Mag-log inThe hallway outside the emergency unit smelled sharply of antiseptic and exhaustion. Nurses moved past in quick strides, rubber soles brushing against the polished floor, clipped voices floating in and out of the heavy silence pressing against Grace’s chest.She stood near the wall with Matthew’s number dialed again and again.Each unanswered call tightened something inside her until breathing itself became difficult.Ava’s cries still echoed faintly from behind the doors.That frightened Grace more.Twenty minutes ago, Ava had still been gripping the hospital bed rail hard enough for her knuckles to pale, sweat soaking through the front of her gown while she whispered through clenched teeth that she was fine.Now the doctors were speaking in quieter voices.Doctors only lowered their voices when things were getting worse.Grace pressed the phone harder against her ear.“Come on… pick up,” she muttered.The call rang endlessly before disconnecting again.She swallowed and immediately
Matthew stared at the message on his screen again even after memorizing the address.His fingers tightened around the phone.For one suspended moment, he stood there in the middle of the apartment while everything Grace had said continued crashing into him in fragments.She collapsed and she’s bleeding. The baby is in distress.The word refused to settle normally inside his head. It moved through him violently, stirring memories and guilt and something dangerously close to grief.Ava had been carrying his child, while he ignored her.While he slept beside another woman.He convinced himself that he still had time to repair the damage later.Matthew inhaled sharply and unlocked his phone again.He needed a flight immediately.His thumb moved frantically across the screen, opening travel apps one after another.Every flight was full. And the available one is tomorrow morning.“No, no, no…”His knee bounced restlessly as he refreshed the page again.His breathing became uneven the longer
Matthew stared at the screen for so long that the light dimmed against his hand. Unknown Number and two unread messages. His thumb hovered uncertainly before he opened the first one. Hi Matthew, this is Grace, Ava’s friend. I want to talk about Ava. Please pick up. The air in the apartment changed instantly. His back straightened. Every muscle in his body tightened at once the moment he saw the name, Ava. The second message sat directly beneath it. It’s urgent. Matthew was already pressing the call button before he could think properly. The line rang once. His knee bounced uncontrollably against the edge of the couch. Then the call connected. “Hello?” A woman’s voice strained beneath the surface. Matthew stood up immediately. “Hello. Good evening.” “Good evening.” “This is Matthew.” “I know.” There was a pause. As though both of them understood the weight of this conversation before either had fully stepped into it. Matthew swallowed hard. “You said you wanted to t
The apartment was quiet in the kind of way that made every small sound feel intrusive.The ticking clock above the television.The hum of the refrigerator is somewhere behind the kitchen wall.The soft tapping of Matthew’s fingers against the keyboard resting on his lap.He sat slouched into the couch, laptop balanced carelessly over one knee while half-finished documents glowed against his tired face. Numbers blurred together on the screen. Emails remained unanswered. A spreadsheet sat open for nearly twenty minutes without a single adjustment.His eyes burned. Every few seconds, his attention drifted back toward the phone, lying face down beside him.He rubbed his hand over his jaw and forced himself to focus on the laptop again.A payment schedule and outstanding balances.Remaining debt after the partial loan settlement.He exhaled slowly and leaned back, staring at the ceiling for a moment.The apartment he had rented barely looked lived in. Two suitcases still sat unopened near
Rain pressed gently against the windowpanes. The sound came in uneven taps, quiet enough to disappear beneath the sharp beeping of the monitor beside Ava’s bed. She shifted again. A strained breath escaped her mouth before she could stop it, her fingers curling tighter around the edge of the blanket stretched across her stomach. Sweat clung to the side of her neck despite the cold air in the room. Every few minutes, another wave came, twisting through her abdomen so violently it left her jaw trembling afterward. Grace stood beside the bed holding the clipboard the doctor had handed her moments ago. The paper shook slightly in her hands. “Ava…” she whispered. Ava closed her eyes briefly, breathing through another stab of pain. Her lashes pressed against damp skin before she looked up again. “Please don’t start crying.” “I am trying not to.” Grace pulled the chair closer and sat beside her, the unsigned form resting on her lap. Her eyes moved helplessly between Ava’s f
The afternoon had gone strangely quiet. Rain tapped softly against the windows of Grace’s house while the television murmured faintly in the background, forgotten beneath the weight of paperwork spread across the dining table. Ava sat hunched over her laptop, one hand pressed against the side of her stomach as she stared at the numbers on the screen without truly seeing them. Grace walked in carrying two cups of tea and paused when she noticed the tension locked across Ava’s shoulders. “You have been sitting there for nearly three hours,” she said gently, setting the mugs down. “At least drink something.” Ava blinked slowly and rubbed her forehead. “I will.” “You always say that.” Grace pulled out the chair beside her and sat down carefully. “What did Mr. Cole say this morning?” Ava swallowed. “He said the remaining balance still has to be cleared before the extension closes.” “And?” “And the interest keeps increasing.” Grace sighed quietly. “We already expected that.”
The bedroom smells faintly of his cologne.It lingers in the fabric of the curtains, in the collar of the shirts she hasn’t moved yet. Ava stands in the middle of the room with a pile of folded laundry in her arms, not sure how long she’s been standing there.The house is quiet. Sophie went to bed
The television is too loud, or maybe the house is just too quiet around it.Sophie sits cross-legged on the rug, half-watching some cooking show, half-scrolling through her own thoughts. The laugh track rises and falls in the background, artificial and bright.Ava is curled into the corner of the c
Morning light spilled through the thin curtains of the service apartment, pale and quiet, stretching across the wooden floor in long rectangles. The place still carried the faint warmth of the night before—rumpled couch cushions, the soft scent of coffee beginning to rise from the kitchen.Matthew
Ava didn’t answer.She stood there in front of his desk, hands resting lightly against the edge, her nails pressing into the polished wood without her realizing it. Matthew watched her in that steady way of his — not blinking much, not moving much either. He had always known how to wait her out.Wh







