LOGINAnd so she'd walked away, his words stabbing her ears as they struck home.
"You think you can just waltz in here and play like you're good enough to have my love? You'll never have it, Sabrina," he had sneered, the disgust spewing from him like acid that cut into her heart. Every step was hard as she moved through the grand house now that had become a cage of gilded bars and memories bitter with the poison of anger.
She was lost in this world he created, full of resentment and anger. "Why even bother?" he had shouted at her, his face distorted in rage as she tried to reach out to him. "You're just a reminder of everything I hate about my life!" Yet still, she gave in . Deep down, there was still some love from her side of his body that seemed mutually less, but still true love between two souls. She had still not given up. Still catching for breath, "I'm not giving up on you," she could still stare at tear-stained mascara and tears, and hurt etched upon her face staring back from the mirror. But still, he came rushing into the room, eyes blazing red as if in anger. "What do you want here, Sabrina?" he hurled, his words filled with disdain. "Didn't I make it clear that I didn't need you in my life at all?" She stood there, unbroken by him even though he was angry at her. "I want to know you, Benedict. Why do you always keep me away? Do you understand me? he laughed cruelly, the sound echoing off the walls. You think you can just cozy up to me and make everything all right? You're living in a fantasy. Her heart sank, the weight of his words crushing her. "I love you, Benedict," she pleaded, her voice shaking. "Can't you see that? His face went ice cold and stepped closer. "Love? You do not even know what this word is, do you?" He spat his words at her. His eyes had turned dark with the venomous poison of rage. "This marriage is not a fairy tale; it's prison and you are the warden." That's when she was hit with the accusation. She was left for breathless. "I did not want this! I wanted for us to be happy," she countered, trying to keep all her anger locked inside as she could. "But you keep shutting me out!" He sneered in his disgust. "Happy? With you? That's ridiculous, Sabrina. “You have turned my life into a nightmare. Every single day with you is a reminder of everything I've lost.” His words cut deep into her, like the knife which darts straight in. His words hurt so harshly that she felt as if her chest was about to constrict, and tears welled up to spill over from her eyes. It was as if the weight of his disdain was crushing her spirit. “I never wanted to be a source of pain for you,” she choked out, her voice trembling. He gave a glare so full of venom and was so intense that she didn't know how to even react. She was too small under his glare to say words. "I just wanted to love you," she whispered with the pain that had built deep inside of her heart. Feeling utterly defeated, she took a shaky breath. “Why can’t you see the love I have for you?,I am not your enemy! I didn't make you marry me. I only want to reach you!" He leaned back, a wicked smile crossing his face. "Reach me? Save me? You think I need saving, Sabrina? I don't. I need you to disappear.". "Why hate me so much?" she wailed, her voice gradually filled with the pain that came out of it. "What did I do to deserve this?" He looked at her, a flicker of something in his eyes—regret?—but it vanished quickly. "You're not worth my time. You're a mistake I have to endure. The sooner you accept that, the better for both of us." The weight of his contempt suffocated her spirit. "You're wrong. I'm not a mistake. I'm your wife," she insisted, her voice breaking. "I deserve more than this." He laughed, a bitter sound that filled the space between them. "You think you deserve something? Just because you wore a pretty dress and said 'I do'? You're delusional." He said, with every word he thrust the wedge into her heart, but she would not give in and tried to be strong. "I am here for you, Benedict. I wish to help you, but you will not let me!" "Help? Do you think you can help me? You are a bloody joke," he spat in her face, venom from his lips. "You could not even help yourself if you tried. She wept, but she rubbed them away quickly. She did not want to look weak. "You don't know me at all and I can prove to you that I can make you love me and I mean it!" she said. "I am more than your wife. I have feelings too!" He came closer to her. His face was inches from hers. His breath was hot. "Feelings? Please. You are just an obstacle, and I don't need obstacles. I need freedom.". Sabrina recoiled at his intensity, the reality of their situation crashing around her. "Obstacle?Then why don't you just leave?" she challenged, trying to steady her voice. "If I'm such a burden, then why don’t you just walk away? Why are you still here?" Her voice trembled, each word thick with desperation. He looked at her, and his gaze turned icy, like the chill of winter cutting through the warmth of a summer day. "Maybe I will. I'll find someone who actually deserves my time, unlike you.". The finality in his words was a gut punch to her. "You think you can just walk away and leave me behind? You think that will fix everything?" "Fix? There's nothing to fix here. It's broken beyond repair," he said with ice in his voice as he turned to walk away from her. "This marriage was a mistake from the start.". Sabrina's heart was broken, his disgust that broke her spirit. "Then maybe you should just do us both a favor and end this nightmare," she whispered, her voice not more than a breath. As he walked away from her, leaving her alone in the oppressive silence, she understood that it was time to steel herself against the pain of losing a man whom she loved. She silently promised him that she would not give up on Benedict, even if her heart seemed like it would break into a hundred pieces. She would fight for him, for them, to face his demons alone.The ninety-five-year-old great-grandmother Wendy BURST inside like a stampede. Eliana shrieked. “OH MY GOD SHE—CLAIMING IT NOW MOVE! ""Oh my gracious baby,"Wendy said with smile on her face.Sabrina burst into tears. “She’s beautiful—oh, sweetie, you did so good Clarisse, darling” Benedict laid a trembling hand on Saben’s shoulder. “You're a father now, son.” “I know… and I'm terrified.” Teresa Thompson pinched his cheek. “You'll be fine. You've always had a good heart.” Leila Auburn kissed Clarisse’s forehead. “You've given this family a blessing, anak. Thank you.” And finally Wendy Taylor was wheeled forward. Frailer now. Softer. “Let me see my great-granddaughter.” Saben gently laid the baby in Wendy's waiting arms.Wendy smiled small, trembling, full of grace. A tear fell. “And she's an Auburn. And she's a Taylor.”“And she is loved. More than she will ever know.” Then Wendy whispered: "Welcome to the world, little one." You were born into a family of fire… and love. She
Nine….Eight…The air felt electric.Seven…Six…Eliana was already crying.TwoSaben and Clarisse popped the balloon together.A cloud of shimmering pink exploded into the air.Time stood still.A girl.A daughter.A little princess.Saben fell to his knees, his face in his hands as he openly sobbed-unrestrained, overwhelmed.“A… a girl,” he choked, laughing through tears. “My daughter…”She knelt before him and took his face between her hands. “You’re going to be such a good father, my love.”He kissed her-desperate, full of wonder.Eliana screamed so loudly that Isla copied her.“A GIRL! A GIRL! OH MY GOD—CLARISSE, YOU'RE HAVING A MINI YOU!!!”Everything was perfect.She even cried because Saben breathed “too loudly.”But Saben?Saben became a soldier.He banned heels, banned stress, banned cold drinks, and banned anything with "even a millimeter of danger", as Eliana described it.He even glared at an inoffensive office chair because it "looked unstable."“It has wheels,” Saben sa
"I love you, Clarisse."She smiled, her eyes shining with tears.“And this baby,” he added, his voice shaking a little, “is the best gift you’ve ever given me.”She wrapped her arms around him and let her tears fall.And for the first time since she took the test…She wasn't afraid anymore.Not with Saben holding her.Not with their family cheering them on.Not with a new life growing between them.Tomorrow would be different.Tomorrow they would start their journey of becoming parents.A week later, Clarisse lay on the bed in the clinic, cold gel on her belly sending shivers up her spine.Saben refused to sit.He stood right beside her, holding her hand with both of his, as if letting go for even a second might put her in danger.“Ready?”Clarisse nodded, her breath trembling.The wand slid across her stomachA second later, a soft rapid thump-thump-thump-thump filled the room.Clarisse gasped.Saben's hand spasmed in hers.The doctor flipped the screen.Time froze.There-on the scre
Saben lowered his forehead to hers.“You're everything,” he whispered.“You and this baby… you're everything.”Clarisse cupped his jaw, her thumb stroking the stubble she adored.“We are going to be parents.”His breath shuddered, half a laugh, half incredulity.“We are.”Then he kissed her.Not the hungry, desperate kind they shared in private.But slow. Reverent.A promise sealed with warmth, trembling joy.Their baby.Their dawn.Their forever.And quietly, in a voice only she could hear, he said:"Our family starts now."Clarisse put both hands over her mouth, crying silently, as he rose and wrapped his arms around her.She nodded, wiping away her tears.“Yes. Let’s go home.”The family gathered together in the living room:Sabrina, classy and radiantBenedict crossed his arms, but as he watched his kids, he softened.Eliana, bouncing baby Isla on her kneeDamian Wolfe, empathetic husband alwaysLeila Auburn, the ever supportive grandmaTeresa Thompson, the hyper active grandma.T
The day had been ordinary. Meetings. Emails. Coffee.But Clarisse felt… off.A strange flutter in her stomach.Lightheadedness when she stood too quickly.A sensitivity to perfume she normally loved.At first she brushed it off.Jet lag.The first week back at work.Too many late nights with my husband.But as she sat at her desk, hand pressed over her abdomen, a sudden wave of dizziness washed through her soft but unmistakable. The world steadied a second later, yet something inside her didn’t.Zina walked past her office and paused.“You okay, Mrs. Thompson? You look a little pale.”Clarisse forced a smile. “Just tired.”Zina nodded and left, but the comment stayed with her.Clarisse touched her stomach again.Tired…Yes. But… also… different.A nervous pulse flickered through her chest.Her period.Late.Her hands trembled.“Oh my god…”She stood quickly, almost knocking over her chair, grabbed her bag, and rushed to the restroom. She locked herself inside the last stall and sat do
They finally reached the car, and as they drove away from the airport, the familiar sights of Los Angeles welcomed them back. Saben glanced at Clarisse as she looked out the window, a reflective expression on her face, almost wistful.She turned toward him, a soft but real smile on her lips. "It feels like we've been gone for months, not just a week."He chuckled. "Time does feel different when you're with me."Clarisse's heart fluttered as she leaned to softly kiss him. "I missed you," she whispered, her hand gingerly rested against his thigh. "I missed us, just the two of us."His eyes softened as he looked at her. "I missed you too. But now we're home. For real."They entered the gates of the Thompson estate, the sprawling property sitting in front of them like a beacon of everything they'd built, everything they'd fought for.As the car finally came to a stop in front of the house, a feeling of contentment washed over Clarisse. She wasn't nervous. She wasn't anxious about stepping







