By the time Rosa left the next morning, her laughter still echoed in the hallway. She had filled the house with warmth, the kind that didn’t come from chandeliers worth more than my old rent or roses arranged by professionals. No...Rosa’s warmth was the kind that reminded me of who I used to be, who I still was beneath all this marble and money. Watching her climb into the cab with a wave far too cheerful for the hour, I felt the air grow still again. Hollow.
I pressed my palm against my belly. The swell was faint but undeniable now, a whisper of life under my skin. Four months. Almost halfway. The thought scared me more than it comforted me. The clock was ticking, and I couldn’t just sit here like a pampered prisoner, waiting for my life to be decided for me.
Which is why, instead of he
