บททั้งหมดของ 2 Lusts Can Make A Right : บทที่ 101 - บทที่ 110

MadelynI locked my office door and slid my bag onto my shoulder, already mentally listing everything I still needed to do when I got home. The parking lot was quieter than usual, the late afternoon sun sitting low and warm, reflecting off windshields and making me squint as I walked toward my car. I was halfway there when I heard my name.“Madelyn.”I slowed, hoping maybe I imagined it. I didn’t turn immediately. My fingers tightened around my car keys as the voice came again, closer this time, careful, like he wasn’t sure I’d stop.“Madelyn, please.”I knew that voice. I hated that I knew it. I stood there for a second longer than necessary, debating whether pretending I hadn’t heard him would make me look bitter or just rude. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of thinking he still had that kind of effect on me. He’d been trying to reach me for over a year, calls I never picked, messages I never opened. Running into him like this felt deliberate, even if it probably wasn’t.

LeanaDominic started therapy on a Tuesday morning, pale sunlight coming through the windows, birds making noise in the garden like nothing in the world was wrong. I sat beside him in the car, my hands folded neatly on my lap, watching his reflection in the side mirror more than the road ahead. He looked calm, almost bored, like this was just another appointment, another thing on the list the doctors had given him. But I could see the tension in his jaw, the way his fingers kept tapping lightly against his thigh, stopping and starting again without rhythm.“You okay?” I asked, keeping my voice light.He nodded. “Yeah. Just a headache already. Guess my brain knows where we’re going.”I smiled and reached for his hand, squeezing gently. “It’s normal. They said that. First sessions are always tiring.”He didn’t answer that, just looked out the window as we pulled into the clinic parking lot. The building was quiet, clean, all glass and soft colors meant to calm people down. I hated it im

MadelynThe first thing the doctor warned me about was the dizziness, and he wasn’t lying. It came in waves, sometimes gentle, sometimes strong enough to make me stop mid step and hold on to whatever was closest. Three months passed like that, measured in pill alarms, hospital visits, and days that blurred into each other because my body always felt one step behind my mind. I woke up tired and went to bed tired, and somewhere in between I tried to act like this was normal, like I wasn’t constantly aware of the weight inside me and the risk that came with it.The medication sat heavy in my system. Some mornings it made my mouth taste metallic, other days it left me nauseous enough that food felt optional. I learned which pills to take with crackers, which ones needed juice, and which ones would make my head spin if I stood up too fast. My calendar was full of reminders, most of them medical, the rest work deadlines I refused to let go of even when everyone told me to slow down.Christ

DominicI was stretched out on the hotel couch with my jacket tossed over the armrest and my phone balanced in one hand, half listening to the muted television and half pretending I was resting like the doctor insisted. The conference meeting had drained me in that quiet way that made my head feel heavy without actually hurting, and scrolling through my phone felt easier than sleeping.Leana’s page came up. Muscle memory, I guess. I tapped it and started scrolling.The first thing I saw was a photo from earlier that day. Me. Her. Our son between us, smiling wide like someone had promised him ice cream right after. Leana had her arm around my waist, her head tilted toward my shoulder, hair perfect as always. I was smiling too, relaxed, like nothing in the world was missing.I felt something warm settle in my chest as I stared at it.This is what I always wanted, I thought.A family that looked like a family. Since my Dad treated mum like the bastard he was, mum left him for Alexander.

MadelynIt's a lazy weekend and the supermarket was crowded, not chaotic but busy enough that carts kept bumping into each other and people kept apologizing without really meaning it. Ava walked beside me, pushing the cart while I trailed a step behind, one hand resting lightly on my stomach out of habit more than needed. The air smelled like bread from the bakery corner and I suddenly wanted to eat some… been craving too many things these days. The hum of the freezers mixed with the low chatter of families arguing over cereal brands.“Sit down if you need to,” Ava said for the third time, glancing over her shoulder at me like she expected me to fold in half any second.“I’m fine,” I replied, dragging my feet slightly as we passed rows of baby clothes hung in neat pastel lines. “If I sit down, I won’t get back up.”She laughed. “You’re dramatic.”“I can't even complain about how heavy I feel right now.”She smiled, then reached for a pack of baby socks and dropped them into the cart.