جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 60

EthanNew York was nothing like Los Angeles. The energy was sharper, faster, like the city was always in a hurry to get somewhere else. I stood at the window of my temporary apartment in Chelsea, watching the taxis swarm below, and felt a familiar ache in my chest. I’d been here a week. The gallery show opened in three days. Everything was on track—the paintings had arrived, the curator was happy, the critics had been invited. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was forgetting something. Or someone. At the gallery, the space was called The Brightside. White walls, high ceilings, track lighting that made everything look like it belonged in a museum. My paintings were already hung—a mix of old and new, landscapes and abstracts, and three pieces from the series that had made me famous. The ones of Ava. I stood in front of them now, my hands in my pockets, my reflection ghosting over her face.“You’re brooding,” said a voice behind me.I turned. Leo, the gallery owner, was leaning aga

AvaThe first trimester felt like a secret I was carrying under my ribs.Only Oliver knew. We’d decided to wait—to let the news settle, to make sure everything was okay, to have something that was just ours before the world weighed in. But the secret was heavy, and every day I felt it pressing against my chest.The nausea came in waves. Some mornings, I couldn’t even look at coffee. Other mornings, I craved pickles and ice cream in the same breath. Oliver found me crying in the kitchen once, my hand on my still‑flat stomach, overwhelmed by a feeling I couldn’t name.“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice soft.“I don’t know. I’m happy. I think. But I’m also terrified.”He wrapped his arms around me. “That’s allowed.”“Is it? Everyone says pregnancy is supposed to be joyful.”“Everyone hasn’t been through what you’ve been through.”I leaned into him. “What if I’m not good at this? What if I mess up the way my mother didn’t? What if the baby grows up and resents me?”Oliver pulled back and

Ethan flew home the next day. The flight was long, the seats cramped, but he didn’t mind. He spent most of it staring out the window, watching the clouds drift beneath the wing, and thinking about the card he had thrown away. It wasn’t the card that mattered. It was what it represented: the old Ethan, the one who ran from discomfort, who sought validation in the eyes of strangers, who needed to be wanted to feel like he existed. He had almost kept it. Almost. But the new Ethan, the one Mia had helped him become—had dropped it in the trash.When the plane landed in Las Vegas, the desert heat hit him like a wall. He breathed it in, felt the dryness in his lungs, and smiled. He was home.Mia was waiting at baggage claim, holding a sign that said Welcome back, artist. Her hair was pulled back, her face tired but happy. He dropped his bag and pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her neck. She smelled like coffee and laundry detergent and something floral he couldn’t name.“I misse

The wedding was two weeks away when Tori called an emergency meeting. Derek had been fielding calls from his mother, who was upset about the seating chart. Tori’s mother had RSVP’d yes, which was a miracle, but she’d also asked if she could bring her new boyfriend, which was not. The group chat exploded with opinions. Marcus suggested eloping. Jake offered to run interference. Samira, who had never met any of the parents, wisely stayed quiet.In the end, they decided to keep the seating chart as is and let the drama unfold. Tori texted: If my mom’s boyfriend makes a scene, Derek’s mom can handle him. She’s terrifying.Derek replied: She’s not terrifying. She’s assertive.Same thing.Ethan watched the chaos from his couch, Mia beside him, and felt something he hadn’t expected: contentment. Not the restless, anxious contentment of someone waiting for disaster, but the quiet kind. The kind that came from knowing he had people who would show up.“Are you nervous?” Mia asked.“About what?”

The weeks after the wedding settled into something ordinary. Not the heavy ordinary of waiting for disaster, but the light ordinary of routine. Tori and Derek returned from their honeymoon—a quiet week in a cabin in Montana—and immediately started arguing about where to hang the wedding photos. Marcus and Samira finally hired a part-time nanny for the twins, which meant they could go on actual dates again. Jake started seeing someone new, a bartender named Nina, and for once he didn’t sabotage it within the first month.Ava’s pregnancy progressed. The bump grew from a small swell to something unmistakable. She stopped fitting into her old jeans and started wearing Oliver’s sweaters around the apartment. The baby kicked at odd hours—early morning, late at night, always when she was trying to write. She had abandoned the novel she’d been struggling with and started a new one, something about a woman who learns to trust herself. The words came easier now.Oliver talke