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AmeliaBy late evening, I had managed to keep myself occupied with work, although I couldn't honestly say I had accomplished much. My laptop was open in front of me, and I had been going through emails that required my attention, but I kept finding myself reading the same paragraphs twice because my thoughts would drift back to everything that had happened since the previous night.The twins were fine. I had heard their heartbeats that morning, and the memory still brought a strange mixture of happiness and sadness whenever I thought about it. Nathaniel had been there too, standing beside me as we listened to those tiny, rapid beats filling the examination room, and for those few minutes, everything else had seemed unimportant.Then Blake's face would come back to me, followed by the things she had said outside the house, and the warmth of that memory would disappear almost as quickly as it had come.I was still trying to decide what I wanted to do about Nathaniel when my phone rang.
NathanielBy late evening, I was still sitting in my office with no real reason to be there. Most of the lights in the building had already been switched off, leaving only the faint glow of the city outside my windows, while my laptop remained open in front of me even though I hadn't read a single word on the screen in the past twenty minutes.I was tired of being there, but more than that, I was tired of being away from home.I had spent the entire day telling myself that giving Amelia the space she had asked for was the right thing to do, yet every hour that passed only made me more aware of how badly I wanted to see her. I wanted to walk through our front door and find her sitting in the living room, even if she refused to speak to me. I wanted to hear her voice, see her face, and know that she was safe, because being away from her while knowing that I was the reason she was hurting felt unbearable.My phone rang, and when I glanced at the screen, I saw my mother's name.For a mom
BlakeBy the time I returned home, the confidence I had carried when I approached Amelia's house had completely disappeared.I closed the front door behind me and stood there for several seconds, staring at nothing while the conversation replayed in my mind. I could still hear Amelia's calm voice telling me she would not be leaving her home, and the certainty in those words bothered me far more than anger would have.I had expected jealousy, anger, perhaps even an argument.What I hadn't expected was a woman who looked me in the eye and refused to be intimidated.I dropped my handbag onto the console and walked into the living room, but I couldn't settle. I paced for several minutes before finally sitting down, my fingers twisting together as one thought returned again and again.The DNA test.For weeks, I had managed to avoid thinking about it seriously. Whenever Nathaniel mentioned Ethan, I had spoken with enough certainty to make him believe there had never been any question. I h
NathanielI stood on the hospital steps long after Amelia’s car disappeared into traffic.I had watched her walk away with the ultrasound photographs in her hand, her back straight, her steps measured. She had not looked back. Not once. And in that moment I finally understood how deeply Blake’s visit had gotten to her. It was not only the words Blake had spoken. It was the fact that a woman Amelia had never invited into our lives had walked into our home and spoken as though she had a right to rearrange it.I had spent weeks telling myself I was handling the situation carefully. That I was protecting Amelia by keeping certain things quiet until I had proof. That I was being fair to Ethan, Blake, and everyone. But standing there on those steps, I realized how wrong I had been.Fairness to everyone else had come at the cost of the one person who should never have been made to pay.I returned to the office, but the day was useless. Documents sat in front of me unread. Calls went unans
AmeliaBy the time I arrived at the hospital, I had managed to convince myself that going through the appointment alone was exactly what I needed. I had spent the entire drive reminding myself that I was perfectly capable of handling a routine checkup without Nathaniel beside me, even if some quiet part of me knew that I had never actually wanted to do it alone.I stepped into the waiting area and immediately saw him.Nathaniel was sitting near the windows, his phone resting loosely in one hand as he watched the entrance. The moment our eyes met, he stood.He looked tired, and something about the way he rose so quickly made it obvious that he had been waiting for me."I remembered today was your appointment," he said quietly.I said nothing.His eyes searched my face, but I couldn't bring myself to give him the reassurance he was looking for. Instead, I adjusted the strap of my handbag and walked toward the reception desk.He followed without saying anything.The receptionist confirme
AmeliaI woke exhausted. For a few seconds, I lay still with my eyes fixed on the ceiling while the warmth of sleep slowly left me.My hand moved across the mattress almost without thought, searching for Nathaniel before the memory of last night returned.He wasn't there.I closed my eyes and swallowed against the ache settling in my chest.I had told him to leave. I had told him I needed space, and he had respected it even though I knew leaving was probably the last thing he wanted to do.That should have made me feel better.Instead, I missed him.Mornings without him felt lonely, and I hated admitting that.I turned onto my side and looked at his pillow. It still carried the faintest trace of his scent, and for one foolish moment, I wanted to pull it against me and pretend nothing had changed.Then I remembered what he had done, the nights he had gone to his ex's house without telling me.My eyes burned again, so I pushed myself out of bed before the tears could return. I didn't wa
Rain continued pouring from the sky while Amelia sat collapsed on the pavement outside the house she used to call home.Her hair clung to her face.Her clothes were soaked through completely.But she barely felt the cold anymore.The older woman standing beneath the umbrella looked deeply uncomfort
Amelia stared at the divorce papers like they were written in another language.The words blurred through her tears until she could barely make them out anymore.DIVORCE AGREEMENT.Her hands started shaking instantly.“No…”Daniel leaned back in his chair with terrifying calm.“It’s over, Amelia.”
By the time Amelia stumbled out of Carter Enterprises, she could barely see through her tears.Rain poured heavily from the sky, cold droplets soaking through her clothes within seconds, but she barely noticed. Her entire body felt numb, hollowed out from the inside.Daniel’s words kept echoing in
The house still smelled like Noah.Amelia noticed it the moment she stepped out of her bedroom, and the realization hit her so hard she had to steady herself against the wall.Strawberry shampoo.Chocolate cereal.The sweet powdery scent of the baby soap Noah still insisted on using even though he







