AVA'S POV
There's a kind of quiet that fills a room when all the chaos outside has died down, not silence, exactly, but a stillness that sinks into your skin and makes you aware of everything you've been too busy to notice.
That's what I felt as I sat on the edge of the bed that evening, a hand resting gently on my belly. The weight was familiar now, a living presence I carried every moment. Our child. A little heartbeat that had changed everything.
Ethan was downstairs talking to someone from the press team.
After the public gesture he made last week, our story had taken on a new life in the media. It was inspiring to many, disruptive to others, but to me, to us, it was simply real.
But tonight, the world outside didn't matter. Not the articles, not the features, not even the investors who had suddenly found it necessary to tie my motherhood to my professional competence.
Tonight, I was just Ava. Expectant mother. Partner. Woman.
