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The maternity ward was still alive with movement when the nurse gently placed five newborns into their mother’s arms. Machines hummed softly, footsteps echoed down the hallway, and voices blended into a blur of congratulations. She barely heard any of it. Her focus was fixed on the tiny lives resting against her chest—five fragile hearts beating steadily, five breaths rising and falling in quiet rhythm. Against every medical concern and whispered fear, all five had arrived safely. In that moment, exhaustion gave way to gratitude, and gratitude to awe.
She waited for her partner to step closer, expecting joy to mirror her own. Instead, she saw hesitation spread across his face. His eyes moved from one baby to the next, searching for something he believed should be obvious. The longer he stared, the more distant he became.
The words cut through the room. She reached for his hand, confused, still fogged by pain and relief, trying to reassure him. Genetics were complicated. Families were complicated. But he pulled away. Within minutes, he turned and walked out of the ward, leaving behind a stunned silence, a stunned mother, and five newborn children. He never came back.
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