One Night With Zayn & Nine Months With His Baby

Chapter Twenty Nine: Yes.

Zayn

The boys got back before Riley woke and Liam handed me a small black box. I flipped open the lid and saw a ring bordered all around by diamonds and right in the center, a round blue diamond surrounded by smaller ones. It looked absolutely perfect for Riley.

"It's amazing. How'd you find it?" I asked.

"We kept seeing a bunch of traditional rings and we didn't think it'd be her style. So they started to show us some alternative ones and we all agreed on this one," Harry explained, a grin on his face. He was clearly proud of their decision.

I nodded, still looking down at the ring. "Well, it's perfect. She's going to love it. Thank you guys. I owe you."

"Yeah. Fifteen thousand," Niall added.

I walked back into the room with Riley and sat by her. She must have heard me because her eyes slowly opened. I could tell that she was still exhausted, but at least she'd gotten some sleep. She'd slept at least six hours, most of which were interrupted by the nurses that came and went.

She turned her head over to look at me and smiled.

"How do you feel?" I asked her, running my fingers over hers.

"Sore. But a lot better," she answered. "Did you see him again?"

I smiled down at her. "I went to the nursery for a while. He was sleeping."

"I realize I hardly got to see him. I was so tired. I mean, I can hardly remember what even happened. It took so much out of me," she explained, her expression a little sad.

I leaned over the side of the bed and rested my elbows on the mattress. I then kissed the top of her hand and held it to my cheek. She was so cold. "It's alright. It was hard, you know, so of course you were going to be tired. I still can't believe it. I'm a father and it's all thanks to you. You were so brave and so strong."

She scoffed. "Hardly."

"No, Riley."

"Do you think I could see him?" she asked so innocently. I could hardly believe that such a small, sweet girl could have become a mother so quickly. I knew it had been my fault. And I would never forget it.

"Yeah. I'll go ask them to bring him," I told her.

So I walked out and asked the nurse to bring him in. I sat with Riley and waited and we talked until he was brought over. The nurse placed him in Riley's arms and I watched how fascinated she was with him. They looked so perfect together. And I realized that it didn't matter how young or innocent she was. She was meant to be a mother. I could tell because of the way she looked at him and the way she held him. She spoke to him like she'd known him her whole life.

I snuck a photo of Riley holding my son on my phone and then set it aside, realizing that this was the perfect moment for me to propose to her. I knew it was untraditional and the nurse was standing right there, but I wanted it to be now.

"Hey, Riley. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"She looked up at me and smiled. "Okay. Go ahead."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves. "I know that we talked about this once and it really didn't go too well, but seeing you and seeing how you carried and gave birth to my son... Riley, it was a spur of the moment thing the way we met and the way you got pregnant. And it was weird at first when I asked you to move in. But I really got to know you and I fell so deeply in love with you. You're the sweetest, funniest, most thoughtful, most beautiful, sexiest woman I've ever met. And the fact that you went through all this with me and for our son just shows me that I need you in my life. I want you in my life forever."