ログインLena's POVPregnancy made nights harder lately because exhaustion settled into my body differently this time and no amount of sleep seemed enough. By afternoon I already felt drained and the baby had been moving almost constantly which usually meant my back hurt by evening.I sat in Ethan's office going through contracts while Eli slept on the sofa beneath a blanket. One of his tiny socks had somehow disappeared again and I already knew I would spend twenty minutes looking for it later only to find it inside one of Ethan's old shoes or hidden under a cushion.Children made strange decisions.The office looked less intimidating these days not because it changed because I had.Months ago walking in here felt wrong like I was touching pieces of Ethan that still belonged to him, but somewhere between grief and responsibility his desk became where I worked and his company slowly became something I stopped fearing.I hated admitting that sometimes because surviving without him still felt li
Ethan's povI spent most of the next day trying to convince myself that overhearing Maya's call meant nothing because people argue and they hide things and maybe Ryan was an old contact of Maya's and maybe the fact that he was in prison had absolutely nothing to do with me. The problem was that every explanation I gave myself sounded weaker the longer I sat with it because suspicion changes the way you look at people.Once doubt appears it spreads and I started to noticed everything now from the way Maya answered questions too quickly whenever I mentioned Lena the way every story about my past sounded rehearsed, almost polished and the way entire years of my life felt empty while emotions remained painfully strong.I remembered love without remembering who I loved I remembered grief without understanding what I lost and nothing made sense anymore.By breakfast exhaustion sat heavy behind my eyes because sleep had become frustrating lately. I either dreamed too much or not at all, and
Ethan’s POVSomething changed after dinner with Maya the previous night I noticed it sometime this morning while standing in the kitchen holding coffee that had already gone cold because I forgot to drink it. The feeling had been there before I woke properly sitting somewhere beneath my ribs like an itch I could not reach, and by afternoon I finally understood what it was.The realization unsettled me more than the feeling itself dor months Maya had been the only certainty in a life built almost entirely from missing pieces. She answered questions I could not answer for myself. She sat through nights where panic arrived without warning and left me struggling to breathe over memories that refused to surface. She explained gaps. Corrected timelines. Filled silence whenever confusion became obvious.Trusting her had become habit and questioning her felt wrong yet recently that wrongness had started changing shape. The villa felt different too.The routines had become impossible to ignor
Lena's POVI used to think preparing another nursery would break me and maybe that sounds dramatic but after losing Ethan there were certain things I convinced myself I would never survive and building a space for another baby without him sat somewhere near the top of that list.I stood outside the spare room holding a box of folded baby clothes while Eli sat beside my feet hitting two toy blocks together loudly. The room had been painted weeks ago after Victor insisted and until now I avoided opening the door not because I forgot because opening it made everything real.Another baby and another piece of Ethan and another child who would grow up hearing stories instead of memories. I took a breath before pushing the door open the first thing Eli did was crawl inside happily like he owned the place already and that made me smile before I could stop it and the realization surprised me.Pregnancy changes strange things and motherhood too.Eli pulled himself up against the crib laughing a
Ethan's POVI woke up angry not irritated or frustrated but actually angry the kind that sits heavy in your chest before your eyes even open for a few seconds I stayed still staring at the ceiling while my breathing slowly settled because the dream still clung to me in a way dreams normally don't.Everything felt too real that was becoming a problem.Months ago the memories came in flashes that disappeared before I understood them but lately things lasted longer although faces stayed blurred but the feelings didn't.I rubbed my hand over my face before sitting up the room was quiet except for rain outside and my chest hurt I hate that I hate waking up with grief and not knowing who belongs to it I closed my eyes briefly and the dream came back immediately.I remembered warmth and soft sheets the feeling of somebody curled against me a woman with dark hair spread across a pillow while early sunlight came through curtains. I couldn't see her face properly but I remembered touching her.
Lena's POVI used to think grief stayed loud I thought losing somebody would always feel the way it did at the funeral or the nights afterward when breathing hurt and sleeping became impossible but I was wrong. The worst part of grief is when life keeps moving because bills still need paying, children still wake up hungry and companies still expect decisions and somehow people look at you waiting for leadership while your whole world feels broken.I adjusted Eli on my hip while stepping out of the elevator inside Carter Enterprises. He was sleepy already and kept rubbing his face against my shoulder while holding one of his stuffed animals.The building looked exactly the same and Ethan belonged in places like this because he was always confident and certain I still felt like an intruder.The receptionist stood immediately. "Mrs. Carter, the board is waiting."Of course they were they always waited now watching and judging wondering if the grieving widow would finally fail I nodded on
Lena’s POVI told myself I was just going to loo that is what I said when I walked into the baby store just looking at the pastel blankets and tiny socks but the truth is from the second I stepped inside I knew I was lying to myself.The place smelled like new fabric faintly sweet and clean mixed w
Ethan’s POVLos Angeles feels louder than I remember or maybe that’s just me.I drive without music just my thoughts, and they are not kind.My hands grip the steering wheel so tight my knuckles ache, my shoulders locked in a tension that refuses to loosen no matter how many deep breaths I take. I
Lena’s POVThe hospital room feels bigger the moment the nurse tells me I can go home as if the walls have stretched while I wasn’t looking and now everything feels open, exposed and too much.I sit on the edge of the bed with my feet dangling over the side staring at the floor while the nurse remo
Ethan’s POVHospitals have a way of stopping time. Minutes feel like hours until I can’t tell if it is morning or night unless someone opens a curtain. I have been sitting in this same chair beside Lena’s bed for so long my body feels stiff in places I didn’t even know could go numb.My mom sits on







