LOGINI didn’t sleep.Not after the message.Not after the image.I replayed it over and over again in my head until it stopped feeling like something I saw and started feeling like something I understood.The angle.The distance.The clarity.That wasn’t something taken by chance.That was taken by someone who knew exactly what they were doing.Someone inside the house.My fingers tightened slightly around my phone.Because nowThere was no doubt.Not about what happened.Not about what I saw.Not about what I had believed.Flavian didn’t touch her.He was pushing her away.And I had walked outCertain.Certain that everything I had was gone.A quiet knock sounded at the door.I didn’t move immediately.“Fiona,” my grandmother called softly. “He’s back.”Of course he was.I exhaled slowly.Then stood.Carefully adjusting Haven in her crib before stepping out.He was waiting in the living room again.But this timeHe didn’t look like someone asking.He looked like someone finishing somethin
I didn’t touch the messages.Not that night.Not the next morning either.I saw them.Every time my phone lit up.Every time his name appeared across the screen.But I didn’t open them.Because opening them meant listening.And listening meant giving space to something I wasn’t ready to question.Not yet.Haven stirred softly inside her bassinet, her tiny movements pulling me out of my thoughts.I adjusted her blanket instinctively, my hand lingering just a second longer than necessary.She was calm.Unaffected.Unaware.And somehow that made everything feel heavier.Because the world could fall apart around meAnd she would still sleep peacefully through it.A knock sounded at the door.Light.Measured.“Fiona,” my grandmother called softly. “You have a visitor.”My chest tightened slightly.I didn’t ask who.I already knew.“I’m coming,” I replied.He was in the living room.Standing.Not sitting.Not comfortable.Like he didn’t belong here.Like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to.Fo
The morning felt quieter than the night before.Like everything had already happened, and now all that was left was to sit in it.Haven stirred softly in my arms, her tiny fingers curling instinctively against my skin.I watched her for a moment.Memorizing her.Grounding myself in something that didn’t shift.Didn’t lie.Didn’t hurt.A soft knock sounded at the door.I didn’t need to look up.“Come in.”Flavian stepped in slowly.Careful.Like he was aware of every movement he made around me now.He stopped a few steps away.Not too close.Not too far.“How are you feeling?” he asked.“I’m fine.”It wasn’t entirely true.But it was enough.His gaze dropped to Haven.Softening immediately.“She slept?” he asked.“On and off.”A small pause.Then silence.Because we both knew why he was here.And neither of us was pretending otherwise.“Fiona,” he started.I looked up at him.Not angry.Not emotional.Just… steady.“I need you to listen to me.”I didn’t respond.Didn’t encourage it.Bu
The hospital lights were too bright.Too sharp.Everything felt too loud, too fast, too overwhelming.Voices moved around me.Doctors.Nurses.Instructions being thrown back and forth like I wasn’t the center of it.Like I wasn’t the one breaking apart on that bed.“Breathe, Fiona.”I tried.God, I tried.But every breath felt shallow.Every second stretched too long.Pain tore through me again, stronger than the last.I gripped the side of the bed, my knuckles turning white.“I can’t,” I gasped.“Yes, you can,” a nurse said firmly. “You’re doing well.”It didn’t feel like it.It felt like everything was slipping.Like I was losing control of my own body.“Where’s the father?” someone asked.“On his way,” another voice replied.My eyes snapped open.“No.”The word came out sharper than I expected.The room stilled for half a second.“He’s been informed,” the doctor said calmly.“I said no,” I repeated, my voice shaking now. “I don’t want him here.”A pause.Professional.Measured.“We
I didn’t sleep.Not properly.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again.That room.That moment.That image I couldn’t unsee no matter how much I tried to reason with it.So I stopped trying.I lay there instead, staring at the ceiling, my body still but my mind running in circles that never quite closed.Susan had checked on me twice.Kate once.Neither of them pushed.
Downstairs, Cheryl stood exactly where he expected her to be.Composed.Untouched.Like the night had gone exactly the way she wanted.He walked straight toward her.Didn’t stop.Didn’t slow.“Where is she?” he asked.Her gaze lifted slowly.“Who?”His expression didn’t change.“Celeste,” he said.A small pause.
At thirty-seven weeks pregnant, getting ready for date night felt less like romance and more like an Olympic sport.I stood in front of the mirror, one hand pressed into the small of my back, the other resting instinctively over the curve of my belly.“You’re doing great,” I muttered to my reflecti
The next morning came too quickly.Like I was moving through someone else’s life.I smiled when I needed to. Nodded at the right moments. Flavian didn’t say anything.Maybe he didn’t notice or maybe he noticed everything and chose not to push.He kissed my forehead before leaving, his hand lingeri
Three months later.Normal had a different meaning now.Life had settled into something steady not perfect, but steady.Sean had not resurfaced.No calls. No sightings. No shadows creeping into her days.Time had moved anyway.And so had she.She was back at work. Back to routines that once felt im
The city glittered beneath them like a living constellation.Fiona stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of the penthouse suite, her arms wrapped loosely around herself as she stared at New York unfolding through glass. Behind her, she felt him before she heard him.“You’re thinking too loudly,” he







