NOVEL WEB Chapter 219: Welcome to the World
June 26, 2025 — 2:17 AMSt. Luke's Medical Center — Delivery Room
The world blurred.
Bright lights. Monitors beeping. The scent of antiseptic and sterile linens thick in the air.
Angel gripped the sides of the bed, sweat dotting her forehead. Her hair was tied back hastily, strands falling loose around her flushed face. Every breath came sharp and measured—until the next contraction stole it away.
"Deep breaths, ma'am," the nurse said gently. "You're doing great."
Matthew stood at Angel's side, both hands gripping hers. He was pale, his mouth dry, and his heart pounding so loud he could barely hear the machines. But his voice didn't waver.
"You've got this," he said, brushing his thumb along her knuckles. "You've done the impossible before. This is just another blueprint, remember?"
Angel managed a short laugh. "This one doesn't come with schematics."
Another contraction hit, and she clenched her teeth, groaning through it as the doctor read out her dilation.
"Ten centimeters. It's time."
She nodded once.
No fear now. Just fire.
The room shifted. More nurses came in. The doctor gave calm but firm instructions. The bed was adjusted, the overhead lights refocused. Everything moved like a practiced orchestra, sterile and smooth—but inside her, chaos.
Matthew's voice stayed steady. "Almost there. Just one more push."
She bore down again, everything in her twisting, burning, opening.
And then—
A cry.
High-pitched. Sharp. Small. But alive.
Angel exhaled in a single, broken sob as her body collapsed into the sheets.
Matthew stared, stunned, as the doctor gently held up a squirming, red-faced little human.
"It's a girl," the doctor confirmed with a smile.
The cry filled the room again, louder now.
Angel reached out blindly. "Let me see her—please—"
And then she was in her arms.
Warm. Wrinkled. Still a little wet. Eyes squinting open.
So impossibly tiny.
Angel cradled her against her chest and wept.
Matthew sank to his knees beside the bed, one hand pressed over his heart, the other stroking his daughter's miniature hand as it opened and closed instinctively.
"She's here," he whispered. "She's really here."
They didn't say anything else for a long time.
They didn't have to.
She had arrived.
—
June 26, 2025 — 6:45 AMSt. Luke's Medical Center — Private Room
The morning light was barely creeping through the blinds when Angel woke again. Her body ached everywhere—she felt like she'd gone through a demolition site and back—but her mind was clear.
Next to her, in a clear bassinet, was the baby.
Their baby.
Wrapped in a soft cream blanket, her cheeks still pink, her tiny fists curled tight. She made a soft cooing sound as she squirmed, eyes shut but face serene.
Matthew sat beside her, a half-empty coffee cup on the tray table, his hair a mess and his shirt wrinkled from sleeping in the armchair. He looked exhausted—but he also looked like the happiest man on earth.
Angel reached for his hand.
"You slept?"
He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "A little. She didn't cry much."
Angel smiled faintly. "She must've inherited my sense of timing."
Matthew grinned. "And your lungs. The delivery room's still recovering."
She chuckled weakly, then nodded toward the bassinet. "Have we… decided?"
He nodded. "Only if you still love the name."
"I do."
Matthew stood and gently lifted the baby from her bed. He carried her like she was made of clouds—fragile, precious, glowing.
Angel reached out and held her daughter again.
They looked down at her together.
"Aurora," Angel whispered. "Welcome to the world."
—
June 28, 2025 — 3:00 PMRockwell, Their Apartment — Homecoming
The apartment was different.
Not just because of the fresh flowers on the table or the soft new carpet in the nursery.
But because of the quiet.
A soft, expectant kind of silence that came from having something small and sacred in the house.
Angel sat on the couch, feet propped up, holding Aurora against her chest. The baby was asleep, mouth slightly open, one hand resting against Angel's collarbone.
Matthew returned from the bedroom with a fresh bottle of water and a pillow for her back.
"I still feel like I'm forgetting something," he said.
"You triple-checked the bottle sterilizer."
"I know."
"You labeled the formula containers."
"I know."
"You even installed a dimmer light in the nursery."
He sat down beside her, finally letting out a breath. "I just want everything to be perfect."
Angel looked at him, exhausted but smiling. "It already is."
They sat there for a while, just listening to the quiet, just watching the rise and fall of their daughter's tiny chest.
No meetings.
No schedules.
Just time.
Unstructured and sacred.
—
June 30, 2025 — 10:00 AMSentinel HQ — Internal Memo
The company email inbox lit up with a special bulletin:
Subject: Welcome the Newest Member of the Sentinel Family!
On June 26, 2025, at 2:17 AM, Sentinel co-founders Angel and Matthew Borja welcomed their daughter into the world.
Aurora Elise Borja is healthy, radiant, and already reportedly attempting to redesign her bassinet.
Angel will continue on maternity leave through the remainder of the year. Matthew will remain Acting CEO.
We wish them all the love and joy in this new chapter—and thank you all for helping us build a company where both families and infrastructure have room to grow.
Photos weren't attached.
Angel had specifically asked to keep that moment theirs for now.
But it didn't stop the reactions.
Reactions poured in:
"Aurora Elise. Beautiful name.""You know she's gonna have the whole Pulse system memorized by the time she's two.""Congratulations to the real power couple.""I hope she inherits her mom's command voice and her dad's patience."
Karla from PR even joked in their internal chat:
Is she available to join the systems design team in Q4 2045? Asking early.
Angel read them all while nursing, a soft smile on her lips as Aurora stirred gently in her arms.
—
July 2, 2025 — 8:00 PMRockwell — Nursery Room
The lights were low.
Soft white noise hummed in the background.
Aurora lay in the crib, her eyes fluttering shut again after a brief fuss. Angel leaned on the rail, watching, one hand resting over her chest.
She hadn't expected this part—the weight in her heart. Not fear. Not uncertainty.
Just… awe.
Every day she'd built systems, managed teams, transformed cities.
But this?
This was something else.
Something primal. Unplanned. Untamable.
And for once, she welcomed it.
Matthew walked in quietly and stood beside her. He didn't say anything. Just rested his hand on her back and let the silence hold them both.
"She's perfect," he whispered.
Angel nodded slowly. "And real. So real."
He slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her gently into his side.
"We did it," he murmured.
Angel leaned against him, her eyes never leaving their daughter.
"No," she said.
"We just started."