Chapter 182

Ayleen clutched the ultrasound pictures in her hands, staring at them as if they would disappear if she looked away.

A baby.

There was a life inside her.

She ran her fingers over her stomach, feeling a new kind of warmth bloom in her chest.

But with that warmth came a new kind of fear.

How would she tell Murat?

Would he be happy? Would he be shocked? Would he… even want this?

Her grip on the pictures tightened.

No. She wasn’t ready to tell him.

Not ready to his reaction.

Not yet.

For now, she would carry this secret alone.

***

Sleep refused to come.

No matter how many times Ayleen shifted, adjusted the pillow, or closed her eyes, her mind remained in an endless loop of emotions.

A miracle.

That’s what the doctor had called it.

Her hand unconsciously moved to her stomach, pressing gently as if trying to feel something, anything. But at six weeks, it was far too early.

Still, th