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“I love you, Nick,” she says, her voice thick with emotion. “And I still can’t believe I have you. That you’re mine. That I get to touch you, that you love me… want me, need me the way you do.”

She pauses, her eyes lifting to meet mine, wide and glassy with unshed tears.

“And now… now you’re going to be the father of my baby. Our baby.”

We stare into each other’s eyes for a long moment, neither of us saying a word. The silence wraps around us, filled with emotions, as the time seems to slow… slipping past unnoticed.

We remain still, completely anchored in this new reality—one that overwhelms, unsettles, flips our entire world upside down… But in the most beautiful and honest way imaginable.

After a few minutes or maybe an eternity, I kiss her softly—suddenly seeing her as the most delicate thing this earth has ever held. Then, gently, I turn her around, pulling her into my arms from behind.

Together, we stand in silence, staring out through the tall windows of our bedroom, gazing at the outside world—at the homes that stretch beyond ours, each waiting for the people we love. Our brothers. Our friends.

Our chosen family.

With her head resting against my shoulder, her voice floats in the quiet.

“Are all of those houses already lived in?”

I lower one hand slowly to her stomach and press a kiss into her hair.

“They’re far enough to feel peaceful,” she whispers, “but close enough to feel like home. It’s like… they’re all tied together somehow.”

Then, after a pause, she asks, softer still, “How did you find this place?”

Chuckling softly, I whisper near her ear, “Baby, everything you see was built in the last three months. There are twelve houses, and the land—everything on it—belongs to us. Me, Liam, Zayn, Kai, Chris, Noah, Ryan, Ethan, Colt, Theo, Aiden and Chase… We bought it together. Planned it. Designed every part of it.”

I feel her breath hitch slightly, her fingers tightening over mine.

“And now that it’s finished, we’re all moving in. One by one. We’ve built our own little world, Sierra. Our own universe—just for us.”

“All of them?” she asks, disbelief threading through her voice as she shifts in my arms to look up at me.

Her brows draw together, lips parted in quiet shock, eyes scanning my face like she’s trying to make sure she heard me right.

“They’re really moving here? Leaving New York?”

She blinks slowly, like the weight of what this means hasn’t fully landed yet—or maybe it has, and it’s too big to hold all at once.

I smile, pulling her a little closer, grounding her in my arms as if to remind her this is real.

“Yes, baby,” I murmur, pressing a soft kiss to her temple, letting my lips linger there. “They’ll still fly back for business meetings, wherever they’re needed—New York, Tokyo, Dubai, wherever—but most of the time, they’ll be here. With us.”

She exhales a shaky breath, her body melting a little into mine, and I feel her hands tighten around my wrists, where I rest them on her stomach—our stomach, now.

I feel her heart beating against me, wild and full and so alive. And in this moment, I realize something deeper—we haven’t just built a home, we’ve built a world.

One where she’ll never be alone. One where our child will grow up surrounded by love, laughter, and people who’d burn the earth for each other.

Her voice trembles when she finally speaks again, even softer this time. “You really did all of this for us?”

I nod, brushing her hair gently behind her ear, my chest tightening with emotion.

“For you,” I whisper. “Always for you.”

We’ve been standing like this for over half an hour—her back against my chest, my arms wrapped tightly around her waist, her head resting under my chin—watching the world we built stretch quietly beyond the glass walls of our bedroom.

Outside, the courtyard is bathed in golden dusk. It’s peaceful. Still. The kind of quiet that holds its breath with you.