The irony wasn't lost on him.
Leon stood at the kitchen counter, shirt sleeves rolled up, bottle warmer humming beside him, and a cool sheen of sweat on his brow that had nothing to do with the heat.
His throat ached. His limbs felt like lead. His head throbbed with a dull, persistent rhythm.
But he was fine.
Totally fine.
He stirred formula with steady hands and popped in an earpiece as his phone buzzed to life beside the sterilizer. A video meeting blinked into view, several executives already online.
"Mr. Castellan," one of them greeted. "Are you—uh—holding a baby?"
Leon shifted Elias higher against his chest. "Yes. Now get to the quarterly numbers."
No one dared comment again.
He kept moving. Lila was next. Then Amara, who fussed until she was tucked into the crook of his arm, pacifier in place. His laptop was propped up on the breakfast bar, and he made business decisions in between burping sessions.
All the while, the fever pressed against the inside of his skull like a dull, insistent drum.
He'd done this to her last week. Aria had needed him—so he had shown up. Every minute. Every diaper. Every bottle. Every 2 a.m. lullaby. It wasn't heroic. It was love. And he didn't need a break from that.
But Aria wasn't stupid.
She padded into the room in her slippers and robe, cheeks pink from rest, eyes still a little hazy from recovery—but sharper than he'd like.
She took one look at him and froze. "Leon."
"Hmm?"
"You look like death warmed over."
He snorted. "Romantic."
She marched to him and pressed her hand to his forehead before he could dodge. Her lips parted in horror.
"You're burning up! Leon!"
"It's nothing," he muttered. "A bit of a chill—"
"Don't you dare."
"I didn't run into the rain."
She shot him a deadly look, then reached for Elias, cradling their son against her as she glared at Leon. "Sit down. Now."
"I have three more meetings—"
"I will throw your laptop out the window."
He opened his mouth to protest.
But then she softened, stepping closer. "I know what you've done this whole week. You carried us all. You took care of everything. You kept us steady." She paused. "Now it's your turn to rest, Leon. Please."
He stared at her, the weight of exhaustion and her words finally settling on him like a tidal wave.
She guided him to the couch. Swaddled him in blankets. Fed him soup. Monitored his temperature like a hawk.
And when he finally fell asleep, Lila on his chest and Amara curled by his side, Aria whispered with a quiet, reverent smile—
"My turn now, love."