The name didn't leave me.
Alina.
It stayed in my mind long after I left the office.
Soft.
Persistent.
Like a whisper I couldn't silence.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I turned on my bed, staring at the ceiling.
My hand rested lightly on my stomach.
And somehow…
Everything felt connected.
But I didn't know how.
"Alina…" I whispered into the darkness.
The moment I said it out loud—
Something inside me stirred.
A feeling.
Not a memory.
But close enough to it.
My chest tightened.
And suddenly—
Images flickered through my mind.
Not clear.
Not complete.
Just fragments.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Distant.
"…my girls…"
Girls.
Plural.
My breath caught.
I sat up slowly.
"What was that?" I whispered.
But the room was silent.
Still.
The next morning—
I woke up tired.
But not physically.
Mentally.
Like my mind had been searching for something all night.
At work…
I saw it immediately.
The shift.
People were talking.
Not loudly.
But enough.
Enough for me to notice.
Whispers.
Glances.
And when I walked past—
They stopped.
That was new.
Something wasn't right.
"Jessy."
I turned.
Melyne.
She had come to see me.
Her face was serious.
Too serious.
"What's going on?" I asked quietly.
She stepped closer.
"I was about to ask you the same thing."
My stomach dropped.
"What do you mean?"
She hesitated.
Then—
"People are talking about you."
My chest tightened.
"What are they saying?"
Melyne's eyes softened slightly.
"That you're getting special treatment."
A pause.
"Because of him."
Elias.
Of course.
I exhaled slowly.
"So it's started."
Melyne studied me carefully.
"You don't sound surprised."
"I'm not."
Because deep down—
I knew something like this would come.
"Is it true?" she asked gently.
That question…
It wasn't judgment.
It was concern.
I didn't answer immediately.
Because the truth wasn't simple anymore.
"I don't know what this is yet," I admitted.
"But it's not what they think."
Melyne nodded slowly.
"I believe you."
And somehow…
That meant more than anything else.
But the whispers didn't stop.
If anything—
They grew louder.
And then—
Vanessa appeared.
She walked in like she always did.
Confident.
Controlled.
But this time—
Her eyes went straight to me.
A small smile touched her lips.
Not friendly.
Victorious.
That's when I knew.
She did this.
She didn't say anything.
She didn't need to.
Because her silence said enough.
Later that day—
"Jessy."
Elias.
His voice was sharper than usual.
I turned.
He was already looking at me.
And he didn't look calm.
"Come with me."
No explanation.
No hesitation.
His office again.
The door closed behind us.
"What's going on?" I asked.
His jaw tightened slightly.
"They're talking about you."
"I noticed."
Silence.
"And you're just going to stand there and let it happen?"
I blinked.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Fight back."
That surprised me.
"I don't fight rumors," I said quietly.
"Then I will."
That made my heart skip.
"You can't," I said quickly.
"Watch me."
He moved toward the door.
But I stepped in front of him.
"Elias."
He stopped.
His eyes locked on mine.
"This will only make it worse," I said softly.
"I don't care."
"I do."
Silence.
"They already think there's something going on between us," I continued.
"If you defend me like that, you'll only prove them right."
His expression shifted.
Not anger.
Frustration.
Because he knew I was right.
"You shouldn't have to deal with this," he said quietly.
"And yet… I am."
A pause.
Then—
"I've dealt with worse," I added.
That made him still.
"Don't say that like it's normal."
"It is for me."
Silence again.
But heavier this time.
Then—
His hand reached for mine.
Suddenly.
Firmly.
"You're not alone anymore."
That sentence…
It hit deeper than it should have.
Because a part of me wanted to believe it.
That night—
I couldn't ignore it anymore.
The name.
The feeling.
The fragments in my mind.
So I did something I hadn't done in a long time.
I went through my old things.
Photos.
Memories.
Pieces of a life that felt far away.
And then—
I found it.
An old picture.
Faded.
Worn at the edges.
My mother.
Holding a baby.
Me.
But something felt… wrong.
I looked closer.
There was space beside her.
Empty space.
Like someone had been there before.
And was no longer in the picture.
My heart started racing.
"What…?"
My fingers trembled slightly as I turned the photo over.
And that's when I saw it.
Written faintly in ink.
Almost erased by time.
"Jessy & Alina."
The world stopped.
My breath caught in my throat.
No.
That wasn't possible.
I shook my head slowly.
"No… that doesn't make sense…"
But my heart—
It knew.
Before my mind could accept it.
The voice.
"…my girls…"
Girls.
Not one.
Two.
My hand moved slowly to my chest.
"Alina…"
The name wasn't unfamiliar anymore.
It was part of me.
And suddenly—
Everything felt different.
Because this wasn't just a name anymore.
It was a truth.
A truth that had been hidden.
Forgotten.
Buried.
And now—
It was finding its way back to me.