INICIAR SESIÓNBella POVMy head snapped around to look at him. "You talked to him? Why would you do that after what he did?""Because I love you, and I have lived long enough to know how easily pride can destroy a family," Sebastien replied. "He told me the whole truth. He didn't make excuses for himself. He is a broken man sitting in that hotel room right now.""He let that woman get close to him, Dad," I whispered, tears burning the backs of my eyes. "He stayed there for too long. He hid it from me.""He did," Sebastien agreed, nodding slowly. "He made a terrible mistake by letting a problem worker into his personal space. But he stopped it, Isabella. He threw her out, and he told you the truth. Please, listen to your father. Do not allow a stranger like Nadina to step in and destroy your marriage.""It hurts so much," I confessed, a tear finally slipping down my cheek. "The distance between us felt so vast even before he left.""Marriage is not a straight line," Sebastien said gently, wiping my
Bella POVI always give myself three days. It is the exact amount of time I need to get from the first shock of bad news to a place where I can actually think. I missed Caleb terribly, but at the same exact time, I was so incredibly angry with him.I kept functioning because my family needed me to. Victor needed me steady, Tom needed to see his mom was okay, and Grace needed me present. I took the nursing checks, handled the feeding schedules, and managed everything without letting the outside world see that I was cracked open underneath.On day one, the heavy glass door clicked open, and Maya walked in smoothly. She was already wearing her yellow visitor’s gown, her dark eyes filled with absolute warmth as she set a warm paper cup of tea and a brown bag of pastries onto my bedside table.She pulled up the vinyl chair right beside me, sat down, and simply looked at me."I brought the good tea from the café downstairs," Maya said softly, breaking the quiet. "And some croissants you wil
Caleb POVThe soft hum of the machines filled the room. Nurse Linda walked in, checking the monitors with a quiet frown. She looked at me, then at Bella’s bed, which was pulled right up against the plastic box."Caleb, Bella," Linda said, her voice gentle but firm. "We need to make a change today. We have all seen the baby now, but Victor needs to rest. He needs less noise and less movement around him to get better faster."Bella gripped the bedsheet. "What do you mean, Linda? I need to be close to him.""I know, honey," Linda replied, placing a reassuring hand on Bella’s arm. "But premature babies are highly sensitive. Every time the bed moves, or people talk right next to him, his heart rate spikes. We are going to move your bed to the other side of the room, twenty feet away. It will give him the quiet space he needs to grow strong."I stepped forward, looking at our tiny boy through the glass. "If it helps Victor, we will do it. Whatever makes him recover quicker."Linda nodded. "
Caleb pov The heavy door of the NICU suite clicked shut behind me, cutting off the soft, rhythmic hum of the incubator and the quiet murmurs of the kids.The hallway was sterile, lit by harsh fluorescent lights that made my eyes ache. I hadn't slept properly in days. The stubble on my jaw felt heavy, and the oversized hospital scrubs felt loose and foreign against my skin. But none of that mattered compared to the crushing weight in my chest.Diana didn't stop at the doorway. She walked a few paces down the corridor, stopping near a quiet alcove away from the nursing station. When she turned around to face me, her arms were crossed tight over her chest. Her grey eyes, so much like my own, were cold and completely unforgiving."What is your problem, Caleb?" Diana started, her voice a sharp, furious whisper that cut right through me. "Look at me. What is wrong with your head?"“Diana, please," I muttered, rubbing a hand over my face. "Not right now. I am going through so much right now
Bella pov The heavy glass door of the private room clicked open the next day.Tom walked in first, his small frame rigid under an oversized yellow hospital gown they had made him put on. His face was completely serious, his jaw set like he was a man on an important mission. Nadia followed quietly behind him, giving me a warm, reassuring nod as she closed the door.Tom didn't say a word at first. He walked straight to the center of the room, stopped, and stared at the plastic incubator."Mom?" Tom whispered, his grey eyes wide as he looked at the tiny baby inside the box. "Is that baby?""Yes, sweetie," I said, leaning forward in my bed. "Come closer. You can look at him through the glass."Tom took three very careful steps forward, keeping his hands tightly glued to his sides. He leaned his forehead near the plastic, his breath fogging up the surface. "It is so small, Mom. It looks like a little mouse.""He's a premie, Tom. He came a little early," I explained softly. "But he is ver
Bella pov "How long until I can see him?" I asked, my voice trembling as the adrenaline started to drain from my system."Give us about an hour to get him settled in the NICU and get your vitals stable," the nurse by my head replied, gently smoothing my hair back. "The anesthesia is going to make you feel very cold and shaky in a few minutes. That is completely normal. Just close your eyes and let us take care of you."I nodded weakly, my eyelids suddenly feeling like lead. The bright lights overhead blurred into long streaks of white as they moved me from the operating table to a rolling gurney.The transition was a fog of warm blankets, passing hallways, and the rhythmic beeping of a new monitor. True to the nurse's word, a deep, violent shivering took over my body the moment I hit the recovery room. My teeth chattered so hard my jaw ached, and my muscles clamped tight as the surgical drugs began to wear off.A nurse stayed by my side the entire time, checking my blood pressure ev
Bella POVThe morning after my breakdown, I woke up with swollen eyes and a pounding headache. Maya was already in the kitchen making coffee when I emerged, and she took one look at my face before sliding a mug across the counter."You look like hell," she said bluntly."I feel worse." I wrapped my
Caleb POVThree cracked ribs and a laceration requiring eight stitches — that was what the doctor told me, and Bella had opened her eyes just long enough to tell the nurse she didn't need that much fuss before the sedative pulled her back under. They let me stay with her after. I dragged a chair t
Bella POVThe message came through my business contact line, which was why I almost didn't question it.Re: Singapore acquisition — potential whistleblower with documentation on Richard Hart's shell company activity. Can only meet in person. Time sensitive. Tonight, 8 PM, 14 Crane Yard (warehouse d
Bella POVThe problem with living with someone you were attracted to was that ordinary things stopped being ordinary.The way he handed me my coffee in the mornings — remembering before I did that I'd switched to one sugar — became a thing I was aware of. His habit of working at the dining table i







