Lahat ng Kabanata ng Intricacies of the heart: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 67

We left Mykonos early, the air still cool enough to sting lightly against my cheeks as Crest loaded our bags onto the ferry. Three days there had felt like a dream layered on top of the Athens dream. A dream within a dream I wasn’t quite ready to wake from. Most of my gifts, the ones too fragile, luxurious, or oversized had already been packaged by the resort and scheduled to ship back to Chicago. Watching the staff wheel out those crates yesterday had made everything feel surreal. My birthday wasn’t just a memory, it was something physical, traveling across continents in boxes with my name on them.Crest stood beside me on the ferry deck, one hand on the railing, the other resting lightly at the small of my back. A quiet claim. A steady presence. His sunglasses hid most of his expression, but I could tell he was watching me take in the last sight of Mykonos, the windmills, the white houses stacked along the slopes, the deep blue ripple of the Aegean.“I don’t want to leave,” I adm

A full week had passed since Greece, our closet now looked like a luxury logistics hub. The last of my shipped gifts had arrived. Boxes. Velvet cases. Handwritten notes from jewelers whose names I couldn’t pronounce. With the obscene amount of jewelries I now owned, I’m pretty sure I could open a small jewelry store. I organized everything, sorted what would stay here, and packed the rest neatly so I could take the pieces meant for Monica and Cherry to the restaurant.When I walked into my restaurant office, carrying two glossy, heavy gift bags, both girls were already waiting, coffees in hand, eyes sharp like they’d planned an ambush. Cherry spotted the bags first.“Ohhhh, what is that?” she asked, eyebrows climbing.“Please tell me that’s not a skincare routine,” Monica said. “Because I can’t emotionally handle another twelve-step product line right now.” I dropped the bags on the table, they thudded loudly. Both of them froze.“Okay,” Cherry whispered. “That’s not skincare. That’s

I did not remember standing up, but suddenly I was on my feet, pacing the bathroom like the walls were closing in. The test sat on the counter, bold and blue and merciless. Crest hadn’t touched it. He just stood by the door, not moving, watching me with a mixture of awe and dread, like he didn’t know whether to smile or step back.I pressed a shaky hand to my forehead. “I… Crest, I don’t know what to do.” It came out harsher than I meant it to, but fear tightened all my words. He approached slowly, like I was a skittish animal. “Sasha. Sit with me,” he said softly, guiding me toward the edge of the tub. But my legs wouldn’t bend. “I can’t decide if I want to have it,” I whispered. “This is a life. This is everything. I—I’m twenty-six. I barely even know how to handle my own chaos, much less—” My throat closed. He didn’t interrupt. His patience made it worse somehow, made my fear feel valid, made the moment real.“I—I mean I knew I’d want kids someday but being an actual mother,” I c

Days had slipped by in a swirl of nerves and excitement, but today I was finally ready to tell Monica. Crest had kissed my temple that morning before work, smoothing a hand over my still-flat stomach, and said gently,“I’ll handle telling the kids. They should hear it from me.”And something about the certainty in his voice, quiet, warm, protective, helped me breathe a little easier. I invited Monica over that evening. She drove down from work, wearing her manager badge like a medal she forgot to take off. Her mood was upbeat as usual. Immediately she stepped in, her jaw slacked.“Oh…” she breathed. “So THIS is what you meant by ‘Crest’s place.’ It’s humongous. I mean, I knew Crest was fancy, but this is next level.”I snorted. “Oh please…” I said, pulling her towards the kitchen. “Come on, help me me dinner.” She paused “What? I’m here to help you make dinner?” “No, but let’s start with that.” She dropped her purse on the marble kitchen island like she’d been personally betrayed