CHAPTER 97: CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN: MY BREAKTHROUGH.

After Elena’s due date, she put to bed twins: a girl, who came out first, followed by a boy who came out second.

So, have you finally decided what we should call them? I have some ideas but I want to hear yours first." Damien had said warmly to her as he sat beside her a day to her delivery.

Elena looked at the two wonderful bundles of joy in her hands. It had just been a few hours since she delivered them and she already felt a strange connection to them already.

Actually, the delivery of the babies could have gone smoothly if the second baby hadn’t grabbed the first one by the heel in the stomach. This made the delivery rather hard and unbearably painful for the mother.

Once the head showed, the doctors had carried out a procedure to bring her out safely by pulling the head gently while the midwives pushed from the stomach.

Painstakingly, everyone worked to ensure that neither of the babies were hurt together with their mother who was particularly bleeding heavily.

Damien had been so agitated, he couldn’t sit or do attend to his duties for the twelve hours his wife was in labor.

Five minutes to noon, the first cry was heard in the labor room. An hour later, another shrill cry echoed in the room.

Elena on the other hand had passed out immediately the first one came out. She was quickly given some injections that had revived her.

The babies were bathed, cleaned and dressed in cotton clothes before swaddled in sheets.

Damien wasn’t allowed in till after Elena was cleaned by the midwives who gave her an oversized underwear with pads for heavy flow.

Damien walked into the room nervously. He had been yearning to see his wife and his kids but now that he could finally do so, he felt a strange pang of guilt.

Just like Elena, he had only enjoyed childhood love for only a while before nightmares devil’s began to haunt his very existence.

What if they don’t like me? Can I even be a good father to them?

Nevertheless, he braced himself and stepped into the room. His eyes landed on his wife who laid weakly in bed with two small swaddles on her.

"Ellie..." he said hoarsely, going over to where she laid. He didn’t mean to. It just happened.

Elena turned her head to the side to find him standing beside her. She smiled wryly.

"You’re here."

Damien stroked her long, soft hair quietly with a worried face.

"Mm. And you? Are you... alright?"

Elena chuckled them nodded slowly. "I’m fine. I got through it after all."

Damien hummed quickly in reply. He stood beside her, fidgeting with his fingers. Elena looked up at him, confusion etched all o we her face.

" Why are you being so stiff? Don’t you want to carry the twins?"

"I—"

Elena took his large, veiny hand in hers and gently drew him to sit down beside her. Damien obeyed completely, already feeling bad to stress his weak wife.

"Don’t use too much energy darling. I’ll sit." he said, moving quickly so she wouldn’t have to force him to.

A minute passed in silence.

"Well?"

"Yes?"

"Darling what’s the matter? Why don’t you want to carry our children?" Elena asked in concern. Ever since he entered the room, he hadn’t even said a thing about the kids.

Just what was it?!

Tears welled up in her eyes. Ohno! My hormones are kicking in.

Damien’s face fell instantly and he tried to coax her.

"Sweetheart why are you crying?"

"Why don’t you want to carry them? Don’t you love them?!" Elena cried out. She didn’t want to but she just couldn’t help it. Every little thing was making her very, very emotional.

Damien sighed, wiping her face. "I’m sorry dear. I just... I just don’t want to hurt...them." he confessed.

He knew he was a hard man. Life had made him that way and there was no turning back.

Elena sniffled, drying her eyes with her fingers. She hadn’t expected that.

"Why—why would you say such a thing?"

"Ellie—"

"No. Take that back."

She was dead serious.

"Whatever happened to you doesn’t define how you’ll be my love. Please. Don’t define our kids of your love because of yourself."

"How can I give...love?"

Elena stared at him genuinely surprised. Her husband was never one to delve into mushy emotions like love.

"You gave me love didn’t you?"

"You reached out to me first. I don’t know how to be the first giver."

She felt the sudden urge to just hug him. To some extent, Elena could understand him. She had also mostly grown up without it but that didn’t make her give up on it completely.

Although she knew his trials could never be compared with what she passed through.

He had suffered a whole damn lot. Although she never knew his full story, he and Severin had similar trials growing up according to Morrigan. Severin was heavily exploited sexually as a young boy and Damien had also gone through something similar after the death of his mother.

The king was plunged into depression and had gone against the law which said: "Once the queen is crowned, no other is allowed."

Cassian was well aware of it and so was Lucian but because they were not as strong as Damien and Severin in her disgusting bed, they weren’t chosen.

Severin had to go through that traumatic experience for three years while Damien experienced it for the first time ever. It wasn’t until when the court noticed the queen’s neglect of duty that she was finally dethroned and a new ceremony was held for her replacement.

Her husband had suffered rejection, denial and several gruelling experiences that could scar a man forever. Not everyone had that kind of heart to swallow all those years of emotional, physical pain.

She didn’t hear the full story. Morrigan even said it could be just a rumor because Severin never talked to her much about it either.

Elena could understand his plight so it didn’t sound ridiculous to her.

She placed her hand on his hand that was currently destroying his finger nails. His hands were coarse and rough with a few scars here and there. Nevertheless, Elena had never found them irritating.

"Why not give it a try now. It wouldn’t hurt to take the first step you know." she said calmly. Being in front of a child must have triggered his memory of how he was used as a child so she took it slow.

Even if it could be a misunderstanding, I still have to be careful.

Elena instructed Damien to open up his arms. Damien obeyed like a good little puppy trying to hide his anxiety. She could literally feel the tremble of his hands just by looking at them.

Gently, she picked up the girl and placed it in his arms. Damien froze up immediately.

He looked down at the little, swaddled softie in his hand. Just one palm contained her entire body. The baby’s eyes were closed and she was sleeping peacefully. Damien remained frozen up on the spot. Having something so precious in his stained,. bloodied hand made him very much uncomfortable.

"I don’t want to stain them with my filth dear. They’re still clean." he muttered.

"Huh?"

"Oh." he cleared his throat. "It’s nothing dear."

Loosen up you idiot! Do you want to make her cry again?!

Elena couldn’t help but laugh at her poor husband. He had this serious expression on his face as if he was trying to solve a medical

problem that defied human reasoning. Somehow, she could sense his internal turmoil.

She reached out and touched his hand. "Give it time darling. You’ll love her. Them."

Damien lifted his head up and looked at his wife innocently.

gods she wanted to pinch his cheeks and tell him how cute he was!

"What...what should we name them?" he asked again.

Hmm...

"Edna and Eden." Elena muttered softly as her eyes welled up again. She couldn’t just explain how she felt at that moment, finally holding mini versions of herself and the man she loved with her whole heart. It was like the earth was compensating her for the rough childhood she had.

I wasn’t shown an ounce of love for most of my childhood and adolescence but I’ll never let it happen again. I’ll love you the best I can and give you more than the happiest life I enjoyed for so little a time.

More tears fell down her eyes. She couldn’t help it. Everything was just so overwhelming.

Maybe it was my hormones again?

Damien looked up at her as he saw two drops land on the eyes of Eden.

Did...did I?

"Dear, you shouldn’t cry on the kids love. You’ll hurt your eyes and overexert your body. What if you wake them up?" He moved closer to her and took the boy from her arms.

Elena was completely moved by his gesture.

"She looks just like you." he said, completely lost in the beauty of his child.

Shaking her head to clear her teary eyes, Elena looked up from the baby in her arms. "So what do you think about the names?"

"It’s perfect darling. I would never have come up with something so beautiful."

Damien flicked Edna’s cheek lightly. Edna immediately burst into tears from her sleep like he had pinched her. Elena slapped him smartly on the arm despite her current position.

"How can you flick a baby?!" she asked, feigning annoyance.

Damien twitched like a cat in water, dashing his eyes between his wife and the two babies on his laps.

"I...I... I’m sorry dear. This is all new to me."

Elena just shook her head, taking back Eden.

"We’ll be the best parents ever."