Aria's POV
months later
The first thing I noticed when I woke up that morning was the quietness.
I lay still for a moment with my hand resting on my stomach, feeling the weight pressing down on my lower back, and thought: today.
I didn't know how I knew, I just did.
Damien was already awake beside me, which wasn't unusual — he'd been sleeping lightly for weeks, attuned to my every shift and exhale with the focused vigilance of a man bracing for impact. He was lying on his side watching me with those icy blue eyes that had long since lost their ability to be unreadable where I was concerned.
"You're doing that thing," he said.
"What thing?"
"The thing where you know something and you're deciding whether to tell me."
I turned my head toward him on the pillow. "I think today might be the day."
