Kei stared at the carpet for a long moment before speaking.
“It won’t,” he said. “Because you know it’s wrong. That’s already more awareness than most people have.”
“I don’t know how to protect them,” I admitted. “Eli’s hurting. The baby isn’t even born yet and I feel like I’m failing already.”
“You’re not failing,” he said quietly. “You’re surviving in a situation built to control you. That’s not weakness.”
“I feel like I’m disappearing,” I whispered.
He shook his head slightly. “You’re still here. Still standing. Still fighting, even if it’s quiet.”
He didn’t promise solutions.
He just stayed.
And tonight, that was enough.
...
Later, alone in bed, I rested my hand over my stomach and stared at the closed door.
One thought circled endlessly in my head:
I can’t keep pretending this is survivable.
But leaving means risking everything.
And staying means losing myself piece by piece.
No resolution came.
Just dread.
Heavy.
Constant.
Growing louder every day.
Chapter 19
Hadley
The cramping started around noon.
Not gradual. Not subtle. It hit like something inside me twisted wrong, sharp and deep, low in my belly, sudden enough that the glass slipped in my hand and clinked hard against the sink.
I froze, breath catching halfway up my throat.
For a second I waited for it to fade. For it to be one of those pregnancy aches the apps kept telling me were normal.
Then it hit again.
Harder.
A hot, pulling pain that wrapped around my abdomen and shot down toward my pelvis. I gasped, folding over the counter, one hand gripping the edge, the other flying to my bump like instinct, like maybe I could hold everything in place if I pressed hard enough.
“N-no… no, no…”
