LOGINDAMON T I couldn’t shake it. Even after the hospital warning and Eve begging me to wait, that security footage kept calling my name like a bad itch I had to scratch. The next afternoon, while Eve was taking a nap on the couch, I texted Marcus again. Bring the laptop, I need to see it today. He showed up twenty minutes later looking nervous as hell. “Doc’s gonna kill us if this triggers another episode, man.” “I’ll be fine,” I lied. “Eve’s resting, let’s do this quick before she wakes up.” We set the laptop on the kitchen island. Marcus typed in the password for the secure file and hit play. The black-and-white footage loaded, timestamp from that exact day. At first I didn’t understand what I was seeing. Sophia was standing at the top of the stairs… talking to Eve. Not me, Eve was there, one hand on the railing, looking tense but calm. I wasn’t even in the frame yet. Where the hell was I? “What the fuck…” I whispered. Sophia was gesturing wildly, her face all twisted up like s
DAMON'S POV I woke up slow, like my brain was swimming through thick mud. The first thing that hit me was the smell that sharp hospital mix of antiseptic, old coffee, and plastic sheets. Machines beeped steady beside my head. My skull felt like it had its own heartbeat, pounding right behind my eyes. For a second I didn’t know where I was or why everything hurt so damn much. Then it all came rushing back in ugly little flashes: the bedroom floor, my hands gripping my head, Eve’s scared voice, the ambulance sirens screaming through the city. “Eve?” I rasped, my throat dry as sandpaper. I turned my head and there she was. She was slumped in the stiff chair next to the bed, still wearing the same clothes from last night. Her hair was messy, pulled back in a loose ponytail, and dark circles sat under her eyes. One hand rested on her round belly, the other loosely holding mine even while she dozed. My chest tightened. She looked completely wiped out, but she hadn’t left me, not for a
EVE'S POV I couldn’t sleep worth a damn. The apartment was too quiet except for the fridge humming and the weird little creaks the building made every night. Jessica had left around eleven after hugging me tight and telling me to text her if anything felt off. I’d tried the guest room but ended up crashing on the couch in the living room instead, too wiped out to walk any farther.My mind wouldn’t shut off...Damon’s broken voice, the sound of things smashing in his study earlier, the way his eyes looked when he said he remembered signing the papers. I finally dozed off around midnight, one hand resting on my belly like that could keep the baby calm. Then the crash came. Loud, from the bedroom. Followed by another thud and this awful choking noise. “Damon?” I yelled, bolting upright so fast my head spun. Nothing, just more ragged breathing. I ran down the hall, heart slamming against my ribs. The bedroom door was cracked open. Damon was on the floor next to the bed, curled up
MARCUS POV I sat in my car outside Damon’s building for a solid ten minutes after I left, just gripping the steering wheel tight, staring at nothing through the windshield. My hands were still shaking a little. I’d just dumped the entire truth on him in one big conversation. The doctor had been crystal clear...let the memories return on their own, naturally, but what choice did I really have? He was already getting those random flashes, piecing together ugly fragments that made him look like some heartless monster without any real context. At least now he had the full story, even if it was ripping him apart inside. My phone rang. Jessica. “I assume you heard,” I said, not even bothering with hello. “Eve just texted me, she says Damon’s shut up in his study and she can hear things breaking in there. What the hell did you tell him, Marcus?” “Everything. Sophia showing up again, the fake pregnancy, the stairs, the divorce. The whole damn thing.” “Marcus! The doctor specifically s
DAMON The memories came back in pieces over the next few days. They were not in order and they were not clear. I was in the bathroom shaving when the first one hit. Sophia was crying to me. "Please, Damon. Just listen to me, I can explain why I left." My hands were on her shoulders. "It has been five months, Sophia. You do not owe me an explanation." "But I want to give you one, please." I blinked and the memory was gone. The bathroom mirror showed my confused face with shaving cream still on half of it. That event had really happened. I was sure of it. But I could not remember when Sophia had come back to New York or why I had agreed to see her after she left me at the altar. The next memory came that afternoon while I was reading in the living room. Eve stood in our bedroom doorway with her arms crossed. She looked upset. "You're being cordial her again." "It's not like that, we are just talking." "You have had dinner with her three times this week, Damon. That is not jus
EVE'S POV I stood in front of the mirror that morning, pulling my loose maternity top down over my belly for the third time. It was getting harder to hide how much I was showing now. The baby bump was round and firm, like a little basketball I carried everywhere. Three days after that kitchen breakdown with Damon, we were finally heading to this doctor’s appointment together. My hands shook a little as I brushed my hair. Part of me was excited, the bigger part was scared shitless. Damon had been quiet since that memory hit him. Sophia’s face in the kitchen, the pregnancy announcement, the mug crashing everywhere. He kept looking at me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t solve. I hated it, but I also understood. The doctor had warned me...no dumping everything on him at once. Let the memories come naturally. So I stayed patient, even when it felt like I was walking on eggshells in my own house. “You ready?” Damon called from the living room. “Yeah, coming,” I answered, grabbing my b
EVE'S POVI stayed at Jessica's for three days without leaving her spare bedroom. She brought me food I didn't eat, water I barely drank, and asked questions I couldn't answer.Mostly she just let me be.The first day I slept. Fourteen hours straight, like my body had finally given up trying to hol
I looked at Damon. "Your mother wants to announce Sophia's pregnancy at your board dinner.""She mentioned it might come up naturally in conversation...""There is nothing natural about announcing your son's potential illegitimate child at a business dinner while his wife sits there smiling.""It's
Catherine Sterling didn't call ahead.She never did when she wanted to make a point, and showing up unannounced at ten on a Thursday morning was definitely about making a point.I heard her voice in the hallway before I heard the knock. That particular tone she used when she was speaking to buildin
I noticed the pattern during the week.Sophia's morning sickness only happened when Damon was home.Not during the long afternoons when it was just the two of us in the apartment. Not when Jessica came over and we sat in the kitchen talking for hours. Not on the mornings Damon had early meetings an







