Just to be clear, this is 6 months on from Maddie's mom's death but 5 months after she made up with Arturo and cleared out her parents house. Maddie is 8 and a half months pregnant now 💞

5 and a half Months Later

~ Maddie's POV ~

The last 5 and a half months of my life had been...different...to say the least.

After Santiago and I cleaned out my parents old house a month after my mom passed, the whole experience just brought us so much closer together. Diving back into our past like that really helped to reconnect us to our old selves and to remember just how much we'd been through together.

Sometimes when you're so overwhelmed with being in the present, it's hard to remember the past and how much it helped to shape you as a person but also how it helped to mould your relationship with others.

Santiago...

When I say he's my everything, I really do mean that. I honestly couldn't imagine ever living another day without him. We'd wasted so much time apart just because of misunderstandings and the crappy cards we were both dealt, but we found our way back together.

All because of our twins.

Now we're making another little one to add to our family and honestly my second pregnancy really took a lot out of me.

There's not much to say about the last five and a half months. A lot of the time I was either throwing up or crying, or trying to focus on spending as much time as I could with the twins before our little one came along and took away all my time.

Santiago had gone back to focusing on his own cartel since Hugo and the rest of El Dios Del Diablo had completely dropped off the face of the Earth.

Santiago and Arturo had been trying their best to get into contact with them to find out what their problem was and why they got involved with us in the first place. I mean, this cartel kidnapped us and promised to give Santiago some answers about why they kidnapped us once he spent the 700 million dollars which he did.

The last we ever heard from El Dios Del Diablo was when Hugo called Lucia back to Mexico City.

After that, Santiago just decided to build himself back up again. He'd actually been doing a lot of work with those really nice Italian Mafia men he formed an alliance with.

Apparently they wanted us to come and visit them in Italy, but since I was pregnant Santiago told them that they should come to us instead. Although, I had been classed as having a low risk pregnancy so flying wasn't an issue for me until a week before my due date.

Santiago had honestly been amazing during my pregnancy, especially now that I was eight and a half months along, he was there for almost anything I ever needed.

He even let me spend the whole night lying on top of him if I was struggling to get into a comfortable position.

That's the sign of true love ladies and gentleman.

"Stop moving Santi."

Santiago's movements half underneath me - half next to me started bringing me out of my sleep, although I was absolutely exhausted.

Being eight and a half months pregnant means you can unfortunately sleep through just about anything once you do finally manage to fall asleep after hours of just lying there.

"But..." He moved again causing me to hold onto him even tighter. I was currently nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck with one leg thrown over his body.

He wasn't as good as a body pillow but he would do.

"Why is it so wet?" He mumbled his words as he became even more awake, and therefore more aware of his senses, unlike me who was still almost completely fast asleep.

I felt more movement around me as Santiago turned on the lamp next to him before pulling back the bed covers. It was only when I felt the cold air hit my body, feeling even colder due to the dampness of the sheets and my body that I began to wake up.

Santiago was quiet next to me as he stared at my body while I forced my own eyes open.

"Maddie..." When I heard his voice, I looked at him, noticing the downcast expression on his face. I gave him a confused look as I rubbed my eyes, shifting my gaze away from him and down to my body in the bed.

As soon as I saw the damp sheets and my damp shorts, I understood why he was looking at me like that.

As quickly as ever, my eyes filled with tears as I stared at the wet patch in our bed. It didn't take long for the tears to began to fall down my cheeks as I covered my face with my hands.

"Baby it's okay, don't cry." When I heard Santiago's tentative tone, a sob just left my lips as embarrassment washed over me.

It didn't even matter to me that I was eight months pregnant, the only thing that mattered to me was the fact I was 26 years old and I wet the bed.

While he was lying right next to me.

Santiago sat there for a moment while I just let out a small whimper, trying to control my tears.

"Come on baby, go and take a shower and I'll change the sheets." When I still didn't move, Santiago gently tugged my hands away from my face, standing up from the bed before he helped me up.

When I was standing in front of him, he gently rubbed my bump causing our little one to kick instinctively inside.

"Don't cry baby, it's okay, it doesn't matter." He gave me a small smile, kissing my forehead before I walked into the bathroom with tears still flowing down my cheeks.

It didn't matter what he said to me. I was so embarrassed.

I peed on him in our bed.

I peed on my fiancé.

Well, that's definitely not something you say everyday.

Unless you have a pee fetish.

Ew.

Once I got in the shower, I just let the hot water cascade down my body as I leaned my forehead against the wall, feeling the exhaustion hit me once again. I felt like I'd hardly slept a wink during the night and hot showers always make me feel even sleepier. I must have been there for a while because soon Santiago was in the shower with me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Have you washed your hair?" He spoke softly to me as he wrapped his arms around me from behind, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

I shook my head, mumbling a 'no' in response while avoiding making eye contact with him.

"Let me do it for you then, close your eyes."

Doing as he said, I closed my eyes as he washed my hair with shampoo and then conditioner. After that I washed my body as he took his own shower before we both got out.

I was absolutely exhausted as I changed into fresh pyjamas. I had no clue what time of the night it was, but after getting hardly any sleep and then all the crying I just did, my eyes were ready to just close and be rested.

Of course, Santi was the sweetest human being alive and offered to blow dry my hair for me before we got back into bed, this time in clean sheets.

"I'm sorry Santiago. I must have been too tired to get up and then...then I..."

"You don't need to apologise, I can't even imagine what it's like to have a baby inside me, you're incredible. This is nothing I promise."

He gently stroked my cheek with his thumb, giving me a soft smile to try and ease my tension.

"But it's gross, I peed on you." He nodded his head, letting out a quiet laugh. "Yeah, but it doesn't bother me. Especially for the reason that it was because of our little baby boy."

As he said this, he placed his hand on my rather large baby bump causing our son to kick instinctively. He wasn't wrong there, ever since I hit my seventh month, I'd been peeing like crazy. Any chance I got, I would go.

Even the twins were so used to it now that they didn't even ask where I was going if I suddenly disappeared.

"Lets go back to sleep now, we have to be up soon to make the twins breakfast." He pulled my head back into the crook of his neck where I was resting it earlier while sleeping, allowing me to get comfy again.

Thankfully I was super tired otherwise I would have been awake for the next few hours again thinking about this whole thing.

There's no way I would forget about it any time soon.

"Oh and Maddie?"

"Hm?"

"Try not to pee on me again."

I could hear the amusement in his tone causing my cheeks to turn red almost instantly. Thankfully it was dark so he couldn't see what his words did to me.

Instead I just moved in closer to him, trying my best to forget about my most embarrassing moment ever.

But with Santiago that was going to be much harder than it sounded.

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<<

Santiago stood across the island from me and the whole time I cooked the pancakes I tried to avoid making eye contact with him.

What happened this morning was still weighing on my mind, especially when I did the laundry earlier. I'd also hardly said a word to Santi since we woke up an hour ago.

He tried to make me feel better when it happened but the embarrassment had just hit me all over again. From the moment I woke up I'd felt so queasy, definitely from the embarrassment.

"Mama I want more pancakes."

"How have you already finished? And, I didn't hear you say the magic word." I gave Cameron the look as he stood next to me, holding his empty plate out to me, while I was busy finishing off making Kenzie's pancakes.

His nose scrunched up as he tried to think of the magic word causing Santiago to laugh before he came around the island and bent down to whisper to Cameron.

"I'll give you a hint, it starts with the letter 'p'."

He stressed that letter with a hint of amusement in his eyes...

"Pizza?"

The way he said that was so cute it melted my heart.

"No, but that's a good guess." I rolled my eyes at Santiago's response while handing him Kenzie's plate, gesturing for him to take it to where she was waiting patiently at the table.

When he walked away, I turned back to face our son again.

"Why can't you be more like your sister?"

Although Cameron was the more chilled out twin, he definitely had the most attitude of the two.

"Mamaaa." This time he said my name I'm a whiny tone, clearly not happy that I wasn't giving him any more pancakes.

"Okay okay, I'll make some more." When I finally gave in, he smiled happily before hugging my leg.

"Thank you, love you mama." I nodded my head, trying to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

I can't believe I'm less than a month away from having another one of these things.

"Yeah I love you too."

Once Cameron got his second plate of pancakes, we all sat down together to start eating. I hardly ate much though, since I still couldn't fight that queasy feeling I had since I woke up.

Soon, the conversation quickly turned to the baby in my tummy, once again.

"Mama when is baby coming?" I gave Cameron a smile as he rubbed my bump causing the little one to kick again.

They were both so excited for his arrival. Honestly it was the cutest thing ever to see them so happy to have a little brother - or at least one of them was happy about it being a boy.

"You ask me everyday, but I will give you the same answer- baby is coming soon."

"A sister?" This time I turned to look at Kenzie who was staring at my bump with her nose scrunched up. It was like she wished she had powers to change the gender of the baby by staring at my bump like that.

"No baby, it's a little brother."

"But I want a sister." She pouted her lips before groaning exaggeratedly, resting her face on my bump as she threw her little arms over it.

"Don't worry Kenzie, mama wants five children so you might get a sister soon."

"Five! Mama wants five?" She lifted her head off my bump staring at me with wide eyes, clearly shocked by Santiago's words.

"No, mama does not want five. Mama is happy with three." I glared at Santiago who was smirking at me, holding my stare.

"I think mama will enjoy making five."

"No I don't think she will."

He rose a challenging eyebrow at me, never breaking eye contact with me.

"Mama loves it."

I can't believe I was arguing with him in the third person.

Of course I was the only one who picked up on his emphasis of the word it, but we both knew exactly what he meant.

Through my blush, all I could do was narrow my eyes in response to his words, trying not to be the first to back down and break eye contact.

His smirk never wavered as he stared at me, knowing he was right. Especially after I'd been begging him for sex at every time of the day over the last few months.

Santi called it one of my pregnancy cravings. He said I craved him.

Oh the arrogance.

Before either of us could say anything else, Santiago's phone rang, breaking the silence around us.

I watched him as he took his phone out, doing a double take when he saw the name on the screen. When he glanced up at me, standing up from his place at the table, I rose an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"I'll tell you when I come back." I nodded my head watching his retreating figure as he left the kitchen, going into a different room to take his call.

"Mama can I have a sister?"

"Maybe one day." I gave Kenzie a small smile, rubbing her back softly as she finished off her breakfast.

It wasn't long before Santiago came back into the kitchen, coming over to me. Taking my hand, he ignored my confused expression as he helped me to stand up before guiding me away from the children.

"Who was it?"

When we stopped next to the kitchen island, he let out a frustrated sigh and leaned against the counter.

"Freaking Hugo."

"Really?" He nodded his head, tossing his phone down on the counter. "What did he say?"

"He wants us to go to Mexico City. Apparently the son of a bitch is now 'ready' to speak to me. He told me we need to be there for 1pm tomorrow, Mexico City time."

Santiago was definitely trying to keep his anger at bay as he relayed his very short conversation with Hugo to me. Anyone would be angry too if they spent months trying to get in touch with someone only for them to decide they're finally now ready.

"We?"

"Yeah, he wants me to bring my family." He shook his head in frustration running a hand over his face.

"But Santiago...the baby."

"I know, but the doctors said it's okay for you to fly. Baby, I know it's going to be so hard but I really need you to do this for me. He won't tell me anything if you're not there and I'm so freaking ready for this to be over. I'm done letting people push me around but-"

"Okay baby, don't worry, I'll come with you." I cut him off as I stepped towards him, wrapping arms around his waist. I couldn't get as close as I wanted to since my bump was taking up so much space between us, but it was good enough.

"You will?" I nodded my head, leaning forward pouting my lips so that he got the hint and he leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine.

"I love you, there's no way I'd let you deal with this alone. I also know how much it's been on your mind and if we can get this over with before the baby comes then that would be perfect for us."

He gave me a small smile as he rested his forehead against mine, placing one hand on my bump.

"I love you too baby."

"Mama!" I let out a sigh when I heard Kenzie call me, completely ruining our little moment before I reluctantly pulled away from Santiago.

"I'll call ahead and get the plane ready for this afternoon."

The flight is four hours long and Mexico City was two hours ahead of LA so I guess it's not too bad, but I'd only been on a plane once with the twins when we went to Disney world and I wasn't pregnant then.

So I guess this would be fun.

<<<<<<< >>>>>>> <<<<<<<

To say the twins were excited was an understatement.

They would hardly sit still in their seats while our bags were loaded into the plane before we took off.

Since I was comfortably in my third trimester, we decided to be smart and pack for the baby too just incase anything happened. We did call my doctor again and she confirmed I was safe to fly since it wasn't a long flight, but she did recommend that we take a hospital bag.

We also had to pack for the twins which was a nightmare since that's when they realised we were going on a 'vacation' and wouldn't stop squealing. Throughout that whole episode, I was still struggling with the queasy feeling that was seeming to grow stronger as the day went on.

On one side of the plane, Arturo sat quietly doing his work while Santiago and I sat with the twins trying to keep them entertained for four hours.

I'd only tried to talk to Arturo once when we got on the plane but after the way he responded to me, I didn't try again.

We all knew what the problem was.

He hadn't spoken to Lucia since she left, she completely ignored every single text or call he sent her. Even the emails, she didn't respond to any of them.

He wasn't the same person he was before she came into his life. He hardly ever joked anymore, not as much as he used to and he wasn't as kind and friendly. If I hadn't known him before Lucia came into his life, I would just assume he'd been this cold and closed off all his life.

Even Santiago missed his bestfriend, but he'd been through something similar when he left me when we were 18 so he knew he just needed to give him time. How much time, no one knew.

There was a chance he could see her again on this trip, which is probably why he was even quieter than usual. I just hope that if he did see her, she didn't break him anymore. He was already so fragile and he didn't deserve to go through anymore pain.

Finally once we arrived in Mexico City, we got in the cars that were sent for us by the hotel. The drive there wasn't too long but I definitely struggled, the whole journey was getting a lot harder for me as the day went on.

"You okay?" I nodded my head in response to Santiago's question although I kept my eyes focused straight ahead of me.

"I just feel a little...off."

"Off?" I nodded my head, biting my lip as I took a deep breath to calm the feeling inside me.

"I've been feeling weird all day. It's probably just indigestion or something though." He frowned at my response as he rubbed my back, attempting to help me feel better.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you. I'm fine Santi, I think I just need a cold drink and a lie down when we get to the hotel." He still didn't seem satisfied with my response but instead he just nodded as he continued to rub my back.

By the time we reached the hotel, the feeling had only worsened.

"Come here." Arturo took my hand, pulling me closer to him as we stood in the lobby while Santiago went to go and check us in.

I didn't say a word as he pulled me in for a hug and I rested my forehead against his chest.

"Do you feel sick? You look kind of pale." I shook my head at his question, closing my eyes as he held me.

He may have become closed off, but it didn't mean he stopped caring.

"No, but my stomach has started hurting. I think I must have ate something, it definitely feels like indigestion or the onset of some kind of stomach upset." He nodded his head, holding me while he also did his best to control the twins who were becoming more and more agitated after travelling.

Finally when Santiago came back, we went upstairs to our suite. This time we got a three bedroom suite instead of two bedrooms since we had the twins with us. It didn't take us long to get settled down and thankfully the twins were tired out from our journey so they went to sleep straight away.

After that Arturo, Santiago and I just got some food before we went to sleep, although I couldn't really eat much thanks to my stomach ache.

Or at least that's what I thought it was until I woke up at 3am, this time feeling ten times worse than before I went to bed.

"Santiago, wake up."

I let out a groan as I tried to sit up, placing my hand on my bump when another pain hit me. I'd been feeling a mild pain for the last few hours but at first it was bearable then all of a sudden it got much worse.

"Are you okay?" I turned my head to look at him as he also sat up, concern evident on his face.

"Something's wrong Santi." I let out a small whimper through the pain, suddenly overwhelmed by the thoughts racing through my mind.

I wasn't due for another few weeks.

Is my baby okay?

My doctor is in LA.

I want to go home.

"Crap...okay, I can call a doctor or we can just go to the-"

Before he could finish his sentence another strong pain ripped through me causing me to cry out. From that exact moment I knew they were contractions which meant I'd been having mild contractions for hours and they only just extremely got painful now.

"Hospital it is." Santiago quickly got out of the bed, rushing around to my side of the bed to help me up. Just as he reached me, our bedroom door opened and Arturo came in, looking half asleep.

When he saw the tears running down my face, he seems confused for a moment before he quickly came over to me, clearly understanding that something was wrong. He didn't ask any questions as he helped Santiago to get me out of the bed.

The second I stood up right, a loud splash caught my attention and I looked down at the floor where a puddle was forming.

I lifted my head to look at Santiago and Arturo who both seemed to be in shock at the fact my water had broken.

"It's too early Santiago. I'm not ready, I can't give birth here, I need to go home, we need to go home." As if he could sense my panic, he took my hand, guiding me to the walk in wardrobe connected to our bedroom.

"Baby you can't worry about that now." I watched as he grabbed some clean clothes for me, helping me to change quickly out of my wet ones. Santiago grabbed a few things that he needed like his phone, gun and money before we left the bedroom going to the front door of our suite.

"I'm going to take Maddie to the hospital, please stay and-"

"Don't worry bro, I've got everything here." Arturo gave Santiago a reassuring nod as he handed him my hospital bag which we'd almost completely forgotten.

Once we were ready, Santiago took me downstairs to the lobby, getting into the first cab that we could. I was way too out of it to even pay attention to what was going on around me as I leaned on Santiago in the cab, trying to breathe through the intense contractions I was feeling.

"She better not make a mess in my car."

"You better keep your freaking mouth shut before I put a bullet in your head."

Usually I would have told Santiago to stop threatening people, but all I could do was groan out loud from another contraction, causing both of them to flinch at the high volume.

I felt sorry for Santiago but not the cab driver. That bitch deserved it. I'd have happily thrown up in his cab too if I felt sick but unfortunately I didn't.

Once we pulled up, Santiago reluctantly paid the driver before helping me out of the car, heading into the hospital.

He started shouting in Spanish as we walked into the very, very familiar lobby of the hospital.

I would recognise it anywhere after spending so long with Santiago here.

"This is a private hospital Santi, they don't have an emergency room." He held me in his arms as I rested my forehead against his chest while a few nurses and a doctor rushed over to us.

"Señor, realmente no aceptamos visitas sin cita previa, somos un privado-" (Sir we don't really accept walk ins, we're a private-)

"Pagaré lo que quieras. No somos de aquí, este es el único lugar en el que confío para dar a luz a nuestro bebé." (I'll pay whatever you want. We're not from here, this is the only place I trust to deliver our baby.)

The doctor looked reluctant to accept Santiago's offer, but when I let out a loud cry when another contraction hit, she shouted something in Spanish and soon people were all around us, guiding us upstairs.

Santiago was talking with the doctor as they walked while I was wheeled in a wheel chair to the room I was going to deliver our baby in.

"You don't speak Spanish?" When the doctor spoke to me in a thick Spanish accent, I shook my head. She nodded her head as the nurses helped me into a hospital gown before helping me on to the bed. The nurses then began to rush around prepping the room for my delivery.

"Maddie I need to check how far along you are." The doctor rolled her chair to the end of the bed, putting on some gloves while I just nodded, biting my lip when the IV drip was inserted into my hand.

I've always hated needles.

She lifted my gown before she stared doing some checks while Santiago held my hand, helping me to breathe through the contractions.

"How long have you been having contractions?"

"I don't know, I haven't been feeling well all day but I only realised I was having contractions about half an hour ago in our hotel room." She nodded her head as she continued her checks before she stood up again.

"It looks like you could be ready to give birth in the next hour. But, unfortunately, you're too far along for any pain relief at this point."

"What? No! I can't do it without an epidural, it will hurt too much. Santi tell her, I can't do it, I need..." My sentence cut off when I let out a sob suddenly feeling an overwhelming sense of panic and hopelessness wash over me again.

I knew how bad contractions could be since I'd already given birth to twins and I'd been having them for the last half an hour.

But I hadn't experienced actually giving birth without any pain relief.

I just felt like I'd completely lost all control of the situation. I had no choice but to go through one of the most painful things the human body could endure without any proper pain relief.

"It's okay, baby it's going to be okay."

"I can't Santi, I can't." I shook my head as tears poured down my cheeks as my hands began to shake.

I needed my mom with me. She was there the entire time while I gave birth to the twins and I needed her with me then.

"Yes you can. Maddie you're so freaking strong, of course you can. Every single ounce of pain will be worth it when you hold him. Isn't that what you've been so excited for?"

He wiped away my tears as he spoke to me in a soft voice, giving me an encouraging smile.

I nodded my head, thinking back to all the times I'd rambled on about the feeling of finally being able to hold your newborn in your arms.

There's no feeling like it.

"But I'm scared. It's going to hurt, it's going to hurt so bad Santi." He nodded his head as he brought his face closer to mine, resting his forehead against mine. "I know, but I'm right here baby. I'm not going anywhere."

True to his word, he didn't leave my side for the next forty five minutes as my contractions got stronger and stronger until I eventually had to push the baby out.

The nurses were all waiting to the side for the moment that I finally gave birth to our little baby boy.

Of course, the pain was extremely excruciating, even though they did give me Entonox gas to help but that didn't do much.

"You got this baby." I gripped Santiago's hand in mine just as another scream left mouth, followed by the loud cry of a baby. Although I was absolutely exhausted, I forced my eyes to stay open as I watched them take my baby, while Santiago cut the cord and then they cleaned him up.

Within a minute or so they finally placed him in my arms and I held him against my chest as he continued to cry.

My own tears continued to fall down my cheeks as I stared at my little baby boy who was slowly starting to calm down now that he was warm again in a blanket and safely in my arms.

"Hi baby." I gently stroked his cheek as I stared at him before I turned to look at Santiago who was silently watching me.

Unlike the first time when I gave birth to the twins, this time he was crying too as he took in the baby in my arms.

I guess he knew exactly how it felt to be a father now, so this moment meant a lot more to him than it did when he only had three days to process the news that he was going to be a father before it actually came true.

"You want to hold him?" When I spoke, Santiago's eyes flashed to meet mine and he nodded his head. I gently passed our son to him, smiling as I watched him hold our baby, speaking quietly to him.

"Hello my baby boy. You're such a beautiful little boy. Your name fits you so well."

"Romeo Andrés Hernández."

When I said his name out loud, Santiago looked over at me with a smile, before he averted his gaze back to Romeo in his arms.

That was the name we'd chosen for him and it was absolutely perfect.

He was perfect.

Aw 😍 I wasn't planning on having such a large time skip before the meeting with Hugo but I wanted to write about Maddie giving birth and then have a few chapters with little Romeo involved before the epilogue.

I hope you enjoyed this!

The next chapter is going to be juicy 🤤