Page 197 of Lovely Venom

Likewise, he whispers in my ear in a language I can understand.

“Mechri tin teleftaía mou anása.”

It’s Greek—the words a promise and a vow.

Until my last breath.

EPILOGUE

CHANTEL

“Hey.”

Cristian turns at the sound of my voice, warmth flickering in his gaze as it sweeps up my bare legs to the shirt I stole from him last night. I don’t feel remotely sexy right now, but I’ve come to realize it doesn’t matter how much of a hot mess I am because he loves every version of me.

I could have zero makeup on, a rat’s nest for hair, or baby spit-up all over my shirt, and he still wants me just the same. Even at the end of my pregnancy, when everything was puffy and I was cranky, he’d tell me how beautiful I was. He never took for granted what my body was going through growing an entire human.

Every day, he spoiled me with massages, made sure I had drinks and snacks, and washed my hair for me when I was exhausted. He arranged spa days for me and the girls, made my dream nursery a reality, and shouldered every burden so I was never stressed.

Long before the baby arrived, he’d tell me what a good mother I was already, and he’d never leave the house without kissing me and our bump goodbye.

I didn’t think it was possible for me to love him any more than I already did, but he proves me wrong every time I see him with our little girl.

He’s so gentle and attentive to her, I get emotional watching them together.

At night, when she wakes, he tells me to rest while he takes care of her. But sometimes, I sneak out of bed anyway just to observe as he rocks her in front of the window and tells her about all the stars in the sky.

We named her Thalia Rose Vitale—a nod to both our mothers—though Cristian commonly refers to her as la nostra piccola stella. Our little star.

It didn’t take long after her arrival for us to carry on the Vitale tradition with a symbolic name.

Much like her father, she’s constantly watching her surroundings, her eyes bright and curious about the world around her. She’s incredibly vocal, always making happy little noises, and she melts all of her uncles’ hearts with her easy smiles and affectionate nature.

They’ve deemed her small with a mighty heart, and a natural songbird who loves lullabies.

For all these reasons, it was easy for us to decide that she is la passerotta, the little sparrow.

It’s a theme we incorporated into the nursery after her arrival, in addition to the things we’d already added. While it may not be traditional, it only seemed fitting that we’d give her a galaxy of stars, since we knew she’d be our entire universe.

So we painted the walls midnight blue and hired an artist to create a mural of the night sky with soft nebulae, silver-leafed constellations, and tiny phosphorescent stars all over the walls and ceiling. In the daylight, it looks like a watercolor dream of blue, pink, and silver. And after dark, it emits a soft, ethereal glow that feels nothing less than magical.

My favorite detail is the raven perched on a crescent moon—a sign that fate will always be there to guide her way, just as it brought us together.

I want my daughter to inherit my strengths, but not my trauma, and I only want her to feel surrounded by love and light. This room is a representation of that. The safety and peace her father provides. The legacy of family—from my mother’s music box to the thoughtfully chosen gifts from all our closest people.

It’s the promise of a beautiful life, and a new beginning for all of us. Cristian sees that hope in my eyes, and sometimes he still has to remind me it’s real, but it grows every day as another part of me heals.

For the first time in my life, I feel whole in a way I never thought I could.

I can come home without checking for monsters around every corner, secure in the knowledge that I’m finally safe. And while some of the worst-case scenarios will never go away, particularly now that we have a child of our own to protect, they don’t rule my life like they once did.

Our world is the same as it’s always been. Chaotic, unpredictable, and dangerous at times. But Cristian is my anchor, and my trust in him is absolute.

Our family is everything to me, and while our path to get here may have been messy, I know our love will always endure.

I watch him as he lays a now-sleeping Thalia back in her crib, and when I join him, he wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses the top of my head.

“Good morning, gattina.”