 454
1250words
Shane woke up when he felt someone snuggling into his chest, arms wrapped protectively around his neck. He opened one of his eyes and chuckled at seeing his five-year-old son practically hugging him. He looked at the clock and sighed slightly when he realized it was still seven o'clock in the morning. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and stewed chicken entered his nose when he heard loud voices outside the room.
That immediately brought a bright smile to his face, looking at the sleeping boy as he stroked his dark hair and chuckled when he heard his son grumble at him.
'Clement, wake up." He whispered into his ear and the boy only responded with a growl.
Shane removed his hand from his neck. 'Your mother is home."
Hearing that, the boy immediately opened his eyes and looked at him with big eyes that were inherited from his father. Shane held back his laughter as he looked at his sleeping son and smiled proudly because he could see how great the resemblance was between them.
Clement is exactly his miniature version, no question.
'She's in the kitchen, can you hear her?" As he spoke, he couldn't help but purse his lips because the boy was so adorable, looking at him full of hope.
There was silence between the two of them for a moment. His ears immediately perked up when he heard the sound of a knife hitting the cutting board and his mother's humming voice.
"Good morning, dad." He smiled brightly at Shane, kissing him on the cheek before quickly getting out of bed at top speed, making the older man laugh at his cute silliness.
Bertha was currently pouring coffee into her husband's favorite cup when she heard an excited call from her son. "Mommy."
She immediately put everything away and bent down, opening her arms to welcome the boy running towards her. She stumbled a bit as her son hugged her, laughing as she picked him up and kissed his chubby cheeks lovingly.
'I miss you so much, boy." She whispered, looking at her radiant son.
'I miss you too, and I'm hungry." He pouted and she smiled, kissing both of his cheeks before setting him down. Her son immediately ran to get his favorite Iron Man figure and sat at the table.
She giggled as she saw the boy happily playing by himself, making noises as he lifted Iron Man into the air. Bertha turned away as she placed the pre-cooked chicken stew and her son's favorite fried eggs on the plate, feeling the familiar arms she loved so much wrap around her waist. She let out a soft breath before Shane's lips sought to kiss the top of her head. Warmth enveloped her as Shane rested his head on her shoulder, nuzzling her neck and she giggled as his breath tickled her.
'Good morning, husband." She greeted, gently touching his arm with her thumb.
Shane hummed with satisfaction. "When did you return?"
"Two hours ago?"
Shane frowned, he pulled away a bit to look at her face. "Then you should rest."
'It's okay, I slept too much on the way here." She reassured him, offering him his daily dose of caffeine, which Shane happily accepted.
Sipping his coffee, she turned slightly toward him as he captured her lips in a sweet, loving kiss that Bertha swore tasted like coffee and Shane said. 'I miss you, my love."
She gaped at his retreating as she could feel her heart pounding and felt the butterflies dancing in her stomach, her cheeks turning red. She was surprised, how could Shane still make such an impression on her five years after their second marriage?
'How was your day with your father, Clement?" She asked the boy sitting between them on the high chair.
Clement's eyes sparkled. "Great. We ate a lot of ice cream and…"
He stopped mid-sentence as he realized the words that had just left his mouth, looking at his father who was giving him a playfully betrayed look. He bit his lip and turned his gaze towards his mother, who was looking at him with an 'I see' expression and he immediately grinned, revealing his signature smile.
'That won't work, little guy. What did I say about eating too much ice cream?" She was upset and reached out to touch Shane's hand on the table when she saw her son's depressed face.
Shane nodded slightly at her with a mischievous smirk and Bertha tried her best to suppress her already blooming smile.
'But dad…" Then the boy giggled as both mom and dad suddenly tickled him.
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It was two o'clock in the afternoon when Bertha and Shane entered the restaurant, her arm in arm with him while Shane held their son in his arms. Clement squealed with joy when he saw the figures standing a few meters away from him, immediately running away when his father put him down, giggling.
'Oh my God, my baby." Mica was squealing, bending down to the boy's level as he wrapped his arms tightly around her neck.
Venn patted Shane on the shoulder as usual as Shane and Bertha approached his and Mica's table, he lifted the boy into the air making him giggle.
Since it's Saturday and everyone has a day off, Bertha suggests they have lunch together because she misses them so much, which makes Mica snort. Two months after Bertha gave birth to Clement, Venn and Mica finally got married and after many years of marriage, both were finally expecting a child.
"You look terrible," Bertha commented, seeing the purple circles under her best friend's eyes.
Mica sighed: "I'm busy these days, singing and filming. You know."
Bertha smiled and she could see Venn gently rubbing Mica's hand to comfort her.
Shane placed his son on his lap while Bertha fed him spaghetti while giving her best friend as much advice as possible about preparing for the baby. It was a good day despite the cold weather, and Bertha sighed contentedly when she saw Venn and Mica listening attentively to Shane as her husband welcomed their first child. Her mind wandered back to the day she had Clement.
Shane, a sweet and perfect husband, took a leave of absence a few weeks before his due date because he was so nervous about leaving his heavily pregnant wife alone.
It was midway through their peaceful Sunday morning, with Shane's head resting on her lap as he talked to their unborn child when she suddenly went into labor. Five hours later, they finally welcomed their bundle of joy into the world.
Bertha listened as Shane talked about the difficulties of the first month of parenthood. She remembered the sleepless nights they had, but she was grateful that Shane had supported and helped her so much during those days. She remembered the two of them taking turns every few hours and Shane, who amazingly kept up with his surgeries and schedule without complaint.
She stared at him, and suddenly warmth flowed from her heart, completely enveloping her. She saw him pause for a moment as he looked at her, searching for something in her eyes and she shook her head, smiling. Shane knew exactly what she was thinking, so he couldn't help but quickly kiss her on the lips, making the couple in front of him snort.
'Oh, come on, lovebirds. Your son is here." Venn sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes.
Shane just laughed.
