Page 229 of Own It

My head fell back in exhaustion as they lifted her off me for Mylo to cut the umbilical cord and then to weigh her and call the time of birth.

“Okay, just step back for me, Daddy,” the nurse instructed Mylo, and when he and I locked eyes, we exchanged smiles at what she’d called him.

I couldn’t lie; I sort of felt like it was a betrayal to Zaire and didn’t know how I would navigate this situation going forward.

I thought the birth was terrible, but as the nurse pressed on my stomach with all her might and weight, I wanted to swing on her ass. Eventually, she was done, getting all the after birth out and explaining to me that I needed to pee as soon as possible and as much as possible.

Once Zaria was cleaned, they asked what her name was, thankfully putting my last name on the board since that was protocol. After some time of me learning how to breastfeed and them running a few tests that all came back with positive results, Mylo had some food delivered to the room for me.

It was nice after hours of constant interruptions and tests to have some quiet time with just the three of us while Zaria slept soundly and he and I ate.

“What you think about me adopting her, Téa?” Mylo questioned, making me freeze as I bit into my buttery lobster tail.

He was seated right beside my bed, Zaria in her crib on the other side of me.

“I . . . I don’t know, to be honest. I kind of want her last name to remain Godfrey in honor of Zaire but⁠—”

“That’s fine, Téa.” He frowned slightly as if he thought it was preposterous of me to think he’d take issue with that. “I think her last name should be Godfrey, but I also want to have some legal responsibility for her.”

“Said no man ever,” I joked, making us both chuckle subtly.

“Well, I ain’t exactly every nigga.”

“No. You’re not.” I surveyed him. “You’re special for sure. I would love for you to adopt her; we’d just have to let Rakim and Josias know of course.”

“Fuck Ayan, huh?” Mylo laughed.

Turning my lip up, I said, “I don’t even really know him like that, and I can tell he’s not as close to his brothers as they are with each other.”

“You def spot on with that.”

We finished our meal just as Zaria woke up, but Mylo told me to relax and that he would get her. I watched in awe as he cradled her, staring down at her as if she were his, and it made my heart swell ten damn sizes.

A knock sounded off just before a nurse entered saying, “You have some visitors. Is it okay to allow them in?”

Knowing it was Rakim, Daylin, Josias, and probably Kasia, I nodded.

Moments later, that exact foursome entered, and I smiled widely as a pregnant Daylin rushed to hug me. The others followed suit before focusing their eyes on my baby girl.

“Congratulations. How does it feel?” Daylin inquired.

“Surreal.” I watched the men coo over Zaria. “You’ll be here soon.”

“I know.” Daylin rubbed her belly.

I noticed Josias turn away from his brother and Mylo admiring Zaria, to make his way over to me, causing me to tense up some. Ever since I’d talked shit to him at my apartment, he’d been cordial, but I didn’t know what to expect from him.

“Congrats, Téa.” He smirked, dropping his eyes to the floor momentarily. “And as much as I ain’t wanna say this I have to thank you. You could’ve gotten rid of this little girl, but you didn’t.”

“You’re welcome,” I winked, making him smile at me for probably the first time ever.

He then flipped back around to get back to praise his new niece.

“I think he’s gonna be a great daddy.” Kasia came to stand by Daylin, jutting her chin out at Mylo.

“I think so too.” I watched him, and when we caught eyes, butterflies seized my stomach like they always did.

Thank you, God.