H A I L E Y
It’s been one month now of keeping the news of my pregnancy to ourselves. The secret had settled over Dominic and me like a warm, protective blanket.
In the privacy of our rooms, it was all we talked about. He’d talk to my stomach, a low, rumbling murmur that I was sure the baby could feel, a vibration of pure love and anticipation. He was already a different father, more present, more involved. He'd read Liam stories about becoming a big brother, and my son would press his ear against my belly, his face scrunched in concentration, trying to hear the "secret conversations."
But outside our sanctuary, the world hadn't changed. In fact, it had gotten more complicated.
Tricia was a constant, looming presence. She kept to the guest wing as ordered, but her influence was like a
