- Aria -
I didn’t sleep.
I lay there with my eyes closed, listening to the house breathe. The faint hum of the security system. The soft tick of the clock. The occasional shuffle from the nursery when one of the twins shifted in their sleep.
Every sound felt louder than it should’ve been, like my nerves were turned all the way up and stuck there.
By morning, my head was pounding and my patience was already dead on arrival.
I slipped out of bed quietly and shut the door behind me. The hallway smelled like coffee and toast. Someone was already up.
Alder’s name hovered at the top of my contact list for a long second before I hit call.
He picked up on the third ring. “You’re awake early.”
“So are my regrets,” I said, pacing the length of the corridor. “I need your wif
