LOGINCharlie Seeing her tucked in that bed with those puffy eyes, I felt the dying urge to reach for her and kiss her and apologize for being an asshole all these years. I had raced here the moment the text came through, barely slept, barely eaten, my mind ran the entire drive on a single track. What was she thinking? What was she feeling? How did I even begin to say what needed to be said to a woman I had failed this completely? She was already awake when I pushed the door open, her eyes found me immediately, and the look in them made me want to turn around and walk straight back out. It was not anger exactly, it was something colder than anger, the particular expression of a woman who had already decided something about you and was simply waiting for you to confirm it. "How do you feel?" I asked, stepping inside, keeping my voice as steady as I could manage. She stared at me. "What do you want?" "Evey, I just…" "Do not!" she ordered immediately, dropping her voice to something
Evelyn My heart still laid fresh from the betrayal, the worst part was Julian trying to cover up for it, making me sound crazy. I opened my eyes to Leo's weight against my good arm, his head tipped sideways in sleep, his mouth was slightly open, and Amanda sat upright in the chair beside the bed with her hands folded in her lap, watching me the way she watched everything, quietly and completely. A nurse came in, with a clipboard in hand and her shoes were quiet on the floor. "Good morning Ms. Hart, you really did take a long sleep, it is morning already." I blinked at the light coming through the window. "Of course it is morning." "I need to dress your wound," the nurse said pleasantly, turning to Amanda, "if you would excuse us with the child." Amanda rose immediately, reaching for Leo, and something moved through me fast and cold. Charlie. What if he was standing somewhere outside this room right now, what if Julian had told him Leo was here, what if he was waiting for exac
Evelyn My heart still laid fresh from the betrayal, the worst part was Julian trying to cover up for it, making me sound crazy. I opened my eyes to Leo's weight against my good arm, his head tipped sideways in sleep, his mouth was slightly open, and Amanda sat upright in the chair beside the bed with her hands folded in her lap, watching me the way she watched everything, quietly and completely. A nurse came in, with a clipboard in hand and her shoes were quiet on the floor. "Good morning Ms. Hart, you really did take a long sleep, it is morning already." I blinked at the light coming through the window. "Of course it is morning." "I need to dress your wound," the nurse said pleasantly, turning to Amanda, "if you would excuse us with the child." Amanda rose immediately, reaching for Leo, and something moved through me fast and cold. Charlie. What if he was standing somewhere outside this room right now, what if Julian had told him Leo was here, what if he was waiting for exac
EvelynImagine my heart racing to the presence of the very man I should shove down a drain, why did it feel different now that he knew about his child?I lay back against the pillow after the security dragged him out and stared at the ceiling and tried to make sense of what was happening inside my chest. The way my heart had moved when he crouched beside me and said those words, you have my child and I will not stop, the way something in me had responded before I could shut it down.I remembered the pain.Three years of marriage where I was never enough, where I gave everything and received carefully measured portions in return, where I left this city broken and pregnant and alone, and Charlie had not looked for me once, not one single time in five years.The rage came back clean and sharp and I was grateful for it.I pressed the call button.The nurse appeared within a minute. "Ms. Hart, how can I help?""I need you to update my visitors list," I told her, "nobody comes into this roo
CharlieSeeing her tucked in that bed with those puffy eyes, I felt the dying urge to reach for her and kiss her and apologize for being an asshole all these years.I had raced here the moment the text came through, barely slept, barely eaten, my mind ran the entire drive on a single track. What was she thinking? What was she feeling? How did I even begin to say what needed to be said to a woman I had failed this completely?She was already awake when I pushed the door open, her eyes found me immediately, and the look in them made me want to turn around and walk straight back out.It was not anger exactly, it was something colder than anger, the particular expression of a woman who had already decided something about you and was simply waiting for you to confirm it."How do you feel?" I asked, stepping inside, keeping my voice as steady as I could manage.She stared at me. "What do you want?""Evey, I just…""Do not!" she ordered immediately, dropping her voice to something flat and
EvelynMy heart still laid fresh from the betrayal, the worst part was Julian trying to cover up for it, making me sound crazy.I opened my eyes to Leo's weight against my good arm, his head tipped sideways in sleep, his mouth was slightly open, and Amanda sat upright in the chair beside the bed with her hands folded in her lap, watching me the way she watched everything, quietly and completely.A nurse came in, with a clipboard in hand and her shoes were quiet on the floor."Good morning Ms. Hart, you really did take a long sleep, it is morning already."I blinked at the light coming through the window. "Of course it is morning.""I need to dress your wound," the nurse said pleasantly, turning to Amanda, "if you would excuse us with the child."Amanda rose immediately, reaching for Leo, and something moved through me fast and cold.Charlie.What if he was standing somewhere outside this room right now, what if Julian had told him Leo was here, what if he was waiting for exactly this
Charlie I decided to work from home, taking the advantage to prepare well for the event since it was only hours away now. "Run it again," I told Davies through the screen, leaning back in my chair, "from the infrastructure segment, and this time do not rush the transition into the projections, y
EvelynLeo walked back into his room from the bathroom with his pajamas on and his hair damp, looking deeply pleased with himself."Oh, cute pajamas," I told him, settling onto the edge of his bed, "Amanda sure listens to everything you say.""She is the best in the whole world," Leo replied with c
CharlieShe was going nowhere with me, all Serena would do there was cause a scene that none of us would ever forget.Serena was still buried under the covers when I slipped out of the bedroom and I closed the door behind me with the care of a man who understood that what was sleeping in that room
EvelynWith the way time was ticking fast, it felt like I had none on my side left.Leo was already on the floor when I pushed his door open, cross legged in his pajamas with three crayons spread around him and a sheet of paper that he was attacking with the focused energy of someone who considered







