One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- - Chapter 198: Chapter 198

The stage was still.
No announcement. No transition. Only a deep silence like the pause before a prayer.
Then came a soft light. Not a spotlight—but a golden wash from above, like sunlight cracking open a quiet morning.
A single crown sat center stage. Simple. Not jeweled. Not ornate. A handcrafted ring of bronze, engraved with eight initials.
One by one, the children stepped forward.
Amara first, cradling a microphone. Her voice trembled.
> “She wore her crown on sleepless nights, Not on her head, but in her heart.”
Leila joined.
> “She stitched our wounds with lullabies, And held us close when we fell apart.”
The harmonies began to layer.
> “She ruled no kingdom built on fear, Her law was grace, her reign was near.”
Zane took center.
> “We rise from her like morning sun, And now, her reign is far from done.”
Ava, Skylar, Aiden, and Julian circled her.
Their voices rose.
> “We give her crown of scars and light, For every time she chose to fight.”
> “We pass it not with silver thread, But truth and love and tears we’ve shed.”
The audience wept openly.
Even Damien—once stone—bowed his head.
Arielle stood.
She wasn’t supposed to go onstage.
But her feet moved without command, drawn by something ancient and tender.
She reached the crown.
Trembling, she bent to touch it.
Her fingers brushed the metal, still warm from the spotlight. Her knees gave. Not from weakness, but release.
And her eight children caught her.
Together, they held her in a sobbing embrace.
The audience rose.
A standing ovation.
Not for a performance.
But for a legacy.
For a woman who had turned a fractured life into a kingdom of wholeness.
Damien walked to the stage last.
He placed his hand on the crown.
Then on her shoulder.
> “You were never a queen because you ruled. You were a queen because you loved.”
And as the final note echoed into silence,
The curtain fell.
But her crown stayed in the light.