Se connecterSophia's POVWe stayed joined for a long time after the first wave passed.Ethan’s forehead rested against mine, breath still uneven, one hand curved protectively over the place where the twins moved. The other stroked slow paths along my side, as if he needed the constant contact to prove the moment was real. I could feel him softening inside me, but neither of us pulled away. The quiet of the bedroom wrapped around us—no phones, no messages, no clinic walls—only the soft sound of our breathing and the occasional distant hum of the city far below.I shifted carefully, just enough to feel the slide of him, and watched his eyes darken again.“Still with me?” I asked, echoing the question he had asked twice already.“Always.” His voice was rough, low. “You’re not going to let me rest, are you?”“Not yet.”I kissed him, slower this time, tasting the salt on his lower lip. My hand slid between us, finding him half-hard already, and stroked with the same deliberate patience he had shown me
Sophia's POVThe bedroom door closed with a soft click that felt louder than it should have.Ethan stood in front of me in the thin light from the hallway, completely bare, the same way I was. The curve of my stomach sat between us like a quiet fact neither of us needed to name. His eyes moved over me slowly—shoulders, breasts, the rounded line of my belly, the soft place between my thighs—before rising again to meet mine. There was no hurry in the look. Only the same steady focus he had carried since the clinic, now turned entirely toward me.“Come here,” he said.I stepped into him. Skin met skin. The heat of his chest against my breasts, the solid press of his stomach against the lower curve of mine, the way his hands settled at my waist as if he were still reminding himself how carefully he needed to hold me. I felt the twins shift once, a soft roll, and his palm moved instinctively to cover the place where they moved.“They’re active tonight,” I whispered.“They know I’m here.” H
Sophia's POVThe bedroom door closed with a soft click that felt louder than it should have.Ethan stood in front of me in the thin light from the hallway, completely bare, the same way I was. The curve of my stomach sat between us like a quiet fact neither of us needed to name. His eyes moved over me slowly—shoulders, breasts, the rounded line of my belly, the soft place between my thighs—before rising again to meet mine. There was no hurry in the look. Only the same steady focus he had carried since the clinic, now turned entirely toward me.“Come here,” he said.I stepped into him. Skin met skin. The heat of his chest against my breasts, the solid press of his stomach against the lower curve of mine, the way his hands settled at my waist as if he were still reminding himself how carefully he needed to hold me. I felt the twins shift once, a soft roll, and his palm moved instinctively to cover the place where they moved.“They’re active tonight,” I whispered.“They know I’m here.” H
Sophia's POVThe house was quiet when we got back.Della had already left for the afternoon, the kitchen still smelling faintly of the citrus cleaner she always used, the counter wiped clean, the fruit bowl restocked like nothing in the world had shifted since morning. Ethan locked the door behind us with more force than necessary, then stood there for a second with his hand still on the knob, as if he needed the solid weight of it to keep himself from turning around and driving straight back to the clinic, or to Damian’s office, or wherever the text had come from.I dropped my bag by the stairs and walked into the living room without turning on any extra lights. The late-afternoon sun was already starting to soften, gold sliding across the floorboards in long, tired stripes. I sat on the edge of the couch and pressed both palms flat against my stomach, feeling for the familiar flutter that had become my private proof that everything was still real.Ethan followed a moment later. He d
Sophia's POV"An inconsistency," I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. "What does that mean?"Dr. Mathew held up a hand quickly, reading the panic already spreading across both our faces. "Before either of you spirals, let me explain properly. This is not a diagnosis. This is a data point that needs verification.""Explain it anyway," Ethan said, his voice tight, controlled in the way I recognized now as him holding something back by force."The genetic panel we ran includes several markers used to confirm compatibility and screen for certain inherited conditions," Dr. Mathew said, folding his hands over the folder. "One of those markers is typically used to help establish biological paternity, mostly for medical record purposes, tracking family history for the children's future care. In your results, that marker returned inconclusive. Not contradictory. Inconclusive.""What's the difference?" I asked."Contradictory would mean the data actively ruled Ethan out as the biologica
Sophia's POVTwo weeks had passed since the board meeting, and the house had settled into something close to normal again."You're glowing," Della said one morning, setting a plate of fruit in front of me at the counter. "Pregnancy suits you.""Everyone keeps saying that. I mostly just feel like I can't tie my own shoes anymore.""That's part of the glow."I laughed, and Della moved back toward the stove, humming under her breath, the easy rhythm of the house carrying on around us the way it had for the past two weeks, no reporters camped outside, no Penelope showing up uninvited, no calls from lawyers or board members disrupting the quiet.Ethan appeared a few minutes later, already dressed for the office, though he'd been keeping his hours shorter lately, something he credited to Della's cooking and something I suspected had more to do with wanting to be home in time for dinner."Morning," he said, pressing a kiss to my temple before reaching for his coffee. "How are my girls today?







