She didn’t understand it at first—not when the check cleared, not when the contracts were signed, not even when she felt the first unfamiliar kick beneath her ribs that didn’t belong to her life.
She called it love because that’s what made it easier to carry.
Ethan never forced her. That was the part that stayed with her the longest. He didn’t demand, didn’t threaten. He framed it. Carefully. Gently. Like an opportunity. Like a solution. Like something they were doing together.