The beginning baby 1

The dim hush of the living room was steeped in silence—broken only by the soft creak of the old wooden ceiling fan above David’s head. At some point, he had changed position. He now sat curled on the edge of the couch, arms wrapped around his knees, staring at nothing yet seeing everything.

Yvonne’s laugh still echoed faintly in his head.

They way she tried so hard. Poured all her attention on him as if afraid to do anything but that.

The scent of her lavender lotion still lingered in the folds of the throw pillows.

Memories clung to every corner like shadows that refused to fade.

And guilt—it smothered him.

He had come, driven by a message from her number—perhaps foolishly hoping for a second chance, a proper goodbye, anything that resembled closure. But the house had been empty.

No Yvonne.

Only the ghosts of what could have been.

His heart ached with a pain he had no right to feel.

He didn’t know how long he’d been there, time had blurred. He had considered leavi