LOGINThomasThe apartment was far too quiet when we arrived.I had imagined being here differently—imagined a small place filled with life, with Kiara moving around, with the babies crying, making noise, filling every corner with something real. I had pictured chaos, warmth, interruptions… a life.But there was nothing.Only silence.Not the kind of silence you look for when you need to rest or think. Not the kind that comforts you. This was a hollow silence—heavy, uncomfortable. It crept into every corner, echoing inside my head, pressing against my chest. Since the moment we walked in, I hadn’t been able to get used to it.The absence of everything was unbearable.The walls felt narrower somehow. The air was different. There was no constant movement, no voices in the background, no footsteps echoing down a hallway. No presence of others, even in quiet moments.Just emptiness.I dropped my backpack near the couch and stood there for a few seconds, not really knowing what to do next.I had
ThomasThe apartment was far too quiet when we arrived.I had imagined being here differently—imagined a small place filled with life, with Kiara moving around, with the babies crying, making noise, filling every corner with something real. I had pictured chaos, warmth, interruptions… a life.But there was nothing.Only silence.Not the kind of silence you look for when you need to rest or think. Not the kind that comforts you. This was a hollow silence—heavy, uncomfortable. It crept into every corner, echoing inside my head, pressing against my chest. Since the moment we walked in, I hadn’t been able to get used to it.The absence of everything was unbearable.The walls felt narrower somehow. The air was different. There was no constant movement, no voices in the background, no footsteps echoing down a hallway. No presence of others, even in quiet moments.Just emptiness.I dropped my backpack near the couch and stood there for a few seconds, not really knowing what to do next.I had
ThomasThe apartment was far too quiet when we arrived.I had imagined being here differently—imagined a small place filled with life, with Kiara moving around, with the babies crying, making noise, filling every corner with something real. I had pictured chaos, warmth, interruptions… a life.But there was nothing.Only silence.Not the kind of silence you look for when you need to rest or think. Not the kind that comforts you. This was a hollow silence—heavy, uncomfortable. It crept into every corner, echoing inside my head, pressing against my chest. Since the moment we walked in, I hadn’t been able to get used to it.The absence of everything was unbearable.The walls felt narrower somehow. The air was different. There was no constant movement, no voices in the background, no footsteps echoing down a hallway. No presence of others, even in quiet moments.Just emptiness.I dropped my backpack near the couch and stood there for a few seconds, not really knowing what to do next.I had
ThomasThomasThe apartment was far too quiet when we arrived.I had imagined being here differently—imagined a small place filled with life, with Kiara moving around, with the babies crying, making noise, filling every corner with something real. I had pictured chaos, warmth, interruptions… a life.But there was nothing.Only silence.Not the kind of silence you look for when you need to rest or think. Not the kind that comforts you. This was a hollow silence—heavy, uncomfortable. It crept into every corner, echoing inside my head, pressing against my chest. Since the moment we walked in, I hadn’t been able to get used to it.The absence of everything was unbearable.The walls felt narrower somehow. The air was different. There was no constant movement, no voices in the background, no footsteps echoing down a hallway. No presence of others, even in quiet moments.Just emptiness.I dropped my backpack near the couch and stood there for a few seconds, not really knowing what to do next
ThomasI never thought loving someone could hurt this much until I met Kiara.I always knew she hadn’t fully forgotten Jake. That truth had always lingered somewhere in the back of my mind, like a shadow I chose to ignore. But I never believed it would come to this. I told myself that if it ever did—if one day she chose him over me—I would be mature enough to understand it. I convinced myself I was prepared.After everything I had been through—the gunshot, the hospital, the constant feeling of standing on the edge between life and death, fighting for just one more day—I thought nothing could hit me harder than that. I thought I had already endured the worst kind of pain a person could feel.I was wrong.This… this was worse. Far worse than the bullet that had torn through my body. That pain had been physical, sharp, immediate—but it had an end. It could be numbed, treated, healed. What I felt now was something entirely different. This pain didn’t have a clear source I could touch or r
KiaraI stayed a few more minutes in the room with the children, rocking the baby until her breathing became calm again. Ada loved her mom, and that made me happy. They were the only ones who could bring a smile to my face in that moment. Blake had calmed down, too, barely moving in his crib, unaware of everything happening in the living room. At least that was something. I preferred that they never felt a situation this tense again.When I was sure they wouldn’t wake up again, I carefully stood and left the room, closing the door softly so I wouldn’t make any noise.I didn’t really want to go out. I didn’t want to step back into the chaos, but I couldn’t use my children as a refuge either. I had to face what was happening. Jake was down there alone with his mother, dealing with a situation I was also largely responsible for.Jake stood in the middle of the room, looking toward the stairs, watching his mother come down.I followed his gaze.Juliette walked to the door, holding a suitc
KiaraAs I angrily made my way back to the maternity ward, a blonde girl approached me.“Excuse me, I don’t want to bother you,” she said, making me stop.“How can I help you?” I asked, smiling kindly, trying to erase the anger from my face.“Are you afraid of elevators?”The question caught me off
JakeTreating her with indifference hurt me more than it hurt her. Seeing the confusion and disappointment in her eyes broke my heart. I tried to bandage the pain by telling myself this was better for both of us, but I knew I was lying to myself.Irina was still asleep when I returned to the room.
Kiara My body was leaning toward his, my hands gripping his leather jacket mercilessly. Jake was kissing me with an urgency that stole my breath, and I responded without thinking, letting myself be carried away by everything I had tried to deny for far too long. In that kiss, everything was laid b
JakeWhen I stepped into the house, something was wrong. There was no music, no lights on, no trace of Irina’s perfume lingering in the air. Just stillness and silence. I set the keys down on the table and looked around, expecting her to appear from somewhere, but Irina wasn’t in the house.My moth







