Chapter 13 - The Baby Laughs AgainThree days after the hearing, Mateo laughed.
Not a weak sound.
Not a startled hiccup.
A full, bubbling laugh that filled the clean room and stopped every adult conversation at once.
Valeria froze with a spoon halfway to his mouth.
Nicolás stood in the doorway holding a work call on mute.
Sofía looked up from the care chart.
Mateo slapped both tiny hands against his cotton blanket and laughed again because Esteban had sneezed.
The old butler, startled by the attention, sneezed a second time.
Mateo shrieked with joy.
Valeria began to cry.
Nicolás ended the call without saying goodbye.
For a moment, nobody cared about court orders, hidden cameras, family betrayals, or names whispered in dangerous circles.
There was only a baby laughing because an old man sneezed.
Sofía pressed a hand to her mouth.
Nicolás saw.
Later, he found her in the kitchen washing a bottle.
“You cried.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“You were staring?”
“Yes.”
“At my tears?”
“At you.”
The bottle slipped slightly in her hand.
She steadied it.
“You should not say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because they sound simple when they are not.”
He leaned against the counter.
“I am tired of pretending complicated things are not happening.”
Sofía turned off the water.
“Nicolás, your son is recovering. Your family is under investigation. Your former fiancée lives here. Your mother hates me half the time. Your cousin tried to take your child. This is not the moment.”
“When is the moment?”
She looked at him.
For once, he sounded less like a man demanding an answer and more like one hoping for mercy.
“I don’t know,” she admitted.
He nodded slowly.
“That is fair.”
His restraint unsettled her more than pressure would have.
Before she could speak, Valeria entered.
“Oh,” she said.
Sofía stepped back from the sink.
“Bottle is ready.”
Valeria looked between them and smiled sadly.
“I came to tell you both something. I’m leaving the mansion tomorrow.”
Nicolás straightened.
“Valeria—”
“Not Mateo,” she said quickly. “I’m moving into the guest house on the east side. Close enough for care. Far enough to breathe.”
He looked uncertain.
Valeria lifted a hand.
“We were never good at being together, Nicolás. But we can be good parents. I need space to become Mateo’s mother again without everyone watching whether he cries in my arms.”
Sofía’s heart tightened.
“That’s healthy,” she said softly.
Valeria smiled at her.
“I hoped you would say that.”
Nicolás looked toward the courtyard.
“I do not want Mateo divided.”
“He won’t be. We make a schedule. We communicate. We stop pretending broken engagement means broken family.”
He nodded.
“You’re right.”
Valeria laughed once.
“You have said that more this week than in all the years I’ve known you.”
His mouth twitched.
“I had poor training.”
“Clearly.”
For the first time, they sounded almost like friends.
That evening, they moved Mateo between Valeria’s arms, Nicolás’s arms, and Sofía’s watchful presence. He fussed at first, uncertain. Then Valeria began humming the song she used when he was newborn.
Mateo quieted.
His cheek settled against her shoulder.
Valeria’s tears fell silently onto his cotton sleeve.
Sofía watched from across the room.
Nicolás stood beside her.
“You gave that back to them,” he said.
“No. Mateo did.”
“You refuse credit like it is poison.”
“Credit makes people careless.”
He looked at her.
“Not you.”
The words warmed her more than they should have.
Outside, the mansion gates opened for a delivery of medical supplies.
No one noticed the gardener near the side wall pause with his phone lifted.
No one noticed the message he sent.
The baby is stronger. The nurse stays. The father is distracted.
May you like
A reply came within seconds.
Then we change the target.
