Chapter 19

• Flashback
• As the sun set outside her little apartment, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink, she sank deeper into her worn-out couch, a frayed blanket draped over her legs. The stillness enveloped her, contrasting sharply with the storm of thoughts swirling in her mind. She had just come home from another exhausting shift at the diner, her feet aching and her back protesting from hours of standing. But the physical fatigue was nothing compared to the emotional burden that pressed down on her chest.
• Days had turned into weeks since she found out about the pregnancy, and every moment since then felt like navigating a heavy fog without a clear path. The joy she had initially felt was tainted by the overwhelming reality of her situation. Damien, the father of her child, had vanished from the picture as quickly as he had entered her life. His absence felt like a gaping hole in her heart, one she couldn’t ignore no matter how hard she tried.