Relief hit me so hard I cried.
I turned my face away.
Adrian pretended not to notice.
That kindness nearly made me cry harder.
Hours passed.
He stayed.
His phone vibrated constantly.
He ignored most calls.
When he answered one, he stepped into the hallway and returned less than a minute later.
“You don’t have to stay,” I told him.
“Yes, I do.”
“No, you don’t.”
His eyes moved to the monitor tracking our daughter’s heartbeat.
“I missed eight months.”
His voice was quiet.
“I’m not voluntarily missing another hour today.”
I had no answer to that.
Eventually he sat beside the window.
Neither of us mentioned the divorce folder.
Until Henderson arrived.
The attorney appeared in the doorway carrying it.
Adrian’s entire body stiffened.
“I told you the papers could wait.”
Henderson looked at me, not him.
“Miss Carter asked earlier that the matter be completed.”
I had.
And despite everything that had happened, part of me still believed finishing it was the safest choice.
Henderson placed the folder on the bedside table.
Only one signature remained.
Mine.
Adrian stood.
He did not take the folder away this time.
He didn’t order Henderson out.
He simply looked at me.
“If you sign it,” he said, “I won’t stop you.”
I searched his face for a threat.
There wasn’t one.
“I won’t freeze your accounts.
I won’t send anyone after you.
I won’t use the company, the lawyers, or my name to trap you.”
Henderson remained perfectly silent.
Adrian continued.
“But before you sign, I want one thing understood.”
My fingers tightened over the blanket.
“What?”
“You don’t have to disappear again to protect her from me.”
My eyes burned.
“Adrian—”
“No.” His voice softened.
“I heard you.
The world around me frightened you.
I gave you reasons for that.
I kept telling you not to ask questions and expected you to call that protection.”
He glanced at my stomach.
“I can’t change the last eight months.
But I can change what happens next.”
