f the city skyline stretching before me like a sea of twinkling stars. But ton

lence. I hadn't heard from Jordan in over twenty-four hours, and Declan had disappeared after our conversation at t

, the unknown future, the demands of two men who would never let me go without a fight. I wasn't sure if I was ready to deal with i

apt to my throat, and I froze. No one came to my apartment anymore, not unl

arios. Was it one of the two men, or was it someone else? Someone with a message

th catching in my throat w

eathed, blinki

e wore. There was an unsettling tension in his posture-something I hadn't seen in him before. Declan always carr

low, gravelly-filled with a

the door half open. "I don't think w

though only slightly. "I think we do, Li

d. "You don't get it. You've been nothing but a complication, Declan. And now... now it's big

ever so slightly as if he was letting the words settle. "I didn't mean

w at him, feeling a rush of frustratio

uld pierce through me. "I want to help you, Lila. I don't want

t despite the tension that lingered between us. But I couldn't let myself be fooled.

y, closing the door slightly but not all the way

a little, his voice lower now, almost a whisper. "You don't have to do this alone. I know you don't believe me,

to face. I couldn't afford to feel like this-not for him, not for an

y, keeping my gaze fixed on t

not giving up, Lila. You'll see that." He turned to leave, but paused just befor

e disappeared, leaving me standing in the quiet h

leaning against i

es, feeling the weight of it all. The baby. The two men. My

ughts, the sound of my phone buzzing

ng fingers, glancing at the

of our past creeping into my mind-the late

yway. I couldn't keep r

ough the phone, gruff but

don't think we have a

you'll change your mind when

feeling the pressure of everything bearing

oming

say another w

orlds, and neither of the