~Amelia~
I couldn’t sit still after the garden thing with Lucy. Every time I closed my eyes I saw her hand on my stomach, heard her fake-sweet voice calling me puffy and falling apart.
Worse, I kept imagining Blake’s face right after, staring at the same spot like the baby was already his world. The fear wasn’t just in my head anymore; it was sitting in my chest like a rock, making it hard to breathe.
I needed to do something. Anything. So after lunch, when Kaden was stuck in a meeting with Caleb about the new patrol schedule, I slipped out and walked to Clara’s house.
She opened the door before I even knocked. Birds were perched on her porch railing like they’d told her I was coming.
“I need to talk about the baby. Like… protection stuff. Not just guards at the door.”
Clara closed the door behind me and motioned to the couch. “Sit. Tea first. Then we talk.”
