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Section 1
### Chapter 1: Chapter-1
Ellie’s POVThe dirt road up from the village had been paved since I was last here, wide enough now for the tour buses that went up to the ruins twice a day. The museum, once one small room hardly big enough for a group of five to stand in comfortably, had been expanded, with plans for a second floo
Ellie’s POVSixteen hours.That was how long it took in the end.Sixteen hours of contractions, sixteen hours of Dominic feeding me ice chips and getting his hand crushed more times than either of us could count, sixteen hours of Hanna barking orders at nurses and telling me to push, sixteen hours o
Ellie’s POVTwo more months of campaigning came down to this: a cake, a bottle of champagne, and me pacing between the kitchen and the sofa because I couldn’t sit still, and neither could the baby. She’d been rolling around all night like it was her one purpose in life to make me feel like I was goi
Ellie’s POVBy the time the next morning rolled around, the whole world apparently knew what had happened on our lawn last night.Dominic was already up when I awoke, sunlight spilling across his bare chest, sitting up against the headboard with his laptop open in front of him. When he noticed me st
“Because I’ve been terrified, for months now, that you might say no.”I pulled my head back. “Why—”“We’ve gone through this before. Twice for you. Once for me, at least, as far as this body’s memory allows. I ruined it both times. I destroyed you from the inside. I made you feel small and insignifi
Ellie’s POVI found Dominic later, after Hanna’s healers had dealt with the rest of the sick guests, sitting by himself in the gardens.He was on the stone bench by the fountain, his elbows braced on his knees, head hanging as strands of dark hair fell into his face. The cherry tree swayed in the br
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### Chapter 2: Chapter-2
Ellie’s POVThe dirt road up from the village had been paved since I was last here, wide enough now for the tour buses that went up to the ruins twice a day. The museum, once one small room hardly big enough for a group of five to stand in comfortably, had been expanded, with plans for a second floo
Ellie’s POVSixteen hours.That was how long it took in the end.Sixteen hours of contractions, sixteen hours of Dominic feeding me ice chips and getting his hand crushed more times than either of us could count, sixteen hours of Hanna barking orders at nurses and telling me to push, sixteen hours o
Ellie’s POVTwo more months of campaigning came down to this: a cake, a bottle of champagne, and me pacing between the kitchen and the sofa because I couldn’t sit still, and neither could the baby. She’d been rolling around all night like it was her one purpose in life to make me feel like I was goi
Ellie’s POVBy the time the next morning rolled around, the whole world apparently knew what had happened on our lawn last night.Dominic was already up when I awoke, sunlight spilling across his bare chest, sitting up against the headboard with his laptop open in front of him. When he noticed me st
“Because I’ve been terrified, for months now, that you might say no.”I pulled my head back. “Why—”“We’ve gone through this before. Twice for you. Once for me, at least, as far as this body’s memory allows. I ruined it both times. I destroyed you from the inside. I made you feel small and insignifi
Ellie’s POVI found Dominic later, after Hanna’s healers had dealt with the rest of the sick guests, sitting by himself in the gardens.He was on the stone bench by the fountain, his elbows braced on his knees, head hanging as strands of dark hair fell into his face. The cherry tree swayed in the br
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