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    Chapter 0802


    Nina


    I couldn''t stop staring at the grainy image that was disyed on the monitor, watching in awe as the little blob that was our daughter flexed and kicked within the safe confines of my womb. A wide smile spread across my face as I studied her tiny features,mitting every detail to memory.


    "She''s perfect," I breathed, tears of joy pricking at the backs of my eyes. I nced over at Enzo, who was positively beaming with the kind of pride that only a father-to-be could have.


    "That''s our girl," he murmured, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "She''s doing just fine."


    It was a relief, after all we had been through, to find out that our baby was safe, healthy, and most importantly: alive. In fact, ording to my checkup leading up to this moment, our baby was as healthy as an ox.


    It was hard to tell if the ritual that we had gone through was the sole cause of this; maybe there was more to it. Hell, maybe the ritual had done nothing at all.


    But I knew that wasn''t the case. Selena had protected my baby and had destroyed the shadow entity, the generational curse that likely would have eventually ended both my life and our baby''s life. I could feel it. Even now, weekster, I could feel her presence here it was faint, but it was there.


    Like a little candle flickering in the darkness, refusing to go out.


    The ultrasound technician smiled warmly as she panned the probe around on my belly. "And she certainly is a lively one!" she said, casting Enzo and I a warm nce. "Her heartbeat is nice and strong, too. You should be proud."


    "We are." Enzo''s grin widened and he squeezed my hand even tighter.


    As the ultrasound technician printed the first images of our child and cleaned the gel off of my belly, though, her brow furrowed slightly when she saw the clipboard in front of her.


    "Your blood pressure is a touch high, though, mom," she said, straightening to look at me.


    I felt my heart sink a bit at those words. I nced over at Enzo, whose smile had fallen. High blood pressure could be dangerous for both me and the baby if left unchecked, and it wasn''t exactly fresh news to us. My blood pressure had been high before, and it was most certainly higher now with everything going on.


    The technician must have sensed our rising anxiety, as she quickly added, "Now, now, there''s not too much to worry about just yet. But you should keep an eye on it."


    I sighed, running my hand through my hair as I sat up on the exam table. "I know. It''s been an issue in the past. It''s just..." I nced at Enzo again. His jaw was set hard.


    "Stress, huh?" the technician asked. I nodded, and she sighed. "A little amount of stress is healthy for the mind and body, but too much stress can kill even the healthiest of us can be susceptible to the negative health effects of too much stress."


    "I just don''t know what to do," I said softly.


    The technician nodded. "Well, from what I understand, you were instructed to attend prenatal yoga. Correct?"


    I felt my chest clench at the mention of that yoga ss. Thest time I had been there was right before Enzo had been taken by M, and it hadn''t been as much of a stress reliever as I had hoped. That woman had given me trouble, and I feared that it hadn''t quite been resolved before I suddenly had to stop going.


    But as I opened my mouth to let out an excuse, I realized that it wasn''t worth it and quickly shut it again. No. There could be no more excuses. There was no way that I was going to let stress harm my baby-especially not after everything we had gone through to ensure her safety.


    As we headed out to the car a little whileter, Enzo pulled me into a reassuring hug. "Did you hear that little fighter in there? She''s gonna be just fine." He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Although her mother could probably use some more downtime..."


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