All Chapters of Broken bond, burning desire: Chapter 151 - Chapter 160

169 Chapters

The Weight of Memory

"I dreamed about him last night."He looked up from his coffee. His eyes were tired. He had not been sleeping well either. We had both been struggling since we came back to the house."Who? Viktor?"I nodded. "He was standing at the end of the bed. Just watching me. He did not say anything. He just stood there."He set down his coffee and walked over to me. His hands came up to my shoulders. "It is just a dream. He is gone. He cannot hurt you anymore.""I know. But the dreams feel so real. I wake up and I cannot breathe. I feel like he is still out there."He pulled me into his arms. "He is not out there. I made sure of that. He is gone. You are safe."I pressed my face into his chest. "I know I am safe. But my brain does not seem to know it. My brain keeps telling me that something bad is going to happen."He kissed the top of my head. "That is the trauma. The fear. It takes time to heal.""How much time? How long am I going to feel like this?"He was quiet for a moment. "I do not kn

The Letter that Changed Everything

"I found something in the garden."His voice was strange again. That same hollow sound from before. I looked up from my painting and felt my heart drop."What is it now?"He walked toward me slowly. His hands were empty this time. But his face was pale. His eyes were dark with something I could not read."It is not a note. It is a letter. A real letter. In an envelope."I set down my brush. "Who is it from?"He handed me the envelope. My name was written on the front in handwriting I did not recognize. I looked at him and then back at the envelope."Open it," he said.I tore open the envelope and pulled out the letter. The paper was thick and expensive. The words were written in elegant script."Dear Elena," I read aloud. "I hope this letter finds you well. I have been searching for you for a long time. I am your mother. And I want to meet you."The letter fell from my hands. I stared at the paper on the floor. My mind was blank."What does it say?" he asked. "What is it?"I could not

The Forgiveness I Never Knew I needed

"I want to see her again."He looked up from the book he was reading. His eyes searched my face. "Are you sure?"I nodded. "I have been thinking about it for days. I cannot get her face out of my head. The way she looked at me. The tears in her eyes."He closed the book and set it aside. "What changed? Last week you said you were not ready.""I know what I said. But I keep thinking about what if she dies tomorrow. What if I never get another chance to hear what she has to say?"He walked over to me and took my hands. "Then we will go see her. We will do whatever you need to do.""What if I get there and I cannot speak? What if I just freeze?""Then I will speak for you. I will tell her that you need time. That you are trying. That is all you can do."I looked into his eyes. "You always know what to say.""I just know you. I know what you need to hear."I reached out and touched his face. "Thank you. For always being patient with me. For never pushing me."He kissed my forehead. "I wil

The Life Growing Inside

"I think I might be pregnant."The words came out before I could stop them. We were sitting on the porch. The sun was setting. The sky was orange and pink. He looked at me and his face went pale."What did you just say?"I took a deep breath. "I think I might be pregnant. I have been feeling sick for weeks. I have not had my period in two months. I took a test this morning."He stared at me. His mouth was open. "A test? What did it say?""It was positive. I am pregnant."He stood up so fast his chair fell over. "You are pregnant. We are going to have a baby."I nodded. Tears were streaming down my face. "I am scared. I am so scared."He knelt in front of me and took my hands. "Scared of what? We can do this. We can handle this.""I am scared I will be like my mother. I am scared I will mess this up. I am scared I will not know how to be a good mother."He cupped my face in his hands. "You are nothing like your mother. You are strong and brave and loving. You are going to be an amazing

The Contractions Begin

"I think the baby is coming."The words came out in a gasp. I was standing in the kitchen, my hand gripping the counter. The pain had started an hour ago. Small at first. Like cramps. But now they were getting stronger. Closer together.He dropped the book he was reading and ran to me. "Are you sure? How far apart?"I looked at the clock on the wall. "Five minutes. They are five minutes apart.""Okay. Okay. We need to go. We need to get to the hospital."I shook my head. "There is no time. The hospital is too far. We have to stay here."He stared at me. "Here? You want to have the baby here?""The midwife is coming. I called her an hour ago. She said she would be here."He took my hands. "What do you need? Tell me what to do.""I need you to stay calm. I need you to breathe with me."Another contraction hit. I squeezed his hands and tried to breathe through it. The pain was intense. But I could handle it. I had to handle it."That is it," he said. "Just breathe. I am right here."The

The Day She Almost Left

"I do not know how to do this."I was standing in the kitchen. Rose was crying in the nursery. I had not slept in three days. I was running on empty. And I felt like I was falling apart.He came up behind me. His hands were on my shoulders. "Do what?""Be a mother. I do not know how to do this. I am failing. I am failing her."He turned me around to face him. "You are not failing her. You are doing the best you can.""My best is not enough. She will not stop crying. I cannot make her stop."He pulled me into his arms. "Babies cry. It is what they do. It does not mean you are failing."I pushed back from him. "You do not understand. You do not feel what I feel. The guilt. The fear. The constant worry that I am going to mess her up."He took my hands. "I do feel it. I feel it every single day. I am terrified that I am going to mess her up too. That is what it means to be a parent."I looked at him. "You are terrified too?""Of course I am. I am terrified all the time. But I do not let i

The Morning She Said Mama

"Say it again. Please say it again."I was on my knees on the living room floor. Rose was sitting in front of me. Her tiny hands were clapping together. She was laughing. That beautiful, gurgling laugh that made my heart explode every single time."Mama," she said again. Clear as a bell. Perfect and wonderful and everything.I felt the tears start to fall. "Yes. Yes, baby. I am Mama. I am your Mama."He came running in from the kitchen. "Did she just? Did she say it?"I nodded. I could not speak. The tears were streaming down my face.He knelt down beside us. "Say it again, Rose. Say Mama."Rose looked at him and smiled. "Mama."He pulled me into his arms. "She said it. She said her first word."I laughed through my tears. "Her first word was Mama. She said Mama."He kissed my forehead. "She knows who her mother is. She knows who loves her most in the world."I pulled back and looked at him. "I cannot believe this. I cannot believe she said it."He smiled. "Believe it. She is growing

The Night She Would Not Sleep

"I cannot do this anymore. I am going to lose my mind."Rose had been crying for three hours. Nothing we did would soothe her. She was fed and changed and warm. But she would not stop crying. Her tiny face was red and her little body was tense.He walked into the nursery. His eyes were tired. "I will take her. Go get some sleep."I shook my head. "No. I need to figure this out. I need to be the one to fix it.""You cannot fix everything. Sometimes babies just cry. It is normal."I looked at him. "It does not feel normal. It feels like I am failing. It feels like she is trying to tell me something and I do not understand."He took Rose from my arms. She kept crying. Her little fists were clenched."Rose," he said gently. "Rose, it is okay. Daddy is here. Daddy has you."She kept crying. He started to walk with her. Pacing the room. Back and forth. Back and forth."Talk to her," I said. "She likes your voice."He started to whisper to her. Soft words about nothing. About the ocean and t

The Dinner Party

"I am so nervous I think I might be sick."I was standing in the kitchen. The oven was on. The table was set. The flowers were arranged. Everything was perfect. And I was terrified.He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "It is just dinner. Just a few people. Nothing to be nervous about.""I know. But this is the first time we have had people over. The first time we are hosting. What if something goes wrong? What if the food is terrible? What if everyone hates it?"He turned me to face him. "The food is going to be delicious. The people are going to love it. And even if something goes wrong, it will be fine. We will laugh about it."I took a deep breath. "You are right. I am overthinking this.""You are overthinking this. But that is okay. You are allowed to be nervous. This is a big deal."I looked at him. "Thank you. For always calming me down."He kissed my forehead. "That is my job. Calming you down and making you smile."The doorbell rang. My heart jumped into

The Anniversary

"I cannot believe it has been a year."I was standing in the kitchen. The cake was on the counter. The candles were ready. The house was decorated with flowers. He walked in and his face broke into a smile."A year since what?"I turned to him. "A year since we got married. Today is our anniversary."He stared at me. "Our anniversary. I forgot. I completely forgot."I laughed. "I know you forgot. That is why I planned everything."He walked over and wrapped his arms around me. "I am the worst husband in the world.""You are not the worst husband. You are the best husband. You just have a lot on your mind."He pulled back and looked at me. "A year. It feels like yesterday and forever at the same time."I nodded. "It does. So much has happened in a year. So much has changed.""We got married. We had a baby. We survived everything that was thrown at us."I reached up and touched his face. "We did. And we are stronger because of it."He kissed me softly. "I love you. I love you more than

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