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Chapter 129 – Arya's POV
The room fell quiet after the door clicked shut.
Damon had taken Liam to the cafeteria for a snack, and Ethan and Amara had just left. The only sound now was the soft hum of machines and the occasional coo from the tiny miracle swaddled in my arms.
Hope.
Her name still echoed inside me like a gentle prayer. I couldn't stop whispering it in my heart.
Hope.
I looked down at her small face, round and pink and perfect. Her eyes were closed, her mouth moving as if she were dreaming something sweet and warm. Her little fingers twitched in sleep, curling and uncurling with no rhythm at all.
She smelled like fresh powder and heaven. That newborn scent. Nothing in the world like it.
And she was mine.
Ours.
I leaned my head back against the pillow and stared at the ceiling for a moment. My whole body ached — not just from the labor, but from the sheer weight of emotion crashing over me. It was unlike anything I'd ever felt.
This wasn't like when I gave birth to Liam.
Back then, I was younger. Scared. Lost in a world that didn't feel like mine. There were too many secrets. Too many lies. Too many cracks in my foundation.
But now…
I looked at Hope again.
Now I had a real home. A real family. A partner who loved me. A son who'd waited all day to meet his baby sister with wide eyes and endless questions.
Now… I had peace.
"I never thought I'd get here," I whispered, brushing the tip of my finger down her tiny cheek.
Hope stirred slightly and let out a sigh, so soft and sweet that it made my eyes sting.
"You took your time coming," I said softly, smiling. "But you came at the perfect time, didn't you?"
She didn't answer, of course.
But somehow, I felt like she heard me. Felt me. As if she'd been waiting for this moment, too.
The last few hours blurred in my mind — the panic when my water broke, the rush to the hospital, the contractions that stole my breath and made Damon hover like a storm cloud. He was terrified the entire time, though he tried to hide it.
I'd been stubborn. Insisting I could still work. Still move around. I wanted to paint. To walk through the gallery one last time before she arrived. But my body had its own plans. And when the pain hit full force in the car, I knew I had no choice but to surrender.
And I did.
And she came.
Hope.
Tears slipped silently down the corners of my eyes. Not because I was sad. But because I was overwhelmed by how deeply I could love someone I'd just met.
"I don't know who you'll be," I whispered to her. "But I already love you more than words can say."
Her tiny fingers twitched again, and I held her closer, carefully shifting her into the crook of my elbow. She fit there perfectly, like she'd always been meant to belong.
"I promise to protect you," I continued, brushing a kiss to her forehead. "To teach you. To never let you feel like you have to earn my love. You already have it. Forever."
The door creaked open gently, and a nurse peeked in. "Everything okay, Mrs. Blackwood?"
I smiled, wiping the tears away. "Yes. We're fine. Just… getting to know each other."
The nurse smiled and nodded. "We'll do vitals in an hour. Let me know if you need anything."
When she left, I leaned my head down again and pressed my forehead lightly against Hope's.
I thought of how far I'd come.
How lost I'd once been.
How Ethan once found me crying in my studio, thinking the world had ended.
How Amara brought me tea and light and understanding when I thought I had no one else.
How Damon held my hand through every contraction today and didn't once let go, even when I screamed at him to shut up and stop breathing so loud.
I smiled through my tears.
My family wasn't perfect.
But it was real. And it was mine.
And now, it was complete.
A soft knock came at the door, and I looked up to see Damon peek inside.
"She asleep?" he asked quietly.
I nodded. "Yeah."
He walked in slowly, careful not to disturb her, and came to stand beside the bed. His eyes were red, and his hair a mess, but when he looked at her — really looked — something shifted in his expression. Something tender.
"I've never been this scared in my life," he admitted.
"I know," I said softly.
"But I've also never been this… in love," he added, voice hoarse.
I reached out with one hand, and he laced his fingers with mine.
"I was watching you earlier," he said. "When everyone left. You looked like… a goddess. Like everything good in this world began and ended with you and her."
That made me laugh gently. "You're still high on baby hormones."
He grinned. "Yeah. Probably."
We stayed like that for a while — me holding Hope, Damon holding my hand — the silence filled with meaning.
Eventually, Hope stirred again, and her little eyes fluttered open.
She looked up at me with unfocused eyes, and in that second, the world stopped spinning.
"Welcome, baby girl," I whispered. "Welcome to the world."
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Author's Note 💕
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