LUCIAN It was surreal, standing in our kitchen with her again. There was a smile on her face as she stirred the pot, humming softly to herself. I stood beside her, pretending to focus on peeling the potatoes, but my eyes kept drifting back to her. She looked exactly like she used to...fluid in
Either way, I stayed outside, heart aching, unsure whether to go to her, or wait for her to come to me. She didn’t say a word as she stepped out of the nanny’s room, just walked past me like she was gliding through water, calm on the surface but clearly drowning beneath. I followed her in silenc
LUCIAN I didn’t care that my shirt was soaked in her tears. I didn’t care that my arms ached from holding her so tightly. All I cared about was keeping Essence close, because something inside me screamed that if I let go, I might not be able to piece her back together again. Sky’s voice echoed s
But I dragged myself to the bathroom. My hands shook. Every step was a war. My breasts ached—so much pressure. So much pain. I needed to feed my baby. My child needed me. I came back to the room after bathing. I put on the dress Alex left for me. When Alex came in, I begged. “My breasts are hu
ESSENCE Yvonne fell with a thud that echoed in my ears, but I wasn’t done. I didn’t even pause. I straddled her and hit her again, and again. My palms were fire, my blood boiling as if I was purging something ancient from my bones. She tried to shield her face, but I wouldn’t let her. Her shrill
ESSENCE I wasn’t proud of it. Okay...maybe a little. Fine, I was proud of it. I slapped her. Twice. And while my hand still tingled with the memory, what lingered even stronger was the question no one had answered yet, how did I know? Nobody had told me about her slipping into my bathroom li