EMILIA POVI heard voices drifting from the living room, the low, jagged rumble of Axel’s voice and a softer, melodic tone that felt like a ghost from my past. Getting out of bed at twenty-two weeks was no longer a simple movement; it was a feat of engineering. I rolled to my side, pushed off the mattress, and felt the familiar, heavy pressure in my lower back. My skin felt tight, stretched to its limit by the life growing inside me.I waddled toward the living room, my hand instinctively supporting the weight of my bump. When I turned the corner, I stopped dead.Isabella.She looked thinner, her face etched with a new exhaustion, and a jagged scar traced a path across her neck. But her eyes were the same."Isabella?" My voice cracked.She turned, and for a second, her stoic mask shattered. A weak, tearful smile broke through. "Hello, Emilia."I moved as fast as my swollen ankles allowed and pulled her into a hug. She gasped, wincing as her s
Last Updated : 2026-05-11 Read more