CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: Where We Begin33Please respect copyright.PENANAiDO7qg7vUo
(Her POV)
It started at 3:17 a.m.
A sharp pain in her lower back.33Please respect copyright.PENANAi54yZqrhGK
Then another.33Please respect copyright.PENANAIYKdGCHEUX
And another.33Please respect copyright.PENANA1Q972ZYnyW
Until the bed sheet was soaked and her scream woke him up.
“It’s time,” she cried. “She’s coming.”
Matteo jumped from bed.33Please respect copyright.PENANAZ85HixSmDH
Pale. Barefoot.33Please respect copyright.PENANAae5Zyh2xM5
Fumbling for the bag they prepared days ago.
But his hands were shaking.
“Okay. Okay. Just breathe. We practiced this—”
“Matteo,” she grabbed his wrist, “we don’t have time.”
“We’ll make time.”
The clinic was an hour away.
They made it in thirty-eight minutes.
He ran red lights.33Please respect copyright.PENANAehkjzMbB6l
Prayed out loud.33Please respect copyright.PENANASNwj1nGcum
Held her hand the whole way.
“You’re doing so good, baby. Just hold on for me.”
“I think I might kill you after this.”
“That’s fair.”
The contractions came hard.
Fast.33Please respect copyright.PENANABNxDi0Wcno
Blinding.
She screamed.33Please respect copyright.PENANALhxsaORZDS
Bit down on his shoulder.33Please respect copyright.PENANAPAWE7dHkcg
Cursed like a demon.
And then—
The doctor yelled.
“One more push!”
She used everything.33Please respect copyright.PENANAkUYOrhepIg
Every ounce of strength.33Please respect copyright.PENANArcyI21yWJH
Every broken memory.33Please respect copyright.PENANAC51chj9MOL
Every piece of her soul.
And then—
A cry.
High-pitched.33Please respect copyright.PENANAeGCZ4cYauL
Wailing.33Please respect copyright.PENANAQx93gT8O3V
Angelic.
The sound of new life.
“It’s a girl!” the nurse said.
Matteo didn’t move.
He just stared.
Blood on his hands.33Please respect copyright.PENANAqOb6xbdpQ1
Tears on his face.33Please respect copyright.PENANAtbDOTgLy8T
And light in his eyes.
They placed the baby on her chest.
Tiny.33Please respect copyright.PENANADAbnyflEuW
Red.33Please respect copyright.PENANA1iVjTzSqNv
Wrinkled.33Please respect copyright.PENANAK5kP3mE3Ss
Perfect.
“Hi, Arielle,” she whispered. “Welcome to the world, baby.”
“She’s beautiful,” Matteo choked.
“She looks like you.”
“Poor girl,” he laughed, then sobered.33Please respect copyright.PENANApmZpm6xSKN
“No. She’s lucky. Because she’ll grow up loved.”
He kissed her forehead.
Then their daughter’s.
“Thank you,” he whispered, “for surviving me.”
They stayed in that hospital room for hours.33Please respect copyright.PENANApjby4b0bIH
No sleep.33Please respect copyright.PENANA5Gmg8lQQ1F
No noise.33Please respect copyright.PENANAkCJy8JE1Y1
Just their heartbeat, and hers.
Later that night, Matteo took out the same notebook he started months ago.
He added one last entry:
“To Arielle —33Please respect copyright.PENANAef29kEQTZc
You were born from fire and ashes. But you are not the flame. You are the light.33Please respect copyright.PENANAcuxoQ5fErD
You are where everything finally begins.”
And that was it.
The doctor.33Please respect copyright.PENANAWIMsVzp7EB
The storm.33Please respect copyright.PENANAaxmyzZQ5Dx
The sinner.
Now a father.
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