I came to in the hospital again, where Dominic sat by my bed with dried blood on his white shirt, his hair a mess and his eyes red, and when he saw my eyes open, he reached for my hand with trembling fingers.
I pulled away.
"Aria…" His voice was hoarse. "The doctor said… we lost the baby."
Something in me went hollow, because I couldn't even remember which baby this one was—our third? Our fourth?
I lost the first in the basement, after malnutrition and hard labor took their toll, and I lost the second working day and night to court investors, the hemorrhage so bad the doctor said I might never conceive again, while Dominic held me with tears in his eyes and swore, "It's okay, Aria. We'll live child-free. As long as I've got you, I've got everything I need."
I never thought a miracle w
