MasukAnna sat cross-legged on the quilt, staring out into the night, a thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She reached for another tissue from the box beside her and wiped beneath her nose, sniffing as she did.She'd changed out of the loose shirt and shorts she'd worn earlier, trading them for a thin, soft camisole and loose pajama trousers. Since she'd made her way to her room, she'd been resisting the urge to text Leah. To ask how she really was. She'd had to keep reminding herself to be patient. But tomorrow suddenly felt too far away.Tears clung to her lashes, her cheeks still wet. Just as she dropped the tissue onto the small pile of crumpled tissues beside her, a soft knock came at her door. She glanced toward the door, her brows furrowing.The knock came again, soft and hesitant in its rhythm.Elena?Once she'd convinced Gideon to go home and come back tomorrow afternoon, she'd headed upstairs immediately. She was probably here to ask what was really going on. Turning away,
Handsome,This is probably the last time I'd get to call you that. I couldn't text or call you to say this, so I'm writing it instead.I'm sorry.I know you probably won't understand why I'm doing this. I don't fully understand it myself.The past months has been harder than I've let you see. I thought I was getting better. I thought if I went back to normal, kept busy, smiled and laughed when I was supposed to, eventually everything would stop hurting. But it hasn't. And lately, I've started feeling like I'm standing beside my own life instead of actually living it.You keep telling me that we're okay. That losing our baby didn't change us. That what the doctors said doesn't change the future we imagined.I want to believe you. I really do.But every time you talk about our future, I find myself wondering whether I'm enough to be part of it anymore. I hate that I've started thinking that way. I hate even more that I haven't known how to tell you.You have been patient with me. You ha
WE MADE THAT?Anna scoffed for the umpteenth time as she stitched the deep laceration across the shoulder of the man who'd been brought into the ER earlier that morning.Why had she gotten so affected by that? Why had she been stupid enough to give that buccaneer of a man any encouragement?Her eyes narrowed at the memory.Knightmare☺️: It is. Still can't believe we made that.She'd stared at the message for another good thirty seconds before finally typing:Anna: My next doctor appointment is in two weeks.She'd hesitated, biting down on her lip as she debated whether to send the next message.Anna: ...you can come, if you want to.The response had come so quickly, she'd barely had time to regret sending it.Knightmare☺️: Sure. Day and time?Anna groaned low in her throat again. THAT had been her mistake. She'd thought she was simply giving him an opportunity to be present for his child. Instead, apparently, she'd handed Jason Knight an open invitation to become a full-time pregnancy
What was happening right now?Anna stared at the man in front of her as though he'd grown two heads. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact he was standing in front of her right now, refrigerator open, asking what she wanted to eat. Not just that—planning to cook for her.It felt like ages since he'd done that. It felt like decades had passed since he'd stocked her kitchen and made dinner for her. Before everything went to hell. Before he'd said those words.You're dead to me.Let's end this cursed fate between us.Jason raised an eyebrow when she just continued to stare at him.Was he serious?"Are you planning to just stare at me?"Anna's lips parted, her eyes dropping from his. She looked up when Jason sighed."What do you want to eat?" He asked again."Um... anything is fine.""What's anything?""I don't know.""Then think."Anna gave him an exasperated look, crossing her arms again. Jason straightened and faced her fully, one shoulder resting against the refrigerator."Let's
He hated this house.It was driving him insane. Or maybe it had nothing at all to do with the house but a certain pregnant woman who wouldn't stop ruining his sanity.His resolve.He was going insane because they were living together. Because their history was complicated. Because he promised there would be boundaries.Because he shouldn't want her.Yet, he wouldn't stop noticing things about her. The way she talked to the staff. Laughed with Elena. The way she walked downstairs for her morning run, half-awake most times. The way she touched her stomach while running without realizing she was doing it.The east side of the estate was usually quiet at the wee hour of the morning. Jason knew because he'd been using the running path beyond the backyard since he moved in. And on his way back, he'd noticed the faint glow from one of the upstairs windows.Her window.One morning it was on. The next morning, it wasn't. One morning he saw her silhouette. Another morning, there was nothing. He
The first thing Anna noticed on Monday morning was that she was hungry.It was such a simple thing, but after several days of waking up nauseous, she wasn't sure whether to be relieved or suspicious. She sat on the edge of her bed for a moment, waiting to see if the familiar wave of nausea would follow.She exhaled softly when it didn't. "Thank goodness."She got dressed and headed downstairs. The house was quieter than it had been over the weekend. The buzz of Jason moving in had already settled into a new routine. Most of the staff were already moving around, preparing breakfast and getting the household ready for the day. Elena was nowhere in sight, which meant she was probably still asleep—or already downstairs somewhere, fussing over the staff.Anna smiled to herself. She entered the dining room and stopped when she saw a familiar figure sitting at the table. Julian looked up from his tablet."Morning.""Morning."His eyes immediately went to her stomach before returning to her f
The car slowed to a stop in front of the hospital's emergency entrance, the red lights washing over the windshield.Anna was already reaching for the door before the engine died off. Jason's hand on her arm stopped her. She turned to him, her finger still on the door handle—he had a puzzled look o
With a hesitant hand, Anna clicked on the email. A block of dread settled like lead on her chest as she quickly skimmed the email. Subject: Eastwood High — Class of 2014 GatheringHi Anna,I hope you’ve been well.We’re organizing a small reunion for the Eastwood High Class of 2014 and are reachin
The smell hit Anna before the light did. She rolled onto her back with a soft groan, her nose twitching. Something rich… savory… definitely food.She blinked awake, frowning at her ceiling. Her ceiling. She didn’t remember coming back to her room. She remembered the rooftop, Jason’s arm around her…
The door to the rooftop creaked open and Anna stepped out, a folded yoga mat under her arm and Jason's jacket still around her. The cool air brushed against her neck and cheeks, tousling the strands of her hair around her face. She stepped further out, noting how quiet it really was up here, the







