Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

S ayer stepped into the house, the familiar weight of Vienna nestled against his chest in her carrier. The scent of something delicious wafting from the kitchen caught him off guard. He hadn’t expected anyone to be home, let alone cooking.

“Fia?” he called out, carefully unhooking Vienna from the carrier. The baby gurgled contentedly, her chubby fingers grasping at his shirt.

As he rounded the corner into the kitchen, he stopped short. Luna, Celeste, Tabitha, and Sera were bustling around, chopping vegetables, stirring pots, and wiping down counters. The scene was so unexpected that for a moment, Sayer wondered if he’d walked into the wrong house.

“Ladies?” he managed, his brow furrowing in confusion. “What’s going on? Where’s Fia?”

Luna turned from the stove, a warm smile on her face. “Sayer, hey. Fia called us earlier. She was... well, she was pretty overwhelmed.”

A knot formed in Sayer’s stomach. He’d known Fia was struggling with Vienna and her lack of sleep, but she hadn’t told him it was this bad. He should’ve fought to take Vienna more even if she cried. “Is she okay?” he asked, his voice tight with concern.

Celeste stepped forward, gently taking Vienna from his arms. “She’s resting now, sweetie. We put her under a sleep spell – don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe. She just needs some uninterrupted rest.”

Sayer ran a hand through his hair, guilt gnawing at him. “We’ve been having trouble with Vienna not sleeping at night. I’ve been trying to give Fia breaks during the day, but she had trouble sleeping more than two hours...” He trailed off, the weight of his failure settling heavily on his shoulders.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Sera said, her voice gentle. “New parenthood is tough, even without magical complications.”

“Magical complications?” Sayer echoed, his confusion deepening.

Tabitha nodded grimly. “We found a hex on Vienna’s crib. It was designed to keep Fia exhausted and prevent the baby from sleeping at night.”

The words hit Sayer like a physical blow. He stumbled back, gripping the edge of the counter for support. “Someone hexed our baby’s crib?” he choked out, anger and disbelief warring in his voice. “Who would do something so cruel?”

“We don’t know yet,” Luna said, her expression serious. “But we’ve cleared it now. Vienna should sleep much better, and so should Fia.”

As if on cue, Vienna let out a big yawn in Celeste’s arms. “I think someone’s ready for her nap,” Celeste cooed. “Sayer, why don’t you put her down?”

Still reeling from the revelation, Sayer nodded numbly and took Vienna. He walked to the nursery in a daze, his mind racing. How long had Fia been suffering? How had he not noticed sooner?

To his amazement, the moment he laid Vienna in her crib, she drifted off to sleep without a fuss. The sight of her peaceful face only intensified the tumult of emotions in his chest – relief, guilt, anger, love – all swirling together in a chaotic storm.

When he returned to the kitchen, the women were waiting with sympathetic smiles and a steaming mug of tea. “She went right to sleep,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I can’t believe... all this time...”

“You couldn’t have known,” Luna assured him, squeezing his arm.

Celeste nodded. “Honestly, we didn’t even think of there being anything wrong other than Vienna being fussy when you swung by the café.”

“What matters is that it’s fixed now,” Luna said.

Sayer nodded, taking a deep breath to steady himself. “Thank you all. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”

Sera grinned. “Now, let’s talk about something more fun. When are you finally going to take Fia on a proper date?”

The abrupt change of subject caught Sayer off guard. “A date? I asked but... we haven’t really had the chance...”

“Well, now’s the perfect time,” Tabitha chimed in. “That poor girl needs to get out of the house and have some fun.”

“I’d be happy to babysit,” Luna offered. “Or we could take turns.”

“Ooh, yes!” Celeste clapped her hands excitedly. “You should plan something really romantic and relaxing. Fia deserves it after everything she’s been through.”

Despite the emotional whiplash of the past few minutes, Sayer found himself smiling at their enthusiasm. “I suppose you’re right. Any suggestions?”

The kitchen erupted into a flurry of ideas, each woman trying to outdo the others with increasingly elaborate date plans. As Sayer listened, laughing at some of the more outrageous suggestions, he felt a warmth spreading through his chest