I know you want more than one chapter but I'm just clearing out my house. I'm so tired when I finish one chapter is the best I can do sorry. until next week.
“Some people don’t want peace. They want attention and they’ll burn the room to get it.” By Unknown.It started like any other morning.April sat at her desk, scrolling through reports while sipping lukewarm tea. Neil had just stepped out to prep for the upcoming meeting with finance, one she didn’t need to attend, thank God.She welcomed the quiet after her busy morning. Her head still throbbed from a night of little sleep, and her stomach churned with low-grade nausea. It was likely just the pregnancy. She’d felt fine earlier, but her breakfast had started to repeat on her as the morning wore on. The baby was making itself known.The buzz of the intercom startled her.“Miss Harrington, there’s someone here insisting on seeing you.”April pressed the reply button. “Who is it?” She didn’t have a planned meeting until 11 a.m. with the marketing team.A pause. Then her assistant’s voice returned, a little strained. “It’s your cousin. Porsha Harrington. She won’t take no for an answer.”A
“Sometimes the measure of love is not in words spoken, but in sacrifices made silently, in the moments when no one is watching.” By Unknown.April had no idea how she even got to the hospital.The pain hadn’t been sharp or overwhelming. That would’ve been easier. It was dull and dragging, low in her belly, and unsettling in the way it came and went. It had started right after the incident with Porsha.She couldn’t lose this baby. It would kill Noah. After what had happened to his first child. The pain was still fresh, even though it had happened years ago. For Noah, though, it had only just happened.If something happened to their baby and she found out it was Porsha’s fault, she would destroy her and her family. April was no longer the pushover she had been four years ago.After Porsha had pushed her, she had first thought it was the adrenaline fading. The shock of being shoved and screamed at by her cousin had already rattled her. But then the cramping came. Not strong, not regular,
The silence between them wasn’t heavy. Noah didn’t say anything right away. He just crossed the room, taking a seat beside her on the bed and reached for her hand, his thumb brushing across her knuckles.April let him hold it. Let herself lean a little closer. Her body still felt like it didn’t belong to her. Her nerves frayed. Her head throbbed from the strain of pretending she was okay. They just looked at each other.Noah reached out and brushed a strand of hair off April’s face. His hand lingered along her cheek before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her temple.“You scared the shit out of me,” he whispered.April smiled weakly. “I scared myself.”He leaned his forehead against hers. “Don’t do that again.”She let out a small breath, tears in her eyes. “Not really up to me.”“I know. But still. Don’t.”April turned her face slightly and kissed him. Soft. Slow. It wasn’t a kiss of desperation or apology. It was a connection. Real and quiet.He pulled her gently into his arms, and
“Intimacy is not purely physical. It’s the act of being seen and known for who you truly are and still being loved.” By Unknown.The light seeping through the curtains was soft, filtered by clouds, giving the room a quiet, gray glow.April blinked, adjusting to the new morning. Her body felt heavy, but not in a bad way, mostly just sleepy. She liked being in the warm cocoon of Noah’s body.Noah’s arm was draped across her waist, his chest warm against her back, his breath soft against her neck.She could feel the rise of him against her hip. Morning wood. She grinned. The most innocent of problems. But it stirred something in her, a reminder that she was still here. Still whole. Still wanted. Her hips shifted slightly.Noah groaned.“You’re awake,” he murmured, voice still thick with sleep.“Maybe,” she replied.He nuzzled closer, nose brushing her shoulder. “You’re dangerous when you start shifting like that.”She did it again. “You’re the one pressing against me,” she whispered, a fa
“Some threats aren’t made in anger. They’re made in love. The kind of love that would burn the world to keep someone safe.” By Unknown.Noah didn’t tell April he was going.It was early. He said he was leaving early for a meeting at the office—but he was lying. Not that he felt guilty about it. If he had told April where he was really going, she would’ve tried to talk him out of it. Would have worried, argued, softened his anger.He didn’t want to fight with his wife. He just wanted to protect her.So he got into his car and drove across town, heading in the opposite direction to his office. The streets were mostly empty, the gray morning light making everything look a little harsher. His chest was tight, his hands flexing on the steering wheel. He hadn’t slept much. Not after what had happened to April yesterday.Porsha had pushed her.True, the reason April had ended up in hospital hadn’t been because of the push, but that didn’t matter. The bitch had no right to touch his wife.And
Noah got home first.He hadn’t planned it that way, but a meeting ran short, and he found himself pulling into the driveway an hour earlier than normal. It wasn’t even properly dark yet. The brownstone looked quiet from the outside, the porch light just flickering on with the motion sensor.He shut the door behind him and leaned against it for a second, exhaling slowly.He still hadn’t told her.Four days.Four days of smiling and kissing her forehead and pretending he hadn’t threatened to destroy half her family behind her back. The guilt sat heavy on his chest, a slow, grinding weight he couldn’t shake off.Noah ran a hand through his hair. It had felt right at the time. It was right. David and Porsha had needed to hear it. Needed to be scared. But it didn’t change the fact he should have told April. Not because he thought she’d be angry. She probably wouldn’t be. But because this… them… was supposed to be built on trust now. No more secrets. No more half-truths, even if they were me
Noah kicked the bedroom door shut with a soft thud, never loosening his hold on her. April giggled against his mouth, her hands fisting in the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer, her body molding to his.He didn’t rush. He kissed her slowly, deeply, his tongue teasing her lips until she opened for him, tasting her with a hunger that simmered beneath the surface. His mouth devoured hers, coaxing, teasing, claiming. Every stroke of his tongue was a promise: tonight, he was going to worship her.April whimpered softly, pressing into him. Her scent surrounded him, sweet and clean, a heady mix of her shampoo and her skin. He couldn’t get enough.Noah’s mouth traced the corner of her lips, down the line of her jaw, savoring the faint taste of her skin. He pressed kisses to the hollow beneath her ear, nipping lightly at her earlobe, feeling her shiver in his arms.“Noah,” she breathed, fingers sliding up into his hair, tugging lightly.He growled low in his throat, hands sliding to the b
The morning light spilled lazily across the bedroom, catching on the mess of tangled sheets and bare skin. Noah stirred first, blinking against the soft gray light filtering in through the curtains. He shifted, his body deliciously sore, and smiled when he felt April tucked against him, her hand splayed possessively across his stomach.For a long moment, he just lay there, breathing her in. Her scent clung to the sheets, warm and sweet, threaded with the faintest trace of last night’s passion. His chest tightened, a slow ache he welcomed. She was here. She was his.He tilted his head, pressing a kiss to her hairline. April murmured something incomprehensible, shifting closer, her thigh sliding up to hook over his hip.“Careful,” he whispered against her temple, amusement threading his voice. “Unless you want a round two before breakfast.”April cracked one sleepy eye open, her mouth curving into a wicked smile. “And miss food? Never.”Noah chuckled, sliding out from under her carefully
The Harrington estate looked every bit its celebrated grandeur, the perfect location for Noelle’s second birthday. Hydrangeas bloomed like inverted fireworks along the gravel driveway, and the long white portico, where April had played hide-and-seek as a child. They came here as often as possible.April stood at the threshold of the great hall, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear and surveying the guests milled between lawn games and picnic blankets, champagne flutes balanced like trophies in their hands. The kids had clowns and fairies for entertainment. There was just something creepy about clowns, so April didn’t get too close.Noah emerged from the house behind her, hands full of Noelle’s birthday presents—stacks of pastel-wrapped boxes that threatened to tumble tied with silk ribbons. He met April’s eyes, offering a tired but triumphant grin. “Ready?”She took one of the parcels. “Born ready.”He tousled her hair, then turned to navigate a rogue bubble floating across th
Birth DayThe moment April’s water broke, it sounded like someone somewhere had popped a champagne cork in slow motion. One second she was leaning over the kitchen island, peering under the sink for the misplaced tea towels; the next, a warm rush spattered onto her sweats and the tile floor.Noah was standing behind her, refolding April’s neatly laundered burp cloths into an ever-dwindling stack of hospital-bag items, and jumped so hard he knocked the cloths—and his coffee—off the counter. The mug shattered at their feet.“April?” he barked, eyes wide as saucers.“Yep,” she said, voice calm but edged with adrenaline, “that was my water.” It explained the back pain she had been getting all day.Noah blinked at the puddle. “Your… what?”She bit back a laugh. “My water, Noah. That water.”He tossed the hospital tote onto the island, sent half the contents spilling to the floor. “So… do we panic? Is that what we do?”She shoved aside her panic and reached for his face. “No, Chef, we don’t
For the night‑shift nurse, the arrangement was unacceptable. She pushed the door open for the fourth time, shoes squeaking on linoleum, her clipboard braced like a shield. Noah woke up the minute the door started opening.“Mr. Crawford, you’re going to have to use the visitor’s chair. It’s policy. Patients need room to turn safely.”Noah’s gruff whisper carried a quiet threat. “She is turning safely around me.”April stirred, IV line rustling, voice sleep‑rough. “It’s fine… we’ll both fit.”“It’s really not,” the nurse insisted, but her resolve faltered under Noah’s unblinking stare. He looked like a wolf someone had tried to leash overnight—hair a mess, dress shirt wrinkled, jaw covered in stubble—and sexy as hell.Finally, the nurse scribbled an irritated note, muttered something about lawsuits, and retreated. Noah exhaled only when the door clicked shut.“Sorry,” April murmured.He kissed her temple. “Let her file whatever report she wants. I’m not parking my ass in a plastic bucket
“Move! Hugo, you’re driving.”Noah’s roar bounced off the alley walls as he scooped April into his arms—trembling limbs and all—and bolted for the car. He wasn’t waiting for the EMTs; they’d look after Kayla first. While he understood Kayla had been shot, the bitch had kidnapped his pregnant wife. If anything happened to April or the baby because of today, he’d kill that fucking crazy bitch himself… no police protection would stop him.Brody jogged after him, radio crackling in one fist. “Crawford, I still need a statement before you go anywhere. This was a shooting.”“Statements can fucking wait.” Noah slid into the back seat, April cradled sideways on his lap, her belly shielded by his forearm. “My wife comes first. I’m taking her to the hospital to be checked over, and unless you’re arresting me, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”Brody planted a hand on the door. “We have protocols—”Noah slammed the door with his free hand, not replying. Hugo gunned the engine the second it l
Traffic and streets blurred around her. April’s grip hurt on the wheel. Kayla sat rigid beside her, pistol hidden below dash level, arm braced on the door like she was part of the upholstery now.“Take the next exit,” Kayla rasped.April’s mouth was desert‑dry. “That dumps us into Tribeca. Foot traffic’s heavy—”“I said exit.”She obeyed, the SUV shuddering across the chevrons onto Harrison Street.Think. She needed to think. She knew Noah would save her.But maybe Noah was still at his desk at the office and wouldn’t be coming to save her. Maybe she was on her own.For the first time, she felt butterflies in her stomach—the baby. “Hang in there, little one,” she whispered under her breath, too quiet for Kayla to catch.“Keep your eyes ahead,” Kayla snapped, her voice fraying, raw around the edges. “No sudden moves.”April swallowed. “Are we just going to keep driving circles until we run out of gas?”Kayla’s gaze flicked to her belly, then away, jaw working. “We’ll stop when I’m ready
Neil didn’t even hear the car at first—his mind was on the reports he’d left in the back seat of his SUV. He stepped out of the elevator onto Level B of the underground carpark, digging in his pocket for his key fob, when the low hum of an engine caught his attention.A black Audi rolled by, slow. Too slow. He might not have looked twice. But it reminded him of April’s car. The thing that made him go on high alert was the way the driver’s face looked—white. Like a sheet of paper. There was a woman in the car with her in the passenger seat.His blood went cold. Something wasn’t right.April. It was April driving. He didn’t recognize the woman sitting beside her. Disheveled, pale, eyes too wide—wild. He barely caught a flash of something metallic before it was gone. But his instincts screamed.Gun.Neil lunged forward, waving an arm—but the car didn’t stop. He was sure by the time he reacted, they hadn’t even seen him. The car pulled into traffic, vanishing with terrifying calm.He didn’
April pulled her car into the underground parking garage beneath Harringtons, the soft rumble of the engine echoing against the stark concrete walls. She glanced at the dashboard clock. 8:12 a.m. Early, but she liked it that way. Quiet, still, no one around to pull her into impromptu meetings before she had a chance to settle. If Noah had his way this morning, she would have been late.Grinning, she slipped the gear into park and killed the engine. The silence that followed was oddly sharp, too complete. She reached over for her handbag, slinging it over her shoulder, and opened the door, her heels clicking against the floor as she stepped out. The sound echoed off the concrete walls.The moment she shut her door and hit the lock, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.She paused.It was instinct. A tightening in her chest. A shift in the atmosphere that had nothing to do with the cold. She wasn’t alone. Usually, she wouldn’t have minded. It was common for her staff to come and go
Six weeks later.The soft Saturday morning light poured in through the bedroom windows, casting a warm glow over the sheets tangled around April’s legs. She lay on her side, one hand resting over her slowly growing belly, the other curled under her pillow. Beside her, Noah was already awake, propped up on one elbow, just watching her.“You’re staring,” she mumbled, not even opening her eyes.“I’m allowed to,” he said, brushing her hair back from her cheek. “I’m admiring my girls.”She cracked one eye open, giving him a sleepy smile. “You don’t know it’s a girl yet.”He leaned down and kissed her belly. “I have a feeling.”An hour later, they were in the car, heading to the clinic for her second-trimester appointment. April watched the city pass by outside her window, but she was only half paying attention. Her nerves were fraying. It wasn’t that she thought something would be wrong, but pregnancy had a way of stirring up worry even when everything seemed fine.Noah reached over, thread
The front door clicked shut behind them with a soft thud, the sound swallowed by the quiet stillness of the Harrington estate.April’s heels echoed faintly in the empty hall, her fingers still laced through Noah’s. The place smelled like memory, old cedar and roses, polished wood, her childhood. She had loved it here. She was so glad they had renewed their vows in the garden she loved so much.For a moment, the silence felt too big. Too final. Like stepping out of one life and into another. Her dad was gone, but she held him in her heart and this place would always be here.Noah, in his usual effortless way, broke the weight with a grin.“Well, Mrs. Crawford,” he murmured, his voice low, teasing, “you have exactly fifteen seconds to tell me which room we’re sleeping in before I throw you down right here on the marble floor.”April raised a brow, smoothing her fingers up his lapel. “Not the master-suite.”Noah blinked. “Why not?”“It was my father’s room, and I still feel guilty moving