Lydia POV
The waiting room smells faintly of antiseptic and coffee.
Lydia sits near the window, hands folded in her lap, watching the early afternoon traffic outside the private clinic. Cars move slowly through the intersection below, people crossing the street with umbrellas even though the rain is barely more than a mist.
Everything out there feels normal.
Ordinary.
Which makes the quiet tension inside her chest feel even stranger.
She glances down at the small paper bracelet around her wrist.
Lydia Cole.
The name still surprises her sometimes.
Three months ago she had expected to become Lydia Hale.
That version of her life feels distant now. Almost unreal.
“Mrs. Cole?”
Lydia looks up.
The nurse standing at the door smiles politely.
“The doctor is ready for you.”
Lydia sta
