The guards were standing outside of the door and nodded at him as he passed by. "Boss?"
"My wife and daughter are not to leave this room," he said, giving them a look of warning. "No one can enter the room unless I'm with them. Do you understand?"
They both nodded. "Yes, boss."
Armand walked away, already planning.
It was finally time for Celine to start taking care of the baby on her own. He’d taken care of her for the entire first year, and even though the doctors had tried to tell him that she needed to be weaned off of him, he ignored them.
The baby would cry for hours until she fell asleep, and Armand knew he had to do something about it. So he made his way down to her room.
She sat in bed, holding Ruby against her and cooing softly. Armand stopped in the doorway, watching them for a moment.
She was beautiful, but she would never hold his heart like his daughter did.
“Are you well, my princess?”
Ruby let out a small cry, lifting her head to look at him.
Celine looked up as he walked in, her eyes narrowing on him. “What are you doing?”
“I wanted to see the girls,” he said.
Celine narrowed her eyes on him, holding Ruby to her chest. “We’re fine.”
Armand felt a twinge in his chest. He didn’t know why she was acting like this, but he wasn’t about to let her shut him out of this. He needed to be here.
He walked over to the bed and reached out for Ruby, pulling her from Celine’s arms and cradling her against his chest.
“Hey princess,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head.
Ruby cooed softly and wrapped her fingers around his tie, her brown eyes sparkling.
“She needs to be fed,” Celine said.
Armand looked back at her. “Then feed her.”
“I’m not producing enough milk,” she said. “I’ll need to get some formula.”
“Fine. I’ll have someone bring it in.” He leaned back against the bed, cradling Ruby closer. “She’s growing so fast, isn’t she? She’s growing up to be a beautiful little princess.”
Celine crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. “When are you going to let me start taking care of my daughter on my own?”
Armand frowned, feeling his heart clench. “She needs me. She wouldn’t even be alive without me.”
“That doesn’t mean that she needs to be around you 24/7,” Celine whispered.
Armand’s eyes narrowed. “You want to take my daughter from me? Take her away from her father?”
“No, I just want to have time with her alone.”
“You want to take her away from the man that’s been raising her?”
She tightened her arms around herself, a soft tear falling down her cheek. “I love her, Armand.”
Armand watched her for a moment, his heart pounding. He hated seeing her like this, hated it.
“You can have time with her,” he said. “But you can’t keep her from me. I don’t trust that you would take care of her properly.”
“Armand,” Celine gasped.
He looked down at Ruby, holding her tighter. She looked up at him with dark eyes that made his heart clench.
“She’s the only one that doesn’t lie to me. The only one that doesn’t judge me.”
Celine started to cry harder, reaching out for Ruby. “I just want to be there for my daughter,” she cried.
Armand felt pain in his chest, knowing he was hurting her. But he couldn’t bring himself to let go of his daughter. He couldn’t.
“You can be there for her,” Armand said. “But I’m always going to be her father.”
Celine shook her head, standing and walking over to him. She reached out for Ruby again, this time wrapping her hands around his wrists and trying to pry her out of his arms.
“Please,” she cried. “I just want my daughter back.”
Armand gritted his teeth, clenching his jaw. “No.”
He held onto Ruby, holding her to him tightly as Celine sobbed. He felt her soft body against his, the feel of Ruby’s head against his chest.
He knew he was a monster for doing this, for keeping her from her mother. But he didn’t care.
Celine sobbed harder, pulling at his arms desperately. He kept his grip tight, cradling Ruby to him and watching her mother cry.
He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, but he couldn’t even if he wanted to. He couldn’t let go.
“Armand!” she cried. “Please!”
He looked down at her, his heart clenching. “I’m sorry, my princess.”
He leaned down and brushed his lips across her forehead. “You’ll get your turn.”
Celine cried harder, her hands tightening around his wrist. She tried to pry him off again, but he held firm.
He held Ruby tight, holding her close to him as she wrapped her small body around him. He loved her more than life itself.
He would do anything to keep her safe.
Even if it meant losing the woman that was supposed to be his heart. He leaned back, pulling away from Celine and holding his daughter tightly to his chest.
“You’ll get your turn,” he said. “Just wait.”
Celine sobbed in front of him, her hands gripping his shirt.
He pushed through the door and left her alone, cradling his daughter to him and taking deep breaths. He felt his heart swell with love as he looked down at Ruby. She was everything to him.
The only thing that he needed in this world.
He sat down in his office, holding his daughter to his chest and staring out the window.
He would be good for her. He would do right by her.
Even if it killed him. Even if it meant keeping her from the rest of the world.