[Day 7, Dec. 26 – Wintermist Island]
Dave Carter
The afternoon sun filtered through the glass windows of my cliffside villa, spilling long, lazy shadows on the hardwood floor. The view from the porch—a vast expanse of sparkling ocean—should have been soothing, but it did nothing to quell the storm raging in my chest.
Ava’s presence grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. She had moved in, uninvited, and the sight of her lounging in my space made me sick. Knowing what she’d done—cheating with Nathan, lying, manipulating—set my teeth on edge.
And yet, I couldn’t cast her out. Not when she was carrying my child.
The thought of having a child—a part of me—had always been a distant dream. But now that it was happening, it felt wrong.
So f*****g wrong.
I missed Octavia.
I hadn’t
