Amara’s POVThe morning came too soon. My eyes had barely closed before the baby’s cries pierced the silence of the chamber, sharp and relentless. I rocked him, whispered to him, begged him in the stillness of dawn to just sleep, but he didn’t. My body ached, my head throbbed, yet I stayed awake with him because who else would?Gilan’s words from yesterday still echoed inside me like a wound that refused to heal. “The baby’s cries are irritating me.” He hadn’t even looked at the child properly since the day I returned from the hospital. Not one glance, not one soft word. Nothing but coldness.How does a man hate his child, we are married so it his baby. He is supposed to be there for the baby? Or maybe it was me he hated so deeply that the baby became the target of his bitterness. My chest tightened as I looked at the small bundle in my arms.His eyes blinked open, wide and searching. “Maybe you’re just hungry, hmm?” I murmured, forcing a smile I didn’t feel. I reached for the bottle,
Gilan’s POVAs I enter my room, the air feels heavier than usual, pressing down on my chest. The tall windows let in the dim golden light of late afternoon, but even the sun seems distant here. I pause by the door, my hand still on the handle, and let the thought settle in my mind like a stone dropped into still water, this is it. This is the last day I will stay here.I can’t breathe in this place anymore. The palace, with its marble floors and endless corridors, has become a gilded prison. I have lived under my father’s watchful eye all my life, and now… now it’s suffocating me. Happiness here is a ghost I haven’t seen in years.I move toward the bathroom, each step feeling like I’m wading through water. I turn on the shower and let the warm water run over me. At first, it’s just heat against skin. But then the heat becomes too much, and my chest tightens. My vision blurs before I even realize I’m crying.I try to stop it, to push it back like I’ve done for months, but the tears kee
Gilan’s POVThe baby had been born. At least, that’s what my mother just told me over the phone. Her voice was bright with excitement, that commanding royal tone as if her words should carry weight in my heart. But instead, they slid off me like water off stone.“I won’t be coming, Mother. That baby is not my responsibility. I won’t come. So just hang up.”That’s what I said, and I meant every word. My voice was calm, almost too calm, because underneath it was a tide of emotions I refused to let her hear. I ended the call before she could answer.Eight months. That’s how long it’s been since I last saw Elena. Eight months of waking up with an ache in my chest, of carrying a thousand thoughts I couldn’t share with anyone. Every day without her has been another layer of emptiness, another reminder that my life lost its color when she walked away.Now, my mother wants me to smile for Amara’s child? The very thought makes my stomach turn. I can’t stand the idea of being tied to Amara any
Amara’s POVWhen I wake up, it’s not because of peace or rest. It’s because my body feels heavy, my mouth dry, and the faint cries of my baby echo somewhere close by. I blink against the dim hospital light, the scent of antiseptic thick in the air. My arms instinctively reach for my child, but they’re empty. Panic surges through me for a second until I turn my head and see the queen rocking him gently in the corner.“You’re awake, my dear,” she says softly.My lips part before my mind even catches up. “Did he come?”The queen’s hands pause for the briefest moment, and that tiny hesitation says more than words could. She shakes her head.“No, my dear. I’m sorry.”Something inside me cracks. It’s a quiet, deep break, not the kind that bursts into screaming or sobbing, but the kind that settles like a cold weight in your chest. The kind that tells you, this is your reality now.I stare at the ceiling for a long moment, my eyes blurring. I had told myself not to hope, but hope has a way o
Amara’s POVThe nurse places my baby gently into my arms, and I feel my entire body sink into a deep, trembling smile. I can’t help it. My lips curve on their own, my chest warms, my heart squeezes. Just as I prayed for every single night, the baby looks exactly like me. The same soft brown skin, the same round cheeks, the same small nose. Even his tiny eyebrows seem to mirror mine. I let out a shaky breath.Finally… finally, I can relax.Earlier, the fear and pressure from dear, overwhelming, suffocating, had made it so hard to breathe. But now, looking at my baby’s tiny face, I know I have nothing to fear anymore. He is here. My blood. My flesh. My victory. My child will grow up in the palace, and no one can take that away from me. It feels as though fate itself has been fighting on my side, guiding my steps until I reached this moment. Maybe I was always meant to be here.“How are you feeling, my dear?” The queen’s voice cuts through my thoughts. She’s rushing toward me, her gown s
Queen’s POVIt was mid-morning, the sunlight spilling warmly across the palace courtyard, when Amara’s voice pierced the calm.“My queen… I… I think the baby is coming.”I turned to her instantly, startled by the strain in her tone. She was clutching her waist, her face pale, her breathing shallow. Then I saw it, pain etched deep into her features, the kind that no young woman could fake.“So soon?” I stepped forward quickly, holding her elbow. “No, no, Amara… we still have one month before the baby is due.” My words came out sharper than I intended, not from disbelief but from sudden fear.“I don’t know, my queen,” she gasped. “Maybe it’s premature. The doctor said it could happen early.”Premature. The word chilled me. A month too early could be dangerous. I didn’t hesitate. “We’re going to the hospital. Now.”I tightened my hold on her, feeling how unsteady she was. She had been under my care for eight months, and I had grown used to her laughter in the garden, her polite questions