Chapter 11
Terashing ham, Mis ultimately couldn’t bring himself to take Harper back to the house.
clearly understood that this was his and Elana’s home–their sanctuary–and there was absolutely no room for a third person
Not even Harper
After dropping Harpered at Carnegie Hill Mio drove all the way to Solin to a tiny French patisserie tucked away on a quiet de street. Ebana was chested with their lavender macaroon–delicate purple shells that practically melled on your gue
Whenever he screwed up b before, she’d dappear to this le cate ordering a box of those perfect title cookies. By the time he’d finish work and track her down, he d find her practically bouncing in her seat with pure joy, closing her eyes as the savored each be
The stul de sounds she’d make, combined with that radiant smile, always made bis chest tighten with something he never bothered to
he’d name.
Ha Ebana really was the easiest person in the world to make happy
When
had the
he stopped trying
After buying her favorite macaroos, Milo stopped at a high end forest for delicate pink roses–the exact same kind he given Harper at Lumière a few days ago
He could still see Elana’s face lighting up when he’d handed her those Bowers and how quickly that joy had crumbled when she’d realized they weren’t really for her. All those moments he chosen to ignore now felt like shards of glass cutting through his chest.]]
The weather was absolute shit tenight, like the universe was actively working against him. Traffic and construction turned what should have been a forty minute drive into nearly two hours
When he finally got home. Milo didn’t even bother with his shoes before sprinting toward Eliana’s bedroom, his voice rough with barely contained panic
sorry I’m late–had some stuff to handle at work, I knmr today’s our third anniversary, so I got you those lavender macarons from that place you love.
The words died in his throat
The bedroom was completely empty, cold air hitting him like a physical blow. The white peonies by the window had wilted and turned brown from neglect, and the wall where their wedding photo used to hang was just blank space]]
The hallow room made something inside his chest cave in completely. He set the gifts on the nightstand with trembling hands, then spotted a medical report lying there.]
Patient: Eliana Hart. Digest Motor vehicle accident, first trimester miscarriage.
Mila world tihedadeways. His breathing turned ragged, vision blurring as the words sank in.]
In the years of marriage. Clans had wanted a baby more than anything else in the world. She’d been so desperate to get pregnant that she’d completely overhauled her Elestyle–cuiting our caffele, taking prenatal vitamins religiously, tracking her cycle obsessively. This woman who cried during flu shots had endured monthly fertility treatments without a single complaint
day six months ago. He’d already heen secretly seeing Harper by then, but family pressure had
Through his haze of shock, Milo suddenly remembered Elana’s birthday
forced him to spend the day with his wale at St. Patrick’s Cathedral]]
Chana wasat particularly religions, but in her desperation for their baby, shed lit candle after candle, praying to every said she could think of shed knelt on that hard stone floor for hours until her knees were raw and bleeding, whapering the same prayer over and over[]
Kneeling before the altar, hands clasped sa tightly her knuckles were white, she’d suddenly looked up at him with tears in her eyes
“Milo, do you think maybe God knows we don’t love each other might is that why He won’t give us a baby? ||
Her question had full him like a sucker punch. Tur à terrifying moment, he’d thought she’d discovered his affair with Harper. But when he’d turned in face her, Eliana was already standing up, forcing that bright and he now realized had been take for months
“Sorry, that was a weird thing in my forget i asked
Her voce had bean light, but he’d still caught the devastation dickering in her eyes||
Hed pulled her into his arms then, making probes he’d never intended to keep
Tiana, we’ll have our baby. I swear we will
sand sumed
Milo had even comerted the spare room in a nursery–painting the walls a soft yellow, assembling a crib with his own hands, flung in with tiny clothes i animals. For a briet moment, he’d actually let hamself unagine their future child ||
A little girl with Eliana’s gentle spirit and his determination. He’d teach her to By, spod her absolutely nenes, give her everything he’d never had growing up!
Now all of it was destroyed |
ripping through hái chest was unbearable. If he was completely falling apart, he couldn’t even fathom what Eliana had endured.
te popped the medical report with shaking hands, collapsing into the chair beside her bed. But then his eyes caught the date, and his blood turned to ice
Tive days ago. The same fucking day Harper had crashed her car racing through the Hollywood Hills and ne
I needed an emergency blood transfusion.|||
Sumerpal Same rare Onegative blood type. Milo remembered that desperate call from Dr. Martinez, begging him to release some of the blood bank for a pregnant
At the time, since it was just some randoen stranger and Harper was his priority, he hadn’t hesitated for even a second to refuse
The realization hit him like a freight mached personally sentenced his own child to death
its hands started shaking in violently he could barely hold the report. The baby Eliana had prayed for, had sacrificed everything for, had been right there–and he’d chosen Harper instead.
He’d killed his own backing kid,
