I stared at the message on my phone, my heart pounding in my chest as I tried to process the words that had just shattered the fragile peace I had worked so hard to build.
I’m coming to see you. We need to talk.
It was from my mother.
I hadn’t heard from her in months. No calls, no messages, not even a passing thought to reach out. And now, out of nowhere, she was coming. Coming to see me. To talk. And what did that mean?
I felt the flood of emotions rise within me—anger, resentment, confusion, but most of all, fear. Fear of what this visit might bring. Fear that everything I had worked for, everything I had built with Alexander, might be threatened by the one person who had always been so unpredictable, so distant.
I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until I felt Alexander’s hand on mine, his fingers tightening gently, grounding me in the moment. I looked up, meeting his gaze, and for the first time in a long time, I saw the same uncertainty I felt reflected in me.
“Leila,”
