“Yeah, baby?”
I press my face into his chest, my fingers curling lightly against his skin.
“I don’t want to lose myself in everything that happened.”
The words come out softer than I expect. More fragile.
“I need to feel like your woman again,” I whisper. “Like I belong to all of you.”
His arm tightens just a fraction. Not enough to hold me in place. Just enough to anchor me.
“I know,” he says quietly. “I know you needed that.”
There’s a pause.
“And I know Jackson needed it too.”
I nod slightly, my throat tightening just a little.
“I’m worried about Elijah.”
Zach shifts just enough that I feel his attention sharpen.
“Why?”
Because I already know the answer.
“Because he won’t touch me,” I say softly. “Not the way he used to.”
The words sit heavier than I expect them to.
“None of you have been.”
There’s truth in that. Even now. Even here.
“I know he loves me,” I continue, lifting my head slightly so I can look at him. “I don’t doubt that. But it feels like he sees me as something… fragile.”
The word feels wrong in my mouth. Like something I don’t want attached to me.
“And I’m scared that being pregnant is going to make that worse,” I admit. “Like I’m going to lose that part of him completely.”
His hand moves slowly up my back. Grounding.
“You’re not going to lose him.”
“I already feel like I am,” I whisper.
The honesty of it sits between us.
“I’m still me,” I continue, my voice soft but steadier now. “I’m still the woman you all fell in love with. I still need that. I still need to feel that.”
I swallow slightly.
“I’m trying to process everything in my own way. I know it’s messy. I know it’s not perfect. But I need to feel connected to you. To all of you.”
He studies me. Really studies me. And something in his expression shifts.
“You are still my woman,” he says quietly.
