CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: The Heartbeat17Please respect copyright.PENANAzKRCY3ZyWP
(Her POV)
They didn’t go to a big hospital.17Please respect copyright.PENANAqGmewOJ5K4
No fancy clinic.17Please respect copyright.PENANA2GOdghauCQ
No white walls or high-end machines.
Just a local maternity center tucked in a sleepy town.17Please respect copyright.PENANA0fncrAn4XK
Walls painted pale yellow.17Please respect copyright.PENANAHOsZRMEkeg
Posters of smiling babies.17Please respect copyright.PENANAOuzRJLHxxo
A midwife who greeted them like they were old friends.
“First time, Miss?”
She nodded, clutching Matteo’s hand.
“First heartbeat?”17Please respect copyright.PENANAy1EHKn5ePJ
“Yes.”
The midwife smiled.
“Then this will be your favorite sound in the world.”
She lay on the small exam bed.17Please respect copyright.PENANAu6kpWXjKWI
Matteo sat beside her, his hand gripping hers so tightly their knuckles matched in color.
The gel was cold.17Please respect copyright.PENANAtxdIK6fmbU
The probe gentle.17Please respect copyright.PENANARSoQFtvBDI
Her nerves, chaotic.
Then—
A sound.
Thump-thump.17Please respect copyright.PENANAFNNWSjSUhX
Thump-thump.17Please respect copyright.PENANAKYX2eHyw8I
Thump-thump.
Fast.17Please respect copyright.PENANA4X4SokiYIw
Strong.17Please respect copyright.PENANACFdMMru54I
Alive.
She gasped.17Please respect copyright.PENANA1cWiyxPXoW
Eyes instantly watering.
Matteo didn’t move at first.17Please respect copyright.PENANAZIYMFlymm4
Just stared at the screen.17Please respect copyright.PENANALQmfht4D0X
At the flicker.
Then his shoulders shook.
And a tear slipped down his cheek.
“That’s them?” he whispered.
The midwife smiled again.
“That’s your baby.”
He kissed her hand.17Please respect copyright.PENANAhfvOnvfOWi
Then her temple.17Please respect copyright.PENANAa09csHNxqR
Then, without thinking, pressed his forehead to her belly again.
“You hear that?” he said softly.17Please respect copyright.PENANArtXdPScGPy
“You’re not alone anymore.”
Later, they went to the market.
She picked out tiny mittens.17Please respect copyright.PENANA1l1kwjSvte
A white beanie.17Please respect copyright.PENANAX6kpZillH1
One soft yellow onesie with a bear print.
Matteo picked a pacifier that said “heartbreaker.”
“Too soon?” he grinned.
“Way too soon,” she laughed, but kept it.
They walked hand in hand.17Please respect copyright.PENANA19DISifRID
Not running.17Please respect copyright.PENANAwW53T0DHs2
Not hiding.17Please respect copyright.PENANAxekAlhXikl
Just being.
That night, back in their motel room—
He held her belly as they lay in bed.17Please respect copyright.PENANAKXWoEKDLKk
Whispering stories.17Please respect copyright.PENANAem1aWuZgYw
Humming lullabies he barely remembered from childhood.
“Do you think I’ll be a good father?” he asked suddenly.
She didn’t answer right away.17Please respect copyright.PENANAYihzW9JcEK
Just turned and kissed his chest.
“No,” she said.
ns216.73.216.12da2“I know you will be.”