로그인Ethan'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
Maya’s povI started noticing changes in Ethan after he asked about Lena for the first time but I convinced myself it was temporary because memory recovery is unpredictable and doctors warned me months ago that frustration would come before progress. I held onto that explanation longer than I should have.Now I am not sure I believe it because frustration and suspicion are different things. Ethan has become suspicious the way he watches me lately reminds me too much of the man he used to be before the explosion and that terrifies me more than I want to admit because the old Ethan noticed details.I parked outside the clinic gripping the steering wheel while rain hit the windshield steadily. The appointment had been scheduled weeks ago as one of Ethan’s routine evaluations but I asked to come alone because there were things I needed answered.The neurologist greeted me politely and led me toward his office. "How has he been?" he asked after sitting down.I lowered my eyes briefly befor
Lena’s POVMaya doesn’t rush she stands there in front of me las if she has all the time in the world like nothing outside these broken walls matters and like no one is coming. The two men stands a few steps back watching her more than they watch me waiting for her to decide how this ends.My wrist
Lena’s POVI don’t know how long I have been out but when I come back to myself, it’s slow, like my body is swimming up from deep under water and every part of me feels heavy. My head hurts, mymouth is dry, my arms feel stiff and sore and when I try to move them pain shoots up my shoulders and make
Ethan’s POVThe hospital smells like antiseptic and fear and I never noticed how a place that’s supposed to save people can feel so cold. The lights are too bright, the floors are too clean and very footstep, voice and beep from somewhere down the hall sounds louder than it should.They rush Lena p
Lena’s POVMy phone started to ring when I’m halfway through folding laundry and for a second I just stare at it like it might be a trap. That’s what everything feels like lately almost as if I answer the wrong call or say the wrong word, something bad will follow.John’s name appear on the screen







