Mandatory bed rest.
High risk for early delivery.
Celeste finally broke down completely.
Not quietly.
Not gracefully.
Just exhausted tears sliding down her face while fear stripped away every remaining defense she still carried.
Holden sat beside her bed and held her hand carefully.
For several seconds she simply stared at him.
Then she whispered the truth she could no longer protect herself from.
“Yes. She’s yours.”
Learning How To Stay
The confession solved nothing immediately, because reality arrived carrying medication schedules, specialist consultations, insurance paperwork, sleepless nights, and the terrifying uncertainty of premature labor.
Yet something inside Holden changed after that night.
Business meetings disappeared from his calendar.
Assistants stopped calling constantly.
He spent nearly every free hour inside the hospital beside Celeste.
