Chapter 33
thirty-three
Liana
I wake choking on a sound I don’t recognize until I realize it’s mine.
It tears out of me before I can stop it, breath breaking, chest tight, my whole body jerking like I’ve been dragged out of something that still has its hands on me, still hasn’t let me go.
For a second I don’t know where I am, only that something is wrong, something is still wrong, because I can feel it, the pressure, the pain, the pain.
It hits properly this time.
Sharp, low in my side, ripping through me hard enough that I curl instinctively, my hand flying toward it as another broken sound leaves my throat.
“Elijah!”
“Angel, hey, hey, I’ve got you.”
His voice cuts straight through everything else.
Elijah is there before I even fully open my eyes, his hands on me, not grabbing, not holding me down, just there, solid, real, anchoring me in place when everything inside me is still trying to run.
“You’re here,” he says, his voice rough, like he hasn’t used it properly in hours. “You’re here. You’re safe. Look at me.”
I try, but my vision is still blurred, my breathing too fast, my body still halfway somewhere else.
“I— I—”
“It’s okay,” he says quickly, softer now, one hand coming up to my face, his thumb brushing under my eye without even thinking about it. “You don’t have to say anything. Just breathe. Stay here with me.”
“Breathe, sweetheart.”
Jackson.
His hand closes around mine, firm, grounding, his thumb pressing into my skin in a slow rhythm that forces my attention back into my body.
“In… and out, yeah?” he murmurs, closer now. “Just like that. You’re okay. You’re right here.”
I try to follow it.
It takes effort.
Too much effort.
My chest still feels tight, like it won’t expand properly, like something is still sitting on it.
“Don’t sit up,” Zach says quietly from my other side, and I don’t even realize I’m trying to move again until his hand is there, steady at my waist, stopping me without forcing it. “You’re going to hurt yourself. Stay still.”
“I need—” I choke, shaking my head, trying to get the feeling out, trying to get away from it.
“You don’t,” he says, calm, certain, his other hand adjusting the pillow behind me, easing me back without letting me collapse. “It’s gone. You’re out. You’re safe.”
Safe.
The word still doesn’t sit properly.
My fingers tighten around Jackson’s hand without meaning to, gripping hard enough that he exhales softly through his teeth.
“Yeah,” he mutters, not pulling away. “That’s it. Hold on. I’m right here.”
My breathing finally starts to slow.
Not properly.
But enough.
Enough that the room starts to come into focus, that the edges stop feeling like they’re moving, that I can actually see them.
All three of them.
Close.
Watching me.
Not leaving.
I don’t realize how much that matters until the panic loosens just enough for something else to take its place.
“You scared the shit out of me,” Jackson says quietly, and his voice cracks just slightly at the end like he didn’t mean it to.
I look at him properly now.
His eyes are red. His jaw tight. Like he hasn’t slept. Like he hasn’t let himself.
“I’m okay,” I whisper, even though it still doesn’t feel entirely true.
Elijah’s expression doesn’t change.
Zach adjusts the blanket over me, pulling it higher like he doesn’t trust it to stay there on its own.
“You’re cold,” he mutters.
“I’m not—”
“You are,” he says, already reaching for something else, already fixing it before I can argue.
The room settles slowly after that.
Not peaceful.
Just… quieter.
Like everything is holding itself together instead of breaking.
The nurse comes in not long after, her voice soft as she explains they’re going to do a scan, and I feel the shift in the room immediately, the way the air changes, the way all three of them straighten just slightly, their focus snapping back into something sharper.
Zach’s hand finds mine again.
Not hesitant.
Not unsure.
Just there.
“I’ve got you,” he says quietly.
Elijah moves closer, standing at the side of the bed now, his presence heavy enough that I can feel it without him touching me.
Jackson doesn’t let go.
The gel is cold. I flinch before I can stop it.
“Sorry,” the technician murmurs.
The screen flickers on.
I stare at it, trying to understand what I’m looking at, but it doesn’t make sense at first, just shapes, movement, something that doesn’t feel real enough to matter.
Then a sound.
Fast.
Sharp.
Alive.
Everything in the room stops.
“What… is that?” I ask, my voice quieter now, like I’m afraid to break it.
“That’s the heartbeat.”
For a second, no one reacts.
Like none of us actually processes it.
Then Jackson lets out a breath that almost sounds like a laugh, except there’s nothing light about it, his grip on my hand tightening so suddenly it almost hurts.
“Jesus...” he breathes, dragging his free hand through his hair. “That’s... that’s ours?”
Zach leans in closer, his entire focus locking onto the screen like nothing else exists, like the rest of the world has just dropped away completely.
“That’s…” He exhales slowly, shaking his head once like he’s trying to ground himself. “That’s strong.”
Elijah still hasn’t moved.
Not properly.
But I feel him.
I feel the way something in him locks into place, something heavy and final, something that doesn’t ease, doesn’t soften, just… settles.
“That’s our baby,” he says quietly.
The words land differently than anything else has.
My throat tightens.
“I didn’t even—” My voice breaks. “I didn’t know.”
Jackson lets out a breath, softer this time, leaning in closer to me.
“Hey,” he murmurs, brushing his forehead lightly against mine. “We know now.”
Zach’s hand tightens slightly around mine.
“You kept them safe,” he says, his voice lower now, more grounded, like he’s holding onto that as something solid. “After everything, you kept them safe.”
Something in my chest cracks at that.
“I didn’t— I couldn’t—” I shake my head, tears blurring my vision. “I didn’t do anything.”
Elijah’s hand comes up then, finally, his fingers brushing against my cheek, catching one of the tears before it falls further.
“You survived,” he says quietly. “That was enough.”
The sound keeps going.
Fast.
Unstoppable.
Real.
Jackson laughs under his breath again, shaking his head like he can’t quite believe it.
“Fuck,” he murmurs. “We’re really doing this, huh?”
Zach huffs out a breath that almost sounds like agreement.
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “We are.”
Elijah doesn’t say anything else.
He doesn’t need to.
His hand doesn’t leave my face.
When the scan ends and the room clears out, it feels like something has shifted that can’t be undone.
Jackson leans in first, pressing a soft kiss to my temple.
“You did so good,” he murmurs.
Zach adjusts the blanket again, slower this time, more deliberate, his hand lingering for a second longer than it needs to.
Elijah stays close.
Still watching me.
Still there.
A knock sounds at the door.
All three of them look up at once.
I turn my head.
The door opens and Evelyn hovers in the doorway.