"Well, I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know. She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home. I found a lover, to carry more than just my secrets. To carry love, to carry children of our own."

Chapter Theme Song: 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran.

••

Blaze

"Need some coffee, Mr. Xander?" Mirelle, one of my employees, says as she bends over the dispenser for no reason at all. Her skirt is short, and there's a tear in her fishnet stocking.

"No. Just had a drink..." I say and toss my cup into the waste bin. I start walking away as she shouts after me:

"Okay, sir! But if you need anything let me know!"

I walk down the hallway, nodding now and then to the men and ladies that walk by. I sigh in relief when I get back to my office and shut the door. I lean my back against the barrier. Phew. It's always like walking through a den of blood-sucking creatures. Straightening my jacket, I walk to my desk and sit to resume my work.

Ping!

Blake: I brought you lunch.

I look away from my computer and at the screen of my cellphone. I shake my head to myself as I continue tapping on my keyboard.

My telephone rings from next to me, and I press the speaker button, my secretary's voice filling my office.

"Mr. Xander?"

"Mm?" I answer, squinting my eyes as I read through an e-file on my computer.

"I was wondering if it's okay for me to go fetch my lunch?"

I raise my hand and glance at my watch. 12:49. Her lunch hour is at one. A part of me wants to ask her to wait until then, but another part knows she's quite hardworking and nothing is wrong with allowing her to eat early. This side is also the one currently asking me why I'm such an asshole. That's a question I've answered numerous times. Life is alright when I can't feel anything for anyone except for Harmony Skye. It's not the way to live, but I have been seeking help from a psychiatrist. I didn't make the decision on my own. Harmony practically begged me to go see a shrink. She says it'll make me see the world better and understand why people are the way they are, thus making me operate better as the CEO of my own law firm.

I'm a lawyer now. My uncle, the chairman at Homewood, had allowed me to switch majors without much hassle when I finally decided what I wanted to do. I don't know if my field of profession is fair, considering I have trouble empathizing with people and their problems, but the area does teach me a lot. I think it's one of the best careers that can educate me on emotions and how the human brain is wired.

Some time ago, I even found myself showing up at a couple's, my recent clients' house, and offering them my support for their new bakery opening. I don't know why I did it, but I did. Their land had almost been taken by this wealthy businessman who claimed he wanted to build a housing scheme there. I voiced for them and got them to keep the land. I was pretty shocked when the woman, one of the clients, ran over to me after the last court hearing, when the Judge had declared them fit to keep the land, and hugged me tightly against her. I had no idea what to do with my hands, then. They hung limply at the lady's sides, while her husband offered me a silent apology for his wife's sudden affection.

I just smiled at him and did a measly job at patting the older woman's back.

When she moved away, she was smiling as she said: "You're such a sweet young man, Mr. Xander. Are you married? Do you have kids?"

I am not married yet. But I'm engaged to Harmony. And I don't have 'kids' yet...but...I have an unborn baby. Harmony is pregnant.

"Not yet, and yes..." I answered, and then I felt some rare emotions in that moment. I felt anticipative. I felt overly excited. I felt like I really couldn't wait to hold my baby.

And the moment will come soon enough. We are now in the ninth month, and she's due any second now.

Today, I had a meeting with a client who claimed to have beaten his mother to nothing. While he sat there talking, I realized that it seemed he couldn't feel a thing for the deed he'd done. My staff, another lawyer from Harmony and I's past college, asked him if he wasn't sorry.

And his answer was: I wish I was.

I instantly took an interest in the case, and took his matter instead of another I was to have.

I finally respond to my secretary after much contemplation. I'm really trying not to be a fucker. "Yes, you may go for lunch."

"Really?" She sounds shocked, like I've never done anything good for her. Last month, I paid her son's preschool fees. Oh...Harmony asked me to, but I did. I even went down there myself. "Thank you, Mr. Xander. Oh! And your father is here to see you."

I roll my eyes. Already? This man has nothing to do with his life.

"Okay, send him in."

The door slides open, and Blake strides in quickly. "Blaze. Pack up. Harmony is at the hospital."

"What?" My heart almost flies through my mouth. "Why? What's wrong with Harmony?"

Blake chuckles, seeming relaxed as opposed to my breakdown. "Calm down, no need to get angsty, Blaze. Your baby is here."

••

When I get there, speeding like a madman with Blake clutching the overhead handle of my car like a coward, Harmony is on the hospital bed, looking a bit weak. Look at my one and only woman. Her mom is here, too.

Harmony sits up. "Blaze..." Her face is pale, but her smile is so bright and beautiful. My breath gets caught in my lungs, and I am unable to breathe for a second.

And when my gaze sinks just a little lower, I see her holding a figure so small, it almost disappears inside the clean white cloth. I stagger on my feet.

Her mom smiles at me genuinely. "Aren't you going to hold your little baby son?"

Son. Harmony blushes, color rising to her face instantly.

I can't move. I feel like I'm glued to the ground. Blake pats my back.

"Go look at your son, Blaze..." he says, then he looks at Harmony's mom and shakes his head fondly, smiling.

I swallow.

"Blaze..." Harmony says, her voice weak yet filled with life. "Come over here."

I start walking over, but I feel like I'm on clouds. Shit. Harmony gently lifts her arms toward me as I get closer to her. Her eyes are glistening, and she's beaming so radiantly. "Hold him, Blaze..."

I gulp again as I slowly relieve her of our baby, enfolding his small body in the safety of my arms. His eyes are barely opened, his skin red but soft. I breathe hard, staring down at him.

Harmony looks at her mom and giggles quietly.

"I haven't named him yet..." Harmony reveals, and the nurse I didn't realize was in the room, smiles and adds:

"She was waiting for you. Says she prefers if you name him."

"What would you name him?" Harmony asks me, looking down at the sheets shyly. How can someone look so tired yet so beautiful all at the same time?

I swallow, and my fingers start shaking where I'm cradling him to my chest. I can't take my eyes off him. He looks like Harmony and me wrapped in one. I'll be here for him. I won't neglect him. I won't make him feel like he's alone. I won't hurt him.

My eyes blur. And I can't believe I'm crying. A tear escapes my eyes and slaps his small forehead. I sniffle, quickly wiping the wetness away with my thumb. He stirs a little, blue irises peeking out from beneath his semi-closed eyelids. I don't think I want to let him go.

"Name him..." Dad says, because the nurse is waiting to do the paperwork. "Or I'll name him Peter."

Harmony giggles, and I smile slightly, tears rolling down my cheeks. I'm crying. Wow.

"Blaze." I decide, my throat burning entirely. "I'm naming him Blaze Xander."

I look up at Harmony. Her mom's smiling; Blake looks sorrowful, but he's still smiling. "Is that okay?" I ask Harmony.

Tears leave their sources and run along her cheeks, but she nods and reaches an arm up to wipe her eyes. Her mom reaches down and rubs her back.

My hands start shaking terribly, and I don't want to drop him, so I pass him carefully to Blake, who looks caught off-guard and a little surprised. What? Did he think I wouldn't let him touch my kid?

I move closer to Harmony and sit on the bed. She's still crying, trying to show me that pretty beam I love so much at the same time, and I wrap my arms around her and pull her close to me.

She feels frail, but otherwise, she feels like mine.

"I love you. Thank you for giving him to me..." She doesn't know how lucky I feel to have both of them.

"Marry me, Harmony..." I sniffle, squeezing her against me. But not too hard, just enough for her to feel how fast my heart beats. For her and for our son.

"Blaze..." She whispers wetly, pressing her face against my neck. Tears soak my skin. "You don't have to ask twice. I want no one but you. I love you, Blaze. I'll always love you."

"I'll always love you, too," I tell her and mean it.

I'll never let her go. The girl who makes me feel. I'll always be grateful to her for the love she's given to me, even when I've proven to be unworthy.

"Thank you for loving me..." She says, and I sigh.

"No. Thank you for loving me, Harmony."

She'll always be the one who makes my heart beat in ways no one else will ever be able to.

We'll be alright together.

Harmony works as an elementary school English teacher, and she teaches little kids on the weekends how to play the piano, paint, and draw. She's so perfect, it's unreal. I'll take care of the both of them.

We stay like that, hugging each other dearly like we don't want to let go. Then Harmony shifts her lips up to my ear.

"Blaze...um, I wanted to ask you something..."

"Yeah?"

"Um...have you ever...slept with Yuna and Tia?" She whispers the last bit in my ear.

My mouth slackens as I pull away slightly to look at her. She folds her lips bashfully.

"I-I'm just wondering. I've always wanted to ask you."

"No." I say truthfully, "definitely not. Where'd you get that from, Harmony?" I start to fret for some reason. I don't want my previous lifestyle to worry her.

But Harmony giggles and says, "It's okay. I was just wondering."

I smile softly and tether her close to me again. "Wondering?" I kiss her nose, and she grins widely. "Don't worry about anyone or anything else. You're the only one I want."

"Mm. Me too. April says everyone is coming here later. To look at the baby."

"Everyone like who?" I ask her, as I hear Blake and Harmony's mom leaving the room. I brush Harmony's hair away from her face.

"Everyone like April, Tia, Yuna, and James..."

I smile. "Okay." But as long as I have her, as long as she'll be here, sharing my heart, my home, my children, then that's enough for me. The one who, as corny and far-fetched as it may sound, rescued my drowning heart.

♡♡

"I saw that you were perfect, and so I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more." —Angelita Lim