LOGINRavenPaint swatches are scattered across the floor of what used to be a guest room, now half transformed into something entirely different, and I’m standing in the middle of it all with my hands on my hips, staring at the wall like it owes me something. “Pink,” I say. “Definitely pink.”Roman glances up from the crib he’s been assembling on the floor, one eyebrow raised. “You’ve never liked pink a day in your life.”“I like pink for her.”“You told me once, and I quote, pink is a color invented to keep women small and agreeable.”I laugh despite myself. “I said that?”“You said that. At a gala. To a woman wearing an entire pink gown.”“Well.” I hold up a swatch, pale blush against soft white. “I’ve changed my mind. Pink on white. It’s soft. It’s sweet.”Two weeks until our daughter comes home.I’ve counted the days so many times I don’t even need to check the calendar anymore, seventeen weeks since the surgery, seventeen weeks of healing, of visiting the NICU every day I c
EIGHT WEEKS LATERRavenThe sand is warm under my bare feet, the ocean stretching out gold and endless behind a simple wooden arch strung with white flowers, and I stand just out of sight of the small gathering, my hand tucked into the crook of Dave’s arm, trying to remember how to breathe normally.“You look beautiful,” Dave says, glancing down at me, his voice thick with something he’s clearly trying to hold together. “Absolutely beautiful.”“I’m nervous,” I admit, laughing softly. “Which is ridiculous. I already know I’m going to say yes.”“Nothing ridiculous about it.” He pats my hand gently. “Some moments deserve a few nerves. Means you know exactly how much it matters.”“Thanks for agreeing to walk me down the aisle. I couldn’t think of anyone better. You’re the only person in this family who has ever truly treated me like I’m human.”“It’s an honor, kiddo.” He smiles softly. “The honor is all mine. I’m deeply touched that you think I’m worthy.”Ahead of us, the small cro
RavenRoman wheels me slowly between the rows of incubators, past machines humming low and steady, past other parents standing vigil beside glass boxes holding entire futures too small to hold themselves yet. My leg throbs dully under the bandage with every small jolt of the wheels, and my heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat, the two sensations tangled together until I can’t tell which one is making me breathless.“There.” Roman’s voice drops to barely above a whisper as we stop in front of one incubator near the end of the row. “There she is.”I look down, and my chest aches with a love so fierce it steals my breath.She’s so small.“Oh.” The sound escapes me before I can stop it, my bruised hand pressing carefully against the glass. “Oh, she’s…”“Perfect,” Roman finishes quietly, crouching down beside my chair so we’re both level with her. “She’s perfect.”Tears blur my vision almost instantly. “She’s really here. She’s really okay?”“She’s strong.” He re
RavenThere are voices before there’s anything else.Distant at first, blurred at the edges, like sound underwater, and I can’t make sense of any of it, just tone, just urgency, just the shape of a voice I know without being able to place why I know it.“…I think she’s waking up. Doctor, I think she’s waking up—”Light next, harsh and unwelcome, and I feel my eyelids fighting against it, heavy, resistant, my whole body feeling like it belongs to someone else entirely.“Raven.” The voice again, closer now, clearer. “Raven, can you hear me?”I force my eyes open.The room swims into focus slowly, shapes resolving into a ceiling, a light fixture, and then a face leaning over me, familiar in a way that cuts through the fog faster than anything else has.Roman.His face is drawn, exhausted, dark circles carved deep beneath his eyes, but the moment my gaze finds his, something in his expression breaks open entirely.“There you are.” His voice cracks on the words. “Thank God. Thank God.”I t
Roman “Marcus. Where is she.” He doesn’t need to ask who. “St. Augustine’s. Someone called it in, ambulance picked her up off the road and brought her there. I don’t have a room number yet.” “Get in the car.” The drive there is short, too short for the fury building in my chest to burn off even slightly, and by the time I walk through the front doors of St. Augustine’s I’ve already decided exactly what I’m going to do. The woman at the front desk looks up as I approach. “Can I help you?” “Vivienne Cole. What room.” “I’m sorry, sir, I can’t release patient information without knowing your relationship to her.” “A friend.” The lie comes out flat, cold. “I’ll need to verify that before I can—” I slam my palm down on the counter, hard enough that she flinches back in her chair. “I don’t have time for your protocol. Give me the ward. Now.” Her hands are shaking as she pulls up the file. “Fourth floor. Room 412.” I’m already walking before she finishes the sentence.
RomanMy phone rings from the passenger seat, and I glance at the screen, only half paying attention to the road.Anaya.She came the moment I called, staying behind to watch Raven while I dealt with Vivienne. I only got off the phone with one of the nurses a few minutes ago. Seeing Anaya’s name now makes something cold settle in my stomach.I answer immediately.“How bad is it?”“Roman, you need to come back.” Her voice is trembling, words spilling over each other. “Something’s wrong. They said Raven’s numbers are dropping, and she needs a blood transfusion right now. They tested me to see if I was a match, but… I’m not. They said my blood is incompatible.”For a second, everything inside me goes still.“I’m on my way.”I end the call and drive straight back to the hospital, every red light, every speed limit, every car in my way becoming meaningless. My hands grip the wheel so hard my knuckles ache, one thought pounding through my head over and over.Please don’t let me be too late.
RomanI find Marcus in my study, standing by the window with his back to the door, trying very hard to look like a man who has been patiently waiting and not at all like a man who walked in on something he wishes he could unsee.“Marcus, I—”“I didn’t see anything.” He says it quickly, still facing
RavenI can’t hide my joy about the postponement.Even though I should, even though Jack is barely cold and his family is planning his funeral, I should be drowning in grief.But all I feel is satisfaction.The wedding is postponed, Vivienne is furious, and for the first time, Roman chose to protec
RAVENI sit at the kitchen island, eating cornflakes straight from the box because I know it will annoy someone eventually, and right now that feels like the only power I have left.The house is quiet. Too quiet. Roman left for the office hours ago without saying a word to me. Vivienne is out there
Raven I was having a wet dream. Again. This time I was grinding my soaked pussy on something very solid. It felt good. So good. Better than anything I managed on my own. Not until I woke up. The realization hit me slow, the way sleep peels away in layers; first the warmth, then the frict







