RyderMonths pass, and the changes are undeniable. Nova’s belly grows alongside Alice’s. Alice has become more irritable lately, snapping at the smallest things. I want to touch her, to hold her close, but these days she flinches if I even graze her shoulder. She huffs, rolls her eyes, or mutters complaints under her breath. She’s a storm coiled in a human frame, and pregnancy only seems to have sharpened the edges.I stand outside the cabin where she’s pacing, arms crossed over my chest. Her feet kick at the gravel in a rhythm I can almost feel under my boots. “Alice,” I call quietly, “can I—”She spins on me, eyes flashing. “Can you what, Ryder? Touch me? Hug me? I’m fine. Really. I don’t need you hovering over me every second.”I take a slow step back, hands raised slightly in surrender. “I just thought maybe—”“Maybe what?” she cuts in, voice sharper now, “You thought I’d let you baby me again? I’m pregnant, not fragile.”I bite back the words that want to come out, the ones about
Last Updated : 2026-02-27 Read more