LOGINMadelynIt's a lazy weekend and the supermarket was crowded, not chaotic but busy enough that carts kept bumping into each other and people kept apologizing without really meaning it. Ava walked beside me, pushing the cart while I trailed a step behind, one hand resting lightly on my stomach out of habit more than needed. The air smelled like bread from the bakery corner and I suddenly wanted to eat some… been craving too many things these days. The hum of the freezers mixed with the low chatter of families arguing over cereal brands.“Sit down if you need to,” Ava said for the third time, glancing over her shoulder at me like she expected me to fold in half any second.“I’m fine,” I replied, dragging my feet slightly as we passed rows of baby clothes hung in neat pastel lines. “If I sit down, I won’t get back up.”She laughed. “You’re dramatic.”“I can't even complain about how heavy I feel right now.”She smiled, then reached for a pack of baby socks and dropped them into the cart.
DominicI didn’t think about it. I just dialed Liam.My phone was still warm in my hand from staring at the screen too long, my head buzzing, my chest tight in a way that made breathing feel like effort. The call rang once. Twice. On the third ring, he picked up.“Dude?” he said, sounding distracted. “What’s up?”“Who is Madelyn?” I asked.Silence.I could hear faint sounds from the background, his breathing... I pulled the phone away slightly and checked the screen to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.“Liam,” I said, my voice low. “Talk.”Another pause, longer this time. When he finally spoke, his tone had changed.“We need to meet,” he said. “Tonight. At the bar.”“No,” I said immediately. “Now.”“Dude, it’s not a phone conversation,” he replied. “Trust me.”“I said now,” I repeated, my grip tightening around the phone. “Tell me where you are.”He exhaled heavily, like he was already tired of something he hadn’t even started explaining yet. “Same place as always. Twenty minutes.”“
DominicI was stretched out on the hotel couch with my jacket tossed over the armrest and my phone balanced in one hand, half listening to the muted television and half pretending I was resting like the doctor insisted. The conference meeting had drained me in that quiet way that made my head feel heavy without actually hurting, and scrolling through my phone felt easier than sleeping.Leana’s page came up. Muscle memory, I guess. I tapped it and started scrolling.The first thing I saw was a photo from earlier that day. Me. Her. Our son between us, smiling wide like someone had promised him ice cream right after. Leana had her arm around my waist, her head tilted toward my shoulder, hair perfect as always. I was smiling too, relaxed, like nothing in the world was missing.I felt something warm settle in my chest as I stared at it.This is what I always wanted, I thought.A family that looked like a family. Since my Dad treated mum like the bastard he was, mum left him for Alexander.
MadelynMy phone buzzed on the counter while I was rinsing rice in the kitchen sink, the phone vibrating against the counter hard enough to make me jump. I wiped my hands on a towel and glanced at the screen, already annoyed, until I saw the name. Liam Carter.I stared at it for a few seconds, convinced it had to be a mistake. Liam barely spoke to me when I was married to Dominic. He was always polite, always distant, like I was a room he passed through but never entered. We exchanged greetings at events, nodded at each other across dinner tables, and that was it. So why was he calling now?I answered on the third ring. “Hello?”“Madelyn,” he said, sounding almost unsure. “Hi. It’s Liam.”“I know,” I replied, my voice flat. “I can see the caller ID.”He laughed awkwardly. “Right. Of course. Sorry. I didn’t mean to catch you off guard.”“You kind of did,” I said honestly. “Is everything okay?”There was a pause, long enough that I wondered if the call had dropped. Then he cleared his
MadelynThe first thing the doctor warned me about was the dizziness, and he wasn’t lying. It came in waves, sometimes gentle, sometimes strong enough to make me stop mid step and hold on to whatever was closest. Three months passed like that, measured in pill alarms, hospital visits, and days that blurred into each other because my body always felt one step behind my mind. I woke up tired and went to bed tired, and somewhere in between I tried to act like this was normal, like I wasn’t constantly aware of the weight inside me and the risk that came with it.The medication sat heavy in my system. Some mornings it made my mouth taste metallic, other days it left me nauseous enough that food felt optional. I learned which pills to take with crackers, which ones needed juice, and which ones would make my head spin if I stood up too fast. My calendar was full of reminders, most of them medical, the rest work deadlines I refused to let go of even when everyone told me to slow down.Christ
MadelynA sharp pain hit me hard right under my abdomen, like someone had reached inside and twisted something hard. I was standing by my desk, reaching for a file I had already reviewed twice, when my vision blurred and the room tilted slightly to the left. I grabbed the edge of the desk instinctively, my fingers tightening around the wood as I tried to breathe through it without drawing attention.I groaned in pain.“Mrs Hills?” my assistant called from behind me. Her chair scraped the floor as she stood up. “Are you okay?”I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out properly. My throat felt tight, and the pain flared again, stronger this time, spreading downward and making my knees feel weak. The office lights suddenly felt too bright, buzzing softly above my head. I shook my head once, trying to wave her off, but my body didn’t listen.The next thing I knew, I was on the floor.I didn’t remember falling, just the sound of papers scattering and someone calling my name louder







