111: Positive

SOPHIAThe moment the front door clicked shut behind us, the composure of the night unraveled.Adrian didn’t wait. His mouth found mine with a force that stole the breath from my lungs. It was hungry and urgent, like everything he’d held back all evening had finally snapped loose. The taste of wine lingered between us, but beneath it was something sharper. Relief. Tension. Something that hadn’t fully let go.My clutch slipped from my fingers and hit the floor, forgotten as my hands slid into his hair, pulling him closer. There was no space left between us, no room for thought.“Sophia…” he breathed against my lips, his hands moving over me, firm and certain, like he needed to

112: Handle this

SOPHIAThe drive to Adrian’s parents’ house felt longer than it should have. I sat in the passenger seat with my hands folded tightly in my lap, watching the city blur past the window while something restless twisted low in my stomach—and it had nothing to do with nausea.Adrian hadn’t said much since we left the apartment. His jaw was tight, his focus locked on the road in a way that told me he was already bracing for impact.“My mother called three days ago,” he muttered finally. He hadn’t told me why we were heading to his parents’ house, and I hadn’t asked. “Said we need to ‘handle this as a family.’”Handle this.As if Christopher’s arrest were an inc

113: Pregnant

ADRIAN I woke before the sun. For a few seconds, I didn’t know why my chest felt so full until I felt Sophia. She was curled against my side, one hand tucked under her cheek, the other resting loosely over her stomach.My hand was already there, too. Like I’d fallen asleep guarding something. Maybe because I was.Pregnant.The word still didn’t feel real. It felt too big for the quiet settling into the room. I shifted carefully, propping myself up on one elbow so I could look at her.She looked peaceful in her sleep. No tension or my parents’ shadows hanging over us. My chest tightened.Yesterday, I walked away from the famil

114: Structure

SOPHIA I woke up to the sound of whispering. It was softer than usual, low and deliberate, like someone was sharing secrets. I kept my eyes closed for a moment, listening.“…and you don’t chew on electrical cords,” Adrian was saying, his voice serious.A quiet giggle followed. I cracked one eye open and saw Adrian sitting cross-legged on the floor beside the bed. Ollie was tucked under his arm like a partner in crime. Both of them were facing my stomach with serious expressions. I almost laughed. Were they seriously talking to our baby? “Are you giving the baby rules already?” I mumbled.“Yes.” Adrian looked up, completely unapologetic.

115: Take care of her

SOPHIA The office felt different lately. Lighter, somehow.Sunlight poured through the tall windows behind my desk, catching on fabric swatches pinned to the board and the fresh arrangement Floral had insisted on placing near the door. White lilies and pale pink roses.“For new beginnings,” she’d said with a wink.Floral herself was perched on the edge of the chair across from me now, legs crossed, her eyes sparkling in a way that told me she had been waiting to interrogate me properly.“You’re glowing,” she announced for the third time.“I am not.” I rolled my eyes, even though a smile tugged at my lips.

Epilogue

SOPHIA The house was quieter than I remembered it ever being. It wasn’t empty or lonely, just peaceful. Sunlight streamed in through the curtains in soft golden streaks, settling over the living room as if it belonged here now. Like it always should have. I stood by the doorway for a moment, one hand resting instinctively over my stomach, as I took it all in. It still surprised me sometimes. How calm things could feel after so much chaos. How something that once felt fragile could become steady.“Mom!”Ollie’s voice broke through my thoughts, followed by the rapid patter of his feet across the floor. He skidded to a stop in front of me, slightly out of breath, while holding up a piece of paper like i