The words landed softly.
Too softly.
They didn’t register at first.
Then they did.
Lena stared at the ceiling, her breath stuttering. “I—what?”
Zayn leaned closer. “Lena—”
“I can’t?” Her voice broke. “I can’t ever—?”
“No, not without sever risks and life threatening complications,” he said, voice thick. “But you lived. And our sons are alive.”
Tears streamed freely now.
She turned her head away, shoulders trembling. “I didn’t even know it would be my last time,” she whispered. “I didn’t get to choose.”
Zayn’s composure shattered.
He pressed his lips to her knuckles.
She looked at him then—really looked—and saw the raw terror he had lived through.
A soft knock interrupted them.
“May I?” Lana’s voice asked.
Lena’s head snapped toward the door. “Lana?”
Her sister rushed in, m
