Aria felt the world distort around her as another vicious wave of pain tore through her abdomen, sharper and deeper than anything she had ever endured.
It was not just pain...it was consuming, suffocating, as though something inside her was being twisted apart. A broken cry escaped her lips before she could stop it, her fingers digging desperately into her stomach as her body betrayed her.
“Ethan…” she choked, her voice trembling, fragile, barely holding together.
Her vision blurred. The room tilted violently, shadows closing in at the edges. For a terrifying second, she thought she might collapse completely.
But Ethan was already there.
He moved faster than thought, instinct taking over as he caught her falling body, his arms wrapping tightly around her as though he could physically
