After Eliana pulled herself free from Rafael's arms, she didn't step back immediately. She simply stood there—caught between breath and heartbeat—her entire body trembling as though the ghost of his touch still burned along her skin. It wasn't fear exactly. It was something older, heavier… something that lived in the space between longing and betrayal.
Her honey-gold eyes, normally warm enough to soften even her hardest days, shimmered now with a confusion so raw it looked almost like heartbreak. Emotions flashed across them like a storm breaking over quiet waters—hurt, disbelief, a memory she didn't want, a feeling she wished she could forget. She wrapped both arms around her belly, protective and instinctive, as though she could shield her child from the chaos unraveling inside her. The baby shifted—just a light flutter beneath her palm—like it could feel the tension tightening her breath.
