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I watched Kiara struggle to be open with me, but I was proud of her for asking me to listen to her. Her hands clenched the sheets of the bed she had been sleeping on for the past week until this morning. I was relieved to know that she hadn’t harmed herself even though she had lost some weight. I knew whatever happened when I was gone had brought some kind of acceptance from her.

“Did you have a session while I was gone?” I asked, wanting to know if she had talked to someone about what had happened.

“I talked with my therapist,” Kiara nodded. “I wanted to ask you something, Ethan.”

When I waited for her question, I noticed how she fiddled with her hands, taking time to form the question. After taking a deep breath, she asked, “W-will you, I don’t know, um, leave me?”

Knowing how important this was to her, I bit back my question. “Never, sweetheart. I wouldn’t leave you. Can I ask why you asked that?”

Kiara sighed as if my answer relieved her. She met my eyes for a brief second before looking down on her lap. “I was worried that you would leave after . . . after I couldn’t keep the baby. I know it sounds stupid, but I am trying not to overthink or interpret those thoughts. Dr. Sabrina wanted me to clear those doubts by talking to you, so that is why I asked.”

I took her hand in mine, squeezing her palm. “Bella, I won’t leave you like that. Ever. I am glad you are talking to me.” I brushed my lips on her knuckles.

“Aren’t you offended? That I am asking you about all of this?”

“Not at all, sweetheart. I told you to talk to me whenever you are in doubt. I care about you more than having or not having a baby with you.”

A small chuckle left my lips when Kiara hugged me, her arms wrapping around my torso as I pulled her closer, breathing in her black vanilla and coconut scent. I sighed and ran my hand through her hair. Even though I knew she was having a hard time for the past week, I was relieved that she talked to me.

“Ethan,” she pulled away, her hands tightening over my t-shirt. “Thank you. For being here with me.”

My eyes softened at the raw emotions glinting in her warm chocolate eyes. I kissed the corner of her lips and said, “There isn’t anywhere else I would rather be.”

* * *

For the next few days, the tension between the two of us increased despite living under the same roof. Yes, we had talked about the miscarriage and we’re slowly growing together in our relationship, but we were also making sure that we were taking it slow this time. There were kisses, but either of us stopped before it escalated to stripping each other out of our clothes. We slept on the same bed with clothes on and woke up cuddling but we didn’t get intimate with each other. I wanted her to feel comfortable enough to initiate it, even though it meant cold showers every morning.

The auction for her mother’s paintings was a week away, and I had to be in New York for a weekend for the shoot of an athletic brand. We both had worked on it together in the evenings as she had school in the morning. Even though I was not a volunteering coach in the school anymore, I still went to drop and pick her up. Sometimes surprising her with lunch and eating at her office table, enjoying myself when she ate with a flushed face remembering how we had tainted the desk.

“So what’s he like in real life?” Kiara asked, her curious eyes wide, “Is he rude and cold?”

“Khalid is . . . well,Khalid. Why are you so interested in him?” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Can you blame me? He is a prince. Brother of the sultan. His paintings are worth over a billion dollars, yet he is going to visit the auction. Why?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Because he is kind, Kiara. Even though we lived in the same apartment for a year, I know little about him. He is a private person.”

She hummed. “I would be private too if I was as famous as he is.”

Before I could argue with her, someone rang the doorbell to the house, and I wasn’t surprised when Liam opened the front door, peeking in. Kiara waved at him as he sheepishly hid the key to my house and entered the living room. But I was surprised when Anya followed him with Katherine waddling toward her friend, her one hand on her baby bump.

“What are you guys doing here?” I asked when they made themselves at home. Anya was even putting takeout boxes of delicious sushi rolls on the kitchen island while Liam started pouring saké in shot glasses with a soda bottle for Katherine.

“We are here to have a tea party as the ladies put it,” Liam replied. I shook my head at them and helped bring everything to the living room as all of us sat down on the floor around the coffee table with Katherine on the couch.

Anya broke the silence. “Kiara and Ethan, we all know you have been hiding something from us so I would advise you both to spill it.”

Katherine nodded while Liam drank his saké. “I am here for moral support,” he looked at the sushi and added, “And sushi.”

I squeezed Kiara’s hand and let her tell them what had happened. I held onto her hand when she told them about the miscarriage with tears in her eyes and how it almost shattered both of us. She even confessed how she was afraid how I wouldn’t want her if she couldn’t bear any children. I kissed her temple, proud of her for being brave enough to talk to her friends about it.

“Aw, Kia,” Anya patted her hair when she cried on her shoulder, Katherine sniffling into a tissue. “You could have told us earlier.”

Liam patted my shoulders even though he wished I had told him about it. I was glad for all their support as we talked about it and ate. Kiara was smiling and laughing with our friends after lunch. They helped us with the auction, giving us their honest opinions as we made minor changes.

When they left with a threat to call them when we needed them, Kiara smiled up at me.

My cheeks burned with heat at her warm gaze. “What are you staring at, Kiara?”