CHAPTER 24
Chiara
When I wake up, the first thing I hear is the soft beeping. Then I notice the smell of antiseptic and something flowery. It takes me a moment to remember that I’m in a hospital room. I slowly open my eyes, and then I see the source of the flowery scent.
Flowers. Lots of them. The whole room is filled with them, and with some yellow balloons.
My memory is a little hazy, but I remember Adriano rushing me to hospital because I felt the contractions. Then I was taken for an urgent C-section.
I still feel exhausted and my whole body hurts, but I’m also happy because I know they’re here. My twins. My precious babies.
A girl and a boy.
I didn’t get a lot of time with them, but I remember them perfectly. Their beautiful little faces. Their tiny feet and hands. How fragile and small they looked and felt in my arms.
Pure perfection.
“Hey,” Adriano says, bringing my attention to him, as he gets to his feet. “How are you feeling?”
“Um, like someone stabbed me and ran me over.” I spread my lips into a smile. “With a heavy truck.”
He catches my hand and places a kiss on my knuckles. “Do you want me to call the nurse? They probably have something to make you feel better.”
“No, it’s fine. Where are they? Our babies?” I try to lift myself up.
“It’s not fine. There’s zero need for you to be in pain. I’ll call the nurse. And they’re right here.” He moves and I spot the bassinet behind him.
A little gasp escapes my throat as I sit up.
There they are. I can see them. So beautiful and so peaceful as they sleep.
“Is everything okay with them?” I guess if something was wrong, they wouldn’t be here, but I need to hear it to convince myself that everything really happened in the best possible way.
“Yeah, they’re healthy and perfect.” His eyes shine with happiness as he glances at them, but then he heads for the door.
“Where are you going?” I don’t want him to leave.
I want him to help me get to our babies so I can hold them again.
“The nurse, remember?”
“Oh, right.” I’m still a little out of it all.
As Adriano leaves the room, I keep looking at the twins. After all the worrying and stress, I can finally relax. I tried not to obsess over what might happen, but I couldn’t help it.
Now they’re here, and I can... Well, develop some new worries, but that can wait. For now, I just want to enjoy them.
I want to bask in that feeling of happiness and love that overcomes me whenever I look at them. How is it even possible to feel so much love?
I heard the stories about it, but I didn’t quite believe them. Now I do. Tears fill the corners of my eyes because I’m so happy I could burst.
My babies are the best thing that has happened in my life, and I’d do anything for them. Adriano returns a moment later.
“The nurse will be here soon,” he says. “I had to threaten to kill her, though.”
“What?” I blink at him.
He laughs. “I’m kidding.”
I roll my eyes at him, the corners of my mouth twitching up. “I want to hold our babies. Give them to me!”
“Easy, mama bear. They won’t run away.”
“Give them to me!” I claw at the air, and we both end up laughing.
He reaches into the bassinet and picks up our baby girl. The blankets are the same color—green—but the tiny bracelet around her arm lets me know it’s her.
The way Adriano holds her in his arms with so much gentleness almost makes me melt from sweetness. I have to push back the tears as he hands her to me.
“Hello, baby girl,” I say softly as I carefully take her into my arms.
“She’s so beautiful, like her mom.”
I run my finger over the soft, silky skin of her little arm. “Actually, she kind of looks like you. See this little nose and lips? It’s totally you.”
“No, it’s not. It’s you.” He grins. “Because she’s perfect, and you’re perfect.”
“What do you think we should call her?” I wanted to meet my babies before naming them, and Adriano agreed with me.
“Clara. She looks like a Clara to me.”
My lips part in surprise because it sounds perfect. “Yeah, Clara. I love it!”
“You do?” His eyebrows shoot up.
“Yeah. Now bring Alessandro to me.”
“Alessandro?”
“Um, I don’t know where that came from. I guess I just... when I looked at him last night, I thought Alessandro was a good name for him.”
“Alessandro it is.” Adriano heads to the bassinet and picks up little Alessandro in his arms.
And he almost makes me cry again because I love seeing Adriano with our babies.
I shift Clara in my embrace so I can take Alessandro too.
“Are you sure you can hold them both?” Adriano asks.
“Yeah.” I don’t care about the pain or anything.
I just want to feel them against me. As they’re both cradled in my arms, my eyes tear up again.
“Hello, Alessandro. Hello, Clara. I love you so, so much.”
Clara’s eyes open, and she looks straight at me. Another wave of love and happiness overcomes me.
My daughter and my son. Both so damn perfect.
“Is this even real life?” I ask softly as Alessandro moves his little fist and leans it against me.
“To be honest, I don’t know. I keep thinking it’s a dream, and that I’m going to wake up at any moment. But we can’t both be dreaming.” Adriano smiles, but I can see his eyes glistening.
“You can feel it too, right? All the love... It’s like I’m bathing in it.”
He bobs his head, and then his gaze meets mine. “The three of you are my life. I’ll protect you with everything I have.”
“I love you,” I say. “And the same goes for me. I’ll do anything to keep us all safe.”
His smile fades as he looks at the door. “Where’s that nurse? Do I really have to threaten people with murder to get help?”
“They’re probably busy, and I’m fine.”
He still opens the door and takes a peek outside. “Ah, there she is. She’s coming.”
I glance down at my babies, and I can’t wait to see all kinds of joy that I know they will bring into our lives.