Time blurred.
It was strange how memories could skip like stones across the surface of water—slow, fast, still, then suddenly racing again. From the moment Aeris whispered, "I'm pregnant," the world had begun to move with its own rhythm—soft, steady, and heartbreakingly beautiful.
And Liora watched it all.
Eyes wide with wonder and dread, as months bled into months like petals folding into each other.
The first flutter of a heartbeat in the scan.
The quiet tears that Aeris shed in the bathroom, then laughed through when Xu Kai kissed her growing belly and whispered, "You're already perfect."
The doctor's appointments.
The nausea that came and went.
The nights she couldn't sleep unless Xu Kai played soft music against her belly.
The way they held hands in the clinic, their fingers laced tighter than fear.
And through it all, Liora witnessed all of it like she was leaving the life again.
