Raymond looked at his mother. "Mom, why don't you stay and enjoy yourself for a few days?"
Cheryl thought about it and nodded. "Alright. It's rare that I travel this far anyway. I might as well see the sights."
...
Late into the night, The Baird Manor finally settled into a deep, peaceful quiet.
Vivica hadn't been this busy in a long time. After taking a warm shower and finally lying down, she couldn't help but let out a long, contented sigh.
She thought she would pass out the second her head hit the pillow, but as she lay there, she found herself wide awake.
Having finished washing up, Joseph slipped into bed beside her. He reached out, pulling her securely into his arms, his fingertips gently threading through her hair. "Are you exhausted? I told you to come up and rest, but you insisted on standing at the door seeing the guests off with me."
Resting against his broad, solid chest, listening to the steady, reassuring thud of his heartbeat, Vivica mindlessly toyed with the button on his pajama shirt and shook her head.
"I'm not tired. Today, I was just so incredibly happy. My whole family is here, we were surrounded by friends... It was genuinely the happiest day of my entire life."
"Me too. This was the greatest day of my life," Joseph replied with a warm smile.
The soft, amber glow of the bedside lamp cascaded over them, creating an intimately serene atmosphere.
Chaim now had his own bedroom and no longer squeezed in with them.
The twins were in the adjacent nursery, each watched over by a dedicated maternity nurse.
Since they had transitioned to mixed feeding, Vivica only had to wake up to nurse once in the middle of the night.
So, for the first time in a long time, it was just the two of them in the room, so quiet they could hear each other breathe.
Vivica thought back on everything she had endured over the past few years.
From a suffocating, despair-filled marriage, to dragging herself through the mud to keep her critically ill son alive, to the moment she met Joseph—the man who guarded her and loved her with everything he had. Her eyes grew slightly damp.
"Joseph, thank you," she whispered softly. "Thank you for stepping into my life when I was at my absolute lowest. Thank you for saving Chaim. Thank you for giving me and the boys a complete family. And most of all, thank you for always loving me so fiercely."
With one arm wrapped around her shoulders, Joseph couldn't help but let out a low chuckle.
"Why do you feel the need to give this speech every few months?"
Vivica sighed deeply. "Because you are truly, incredibly good to me. I just can't help wanting to tell you."
"Fair enough." Joseph nodded. He tightened his hold on her, ducking his head to press a tender, lingering kiss against her forehead.
"I accept your gratitude."
Vivica bit her lip, pausing for a moment before looking up at him through her lashes. "My gratitude tonight... goes beyond words."

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