CHAPTER TWENTY SIX: THE DAY EVERYTHING CHANGED AGAIN
299 Words
The day their second child was born…
Was nothing like the first.
It was louder.
More chaotic.
More emotional.
But also…
More beautiful.
Adrian stood beside her the entire time.
Holding her hand.
Not letting go.
And when the baby finally cried—
Everything else faded away.
“It’s a boy,” the nurse said.
Adrian let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
Hailey smiled weakly.
“Another one?” she teased.
He laughed softly.
Then held the baby.
Carefully.
Like he had done before.
But this time…
He looked more confident.
More sure.
“We’ve got this,” he whispered.
And Hailey knew—
He was right.
Time didn’t announce itself in the Cole household.
It slipped in quietly.
One day, Ava was arguing over toys.
The next…
She was asking questions about the world.
“Mom,” Ava said one evening, sitting cross-legged on the floor with a book in her hand, “why do people lie?”
Hailey paused.
That wasn’t a child’s question.
Not a simple one.
“Why do you ask?” she said gently.
Ava shrugged.
“Someone in school said something… but it didn’t feel true.”
Hailey exchanged a glance with Adrian.
Somewhere deep inside, a memory stirred.
Of thoughts she used to hear.
Of truths people hid.
She sat beside her daughter.
“Sometimes people lie because they’re afraid,” she said softly. “Or because they don’t know how to tell the truth.”
Ava frowned.
“That’s confusing.”
Hailey smiled.
“Life can be like that.”
Adrian leaned against the wall, watching them.
And for a moment…
He wondered—
Will she ever wish she could read minds too?
But Hailey caught his expression.
And gently shook her head.
No.
TO BE CONTINUED
- Writer
