CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: The Baby Test20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozMVRWNhvK
(Her POV)
She stared at the stick.
Pink.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiPiWCGISg
Too pink.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgCE6H6iyb
Two lines.
Positive.
Her knees nearly gave out in the gas station bathroom.
It wasn’t glamorous.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJyaZFHuwt
It wasn’t planned.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGBt3kWkgNx
It wasn’t quiet—her heart was screaming.
But she couldn’t stop staring.
Two.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7D9KNDJN5
Freaking.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTELZoao78
Lines.
Back in the car, Matteo was humming to a song that didn’t match the moment.
He was beautiful when he was relaxed.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN1QvrckGaI
Driving one hand on the wheel, one hand on her thigh.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUX7gvp9cbU
Like he didn’t know their lives were about to split open.
She waited until they stopped at a lookout.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpUYlK9S42
Somewhere far. Somewhere no one knew their names.
Then she handed him the plastic stick.
He blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then silence.
“Is this…” he whispered, “...real?”
She nodded.
Eyes brimming.
“I took three.”
He stared at it like it had teeth.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡicZd2LWkzD
Like it could hurt him.
Then he looked at her.
“You’re sure?”
“I wouldn’t tell you if I wasn’t.”
He stepped back.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKvAvAo1br
Paced.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu80BK0JZw8
Rubbed his face with both hands.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8NISCpuxU
Cursed under his breath.
Then?
He looked up.
“You’re going to be a mom.”
She swallowed hard.
“You’re going to be a dad.”
He walked back toward her, slowly.
Knees bending.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lLLFNN4N1
Head against her belly.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNyNxqUIEA
Hands around her waist.
He stayed there.
Breathing.
And for the first time since she met him…20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWyjmOb6PXa
he was trembling.
“I don’t know how to be this kind of man,” he whispered.
“Then we’ll learn together.”
“What if I mess this up? What if—what if they hate me someday for who I was?”
She cupped his cheeks.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSVCMqMxvp
Made him look at her.
“Then we’ll tell them the truth. That you were broken… until love fixed you.”
He kissed her stomach.
Once.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGm8P9iu4S2
Soft.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9698RJ5zjs
Like a prayer.
ns216.73.216.239da2“Then I promise,” he said. “I’ll protect this life. No matter what it costs me.”
