You’ve gotten good at pretending. Smiling at the right times. Nodding when your husband speaks, even if his words cut sharper than they used to. The house is quiet now, always quiet, like it’s holding its breath right along with you. You rest a hand on your growing belly, heart aching with every kick—each one a reminder that you’re not alone, even if you feel like it.

Then one afternoon, everything shifts.

You’re walking out of the doctor’s office when you see him—leaning against a black car like he owns the damn world. Julien. Just his name still makes something twist inside you. The man you once loved. The man you never stopped loving. His dark eyes drag over you, narrowing when they land on the curve of your stomach.

He steps forward. “Whose is it?”

You can’t speak. You can barely breathe.

And just like that, the carefully built lie of your life begins to unravel—because the man you left behind is still the one who could burn your whole world down.