as though Elyse's words hadn't land

e to speak in the first place. Every word had felt like a jagged thorn,

Trevor switched into his own car, and the rest of th

the seat without a word. A haze settled over her, and

the bedroom, he abruptly set her down on the sofa. His usually unreadable face cracked, eyes red

he lingering heat from the dream that had haunted her earlier hadn't fully faded; for a fleeting second,

the bedroom, then into the confines of the bathroom. By the end, Elyse could barely move

on, his voice dropping into something cold and unyi

to process his words. With her thoughts slipping into a haze, she mur

o shower, the room sank into a silence, and

vor's phone lit up

riving at that hour instantly stirred

pound. In the end, curiosity overpowered hesitation, and she reached for Trevor's phone. The

lier-my prenatal appointment is

at there like a ver

Joanna Kirk," whether read apart or to

rs followed her wherever she went-people kept reminding her that his heart h

she never stood a real chance. She lived off her beauty and charm, and if that cou

On that particular day, she had been on set, filming a brutal diving sequence. The film's lead actress, bitter from c

cold seeped deep into her bones. Numbness crept through her limbs, draining away her strength until she couldn't even fight her way back to the

e other th

ething dragged straight out of hell itself. Standing there with a storm simmering in his eyes, Trevor had pointed at each member of the crew one by one,

lready done everything she could to win him over; she had given up once, and that should have been the end of it. Yet, he was

was that Trevor would be the one

rom Trevor's family pushed him toward marriage,

ress, they shut her out without a second thought

ld. Raised under strict discipline, Trevor had always lived by the rules, his life orderly and restrained, leaving no room for rebellion. Expecting the inevitable, Elyse had

hed for defying his family, he had still chosen to marry her without hes

the kind of love he simply didn't know how to express. Clinging to that belief, she had given herse

Harsh clarity flooded in, shattering any chance of rest as she lay sti

laimed every corner of the space, and she had once

ettle in-she had been nothing more

ithout thinking, Elyse squeezed her eyes shut, forcing her brea

n beside her, a trace of cold clinging to his skin-he

covers, Trevor slid his arms around Elyse's warm,

der and instantly ruining her act. "Trevor! You bas

and unyielding, his breath brushing her ear as he murmured low, "You shut me out for

could catch up-she had always been drawn to him that way. Yet now, the memory of that message flashed cold and

ed locked around her waist like a restraint. Unable to slip free, Elyse lay rigid beneath the covers, sta

n the birth control pills resting on the nightstand-an almost mocking reminder. Somewhere by now, he was likely at the hospital, standing beside Joanna for her pre