My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus) novel Chapter 903

As Peter stepped out of the neonatal unit, he immediately spotted Maximus and Diana waiting outside. They rushed toward him, their eyes scanning his face for answers.

"How are you? How’s Celeste? And the babies?" Diana asked, worry evident in her voice.

"They’re okay… as much as they can be. Celeste is in recovery, and I should be able to see her soon. The girls are in the neonatal intensive care unit," Peter said calmly.

"They’re already here?" Maximus asked, surprised.

"Yes. The birth came early."

"But she still had time left…"

"They arrived sooner than expected. For now, they’ll stay in the incubators until they’re strong enough, but all three of them are doing well."

"Congratulations, daddy!" Maximus said, pulling his brother into a hug.

At first, Peter stiffened—it felt strange. But after a moment, he relaxed, reminding himself that things were different now. They were supposed to be on good terms.

"Thanks, Maximus," he said, allowing himself to be wrapped in the warmth of the embrace.

"Congratulations, Peter!" Diana said, hugging him as well. "By the way, Serenity and Alden sent this. Apparently, Celeste had already packed a hospital bag just in case."

"She did?" Peter asked, surprised.

"Yes. She read that twin pregnancies rarely go full term because of space limitations. So, she prepared for the possibility of an early delivery. And well… she was right," Diana said with a knowing smile.

"Thank you. Really… thank you," Peter said, his voice thick with emotion. "Celeste will appreciate this. I know I do… I didn’t expect any of this to happen tonight."

"Why didn’t you tell us?" Maximus asked, stepping into full big-brother mode.

"Honestly? The moment her water broke, I panicked. The only thing on my mind was getting her here as fast as possible," Peter admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Well, if that’s you panicking, you handled it well," Diana said, squeezing his arm reassuringly.

Just then, a nurse stepped out of the surgical ward.

"Mr. Palmer?"

"Yes?" Peter turned toward her immediately.

"Mrs. Palmer has been moved to her room. You should go see her now."

"Oh, yes! Right away!" Peter said, turning to Maximus and Diana.

"You two should head home. Celeste is fine, and the babies are in the incubator. There’s no reason for you to stay up all night. Everyone is okay, I promise," he said as he started walking toward Celeste’s room.

Maximus and Diana exchanged looks. They knew it would be pointless to insist on staying. It was already past 1:00 a.m., so they decided to return home and come back during visiting hours the next day.

On the way home, Diana called Serenity, who answered almost immediately.

"Diana! How are they? Tell me—what did the doctors say? Are they really at the hospital?" Serenity bombarded her with questions.

"Oh, God! Okay, okay! I promise I won’t do it again," Peter said quickly. "Just rest, my love. Get some sleep. In a few hours, you’ll feel better, and we can talk more. Everything is okay now."

As he gently stroked her forehead, Celeste’s exhaustion took over, and she drifted back to sleep.

A nurse who had been attending them since their arrival smiled at the scene.

"It’s normal for her to feel this way. Let her sleep… she’s going to need it. And so will you. Because after this, I promise you—neither of you will sleep the same again."

"Why?" Peter asked, confused.

"Is this your first time as a dad?" the nurse teased.

"Well, no. I have two other kids… but they’re adults now," Peter admitted.

"Then I guess you forgot just how much work a baby is. Now imagine two. But don’t worry—there are new experiences ahead, and they all have their own kind of beauty. Get some rest. I’ll be back in a few hours. Once your wife wakes up, we’ll collect some milk from her to see if the babies can take it. We can’t take them out of the incubators yet, but they need that first milk."

"Thank you," Peter said, squeezing Celeste’s hand.

"No problem, sweetheart. Now rest. And maybe later, you can help me feed your little ones," the nurse said before walking away.

Peter was exhausted. He rested his head beside Celeste’s hand, letting his body relax just enough to drift off into a light sleep.

It wasn’t deep, but at least for now, he was allowing himself a moment of peace.