LOGINCiara’s POV Rose went down easier than usual. One last feed, a slow rock in the dark nursery, the soft click of the monitor settling into its steady green glow. When I stepped back into the hallway Cain was already waiting, shoulder against the wall, watching me like he had been thinking about this for hours.“She’s out,” I said.He nodded once. “Good. Come here.”I walked to him. He hooked a finger in the neckline of my shirt and tugged lightly.“Entire evening. Nothing on. Not a single piece of clothing once we close this door behind us.” His voice was low, rough around the edges. “You game?”My pulse kicked. The old instinct to cover, to hide the softer stomach and the stretch marks and the places that still felt unfamiliar, rose fast. I breathed through it.“Yeah,” I said. “I’m game.”He smiled, slow and dark. “Good girl.”I stripped in the bedroom while he watched. Shirt first. Then the soft shorts. Bra. Panties last. The air touched every inch of me. I fought the urge to cross
Ciara’s POV The park was quieter than usual for a weekday afternoon. Tall trees filtered the light into soft patches on the grass. A few joggers passed at a distance. A couple of parents sat on benches further down the path. Nothing loud. Nothing demanding.I pushed the stroller while Cain walked beside me, one hand resting lightly on the handle. Rose was awake, kicking her feet and staring up at the moving leaves like they were putting on a show just for her.My eyes kept drifting to the edges of the path. Old habit. Checking faces. Measuring exits. Waiting for the feeling that something was about to go wrong. I caught myself doing it for the third time and forced my attention back to the stroller. To the way Rose’s hand opened and closed around nothing. To the sound of Cain’s steady footsteps.Present. Not scanning. Just here.Cain noticed. He always did.“You’re doing it again,” he said quietly.“Working on it.” I exhaled. “It’s getting easier. Some days.”He didn’t push. Just kep
Ciara’s POV Rose had been awake for almost forty minutes past her usual nap window. She wasn’t crying. Just alert, kicking her legs, staring at the light moving across the ceiling like it had personally offended her. I sat on the floor beside the play mat and let her.Cain stood in the doorway with his arms crossed.“She’s off schedule,” he said.“She’s fine. She’s not tired yet.”“That’s not how this works. If we keep shifting things, the nights get harder. We’ve been through this.”I looked up at him. “We’ve been through a lot of things. One of them is me following someone else’s rules until I forgot I had any of my own. I’m not doing that with her.”His jaw tightened. “This isn’t about control. It’s about giving her consistency.”“And I’m saying consistency doesn’t have to mean rigid.” I kept my voice low so it wouldn’t startle Rose. “She’s a baby, not a project. If she’s happy and awake, I’m not forcing her down because the clock says so.”Cain dragged a hand over his face. “I’m
Ciara’s PovThe full-length mirror in the first store was unforgiving under the bright lights. I stood in a soft gray sweater and high-waisted jeans that actually closed without a fight, turning sideways for the third time.Cain sat on the small bench outside the fitting area with Rose asleep in the carrier against his chest. He looked up when I stepped out and went still in that quiet way of his.“That one,” he said simply. “Keep it.”I tugged at the hem. “It’s just a sweater.”“It fits you. You look comfortable in it. That’s the point.”Seraphine appeared around the corner with an armful of hangers and zero patience. “Absolutely not. We are not stopping at ‘comfortable.’ I found the good rack. Come on.”She pushed three bolder pieces into my hands before I could argue: a deep green wrap dress, a structured blazer in black, and a pair of wide-leg trousers that looked like they belonged on someone who had her life together.“Seraphine—”“Try them. I’m serious. You’ve been living in Ca
Ciara’s POV Rose woke just after five, the soft, insistent sound that had become the real start of our day. I reached her before the cry could fully form, lifting her against my chest while Cain shifted behind me in the bed.“I’ve got the bottles,” he mumbled, already swinging his legs out.“Stay. I can do this one.”He ignored me, of course. By the time I finished the diaper change he was in the kitchen warming the bottle, hair sticking up, wearing the same sweatpants he’d thrown on at two in the morning. We moved around each other without talking much. The quiet felt practiced now. Not empty. Just known.I settled into the corner of the couch with Rose. She latched easily, one small hand resting against my skin. Cain set a glass of water beside me and kissed the top of my head before disappearing back toward the bedroom to catch another hour. The sky outside was still dark. The house smelled like milk and the faint leftover scent of last night’s laundry.This was the routine. Messy
Ciara’s POV Rose could hold her head up now. She tracked our voices across the room and made these bright, demanding sounds that felt like the beginning of real conversation. The days still blurred sometimes, but the blur had shape. Morning feed. Walk if the weather held. Nap. Therapy on Tuesdays and Fridays. Dinner that wasn’t always eaten cold. Nighttime routine that no longer felt like pure survival.I stood at the changing table one afternoon and realized I wasn’t bracing for the next disaster. I was just… present. That scared me almost as much as the hard days used to.Cain found me there, one hand resting on Rose’s belly while she kicked.“You’re quiet,” he said.“I want to start something.” I glanced over my shoulder. “A weekly photo. Same spot on the rug, same time if we can manage it. And a short letter to her. Nothing fancy. Just… proof we were here. That we noticed.”He studied me for a second, then nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”We started that same day. Cain laid the soft
CIARA'S POV Just when I'm still looking around the dark room and regretting my stupid impulse, he undoes his tie, tossing it aside together with his suit jacket. He strides towards me. He surprises me by sliding one rough palm up my bare thigh fingers trailing until his fingers reach the drench
CIARA'S POV I could tell it was my husband from the way he tilted his head and sharp blue eyes peeked out through the mask and stared intensely at me from across the crowded hall like he wanted to drag me into the nearest dark corner and fuck me against the wall until I forgot my own name. I
Ciara's POV I gulp. My legs are trembling. I'm breathing too fast. I can't look at him and not remember last night how I shamelessly came alive and gosh... My panties are sticky to my inner thighs. He puts his hands around my waist to settle me as he lowers his face to my chin, trailing his
Ciara's POV "Baby, must you go to work today?" I pout at Simon as we stood facing each other in the center of the room. "Of course I have to, darling, and you know that," he says impatiently. "It wouldn't tell well of me to sit at home a day after my dad's birthday celebration." I bit my l







