The doorbell rang again, echoing sharply through the apartment.
Carol slowly rose from her seat, her breath coming in short, sharp bursts, weighed down by frustration.
These interruptions had become far too frequent-shattering the rare, precious moments she got to spend with Peter.
Muttering under her breath, she whispered, "Who is it this time?" dragging her feet toward the door, feeling the heaviness in every step.
Wanda sat quietly nearby, her gaze fixed somewhere distant but sharply attentive to every move Carol made. The tension radiating from her was subtle but palpable-a quiet fatigue beneath her composed exterior.
Though Wanda had only recently reentered Peter's life, she already understood just how fragile these moments were.
The air hung thick with unspoken emotions as Carol reached the door. She hesitated for a moment, then opened it cautiously.
Standing there was Susan Storm, calm yet commanding, the kind of presence that could fill a room without uttering a word. She wore a simple coat, but it couldn't conceal the aura of strength and grace that surrounded her effortlessly.
At her side stood Franklin and Valeria, their faces a mix of curiosity and caution. They were quiet, observing the scene with wide eyes that reflected the weight of the moment without needing explanation.
For a long beat, silence held the threshold between them. Carol's eyes met Susan's in a glance loaded with the ghosts of old conflicts and complicated feelings. Neither spoke immediately, as if measuring the gravity of this unexpected reunion.
Susan's mind was elsewhere, yet she was fully present. She had returned from a bleak future-a timeline filled with loss and regret-and the first thing she'd decided to do was confront Reed Richards herself.
That encounter had been cold and decisive.
She hadn't wasted time on anger or regret.
Her powers, honed and sharpened through years of meditation and struggle, were no longer hindered by doubt or fear.
She had imprisoned Reed inside an invisible cage-one of her force fields-a silent lesson in consequences, before leaving him suspended above the ruins of his life's work.
And now here she stood, calm and composed, before Carol and Peter's door, children by her side.
Carol watched Susan with a wary respect. Despite their differences, she genuinely felt the sincerity behind Susan's stern facade-a protective care that few could truly understand.
Behind them, Franklin and Valeria shifted their gaze between their mother and the woman standing before them. Their small faces held a puzzled expression, tinged with quiet understanding, as if they instinctively knew this moment was important.
After several seconds, Franklin broke the silence with a soft, childish voice, "Mom... can we come in?"
Susan lifted her eyes to Carol, steady and clear, and asked directly, "Is Peter here?"
Carol didn't answer immediately but stepped back gently, allowing Susan and her children to enter.
Inside the apartment, Peter stood near the living room window, his mind heavy with the complicated threads of his life.
He listened, attuned to every sound-the ringing doorbell, the footsteps approaching, the voices at the threshold.
When he recognized Susan's voice, something inside him froze.
His heart pounded fiercely, caught in a sudden storm.
He remained rooted to the spot, as if transformed into a brick wall-solid, immovable, yet carrying the weight of all he had lived through.
This was no ordinary visit.
It was a living reminder of every choice, every consequence-past and future tangled into one.
His eyes slowly swept across the room as he fought to steady his breath.
His life had been full of battles-against villains, against his own fears-but nothing had prepared him for the burden of this moment.
He saw Carol and Susan standing near the door, their eyes locked in a complicated dance of guarded emotions-resentment, jealousy, acceptance.
Wanda sat quietly on the couch, watching everything with a faint furrow in her brow, uneasy at being caught in the middle of this silent standoff.
The children looked on with innocent confusion, sensing the tension but not understanding it fully.
Peter's thoughts drifted back to the months he had spent alone, wrestling with the aftermath of Otto's betrayal and the fractures it caused in his world.
Susan was more than just a powerful ally or a formidable hero-she was a symbol of a love and family he had struggled to claim, a beacon of hope amid the chaos.
Her sudden arrival stirred something deep inside him-a mixture of comfort and fear, hope and uncertainty.
He remembered the time she had destroyed Reed's lab, crushing years of research in an instant.
The quiet strength she wielded, not just in her powers but in her resolve to protect what mattered-even if it meant destroying what she once cherished.
Now, seeing her here, so close, he felt the old ache of longing for stability and belonging.
Yet, there was also guilt-guilt for the distance that had grown between them, for the things left unsaid, for the wounds that had never fully healed.
As he stood frozen, the voices at the door continued softly.
Carol finally spoke, her voice low but steady, "Susan... it's been a long time."
Susan met her gaze, nodding slightly. "Too long."
Franklin tugged gently at his mother's sleeve."Mom, can we sit?"
Carol forced a small smile and gestured toward the living room.
She didn't want that but she didn't want problems that might arise in Peter's place. 3 famous and attractive superheroines... well one of them no one knows her chosen path.
Their presence in the same apartmen
t with the same man is sure to attract everyone's attention.
.
.
END OF CHAPTER
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