“Thanks, sweetheart,” she said to Zeus, brushing a crumb off his lip with her fingers.
Zeus’s eyes never left me.
“You’ll eat. You need strength.”
She winked at me, lips curved in a cruel little smile.
“Don’t mind me, Savannah. I’m just here for the free meal.”
I didn’t sit. I watched them eat—their easy laughter, the way she touched him like she had the right to, the way he let her.
Like I was invisible.
When they were done, I slipped away to the bedroom and closed the door softly behind me.
Laid on the edge of the bed. The silk robe still smelled like her. And all I could think was...
"You lost everything, Savannah. And you let him do it."
---
I must’ve passed out at some point, face down on the cold side of the bed. When I woke, it wasn’t silent anymore.
Voices from the kitchen. Too familiar.
Zoraya laughed. “These eggs are perfect. You always make them better than me. Savannah’s lucky. I’d never let you leave the kitchen if you cooked like this every morning.”
I pulled myself up, moving like a ghost. Zoraya was already dressed—in my black cotton top and gray shorts. Hair tied with my silk scrunchie.
Zeus flipped eggs at the stove. He looked up calm, like this was normal.
“Come sit with us, Sav.”
I said nothing, pulled out a chair. He placed a plate—eggs, toast, apple slices. Didn’t taste the same.
He stood, arms crossed, watching me like a deal.
“Zoraya’s pregnant.”
Just like that. Wow.
Zoraya smiled across the table, like friends swapping news.
“With my child,” he added, low, firm, like a confession.
My fork slipped. I didn’t flinch.
“We wanted a baby. Remember? We talked adoption. We tried.”
I remembered. Every failed test, tears in the clinic bathroom. Now he looked at me like I was the problem. Like Zoraya fixed what I couldn’t.
“I’ve decided to let her stay,” he said. Like I wasn’t even part of it.
“She’ll live here until the baby’s born.”
Zoraya leaned on the table, sipping coffee from my mug.
“I told him it was up to you. I’d find a hotel, but Zeus wants us under one roof—for the baby.”
I stared. Her perfect skin. Her fake-sweet smile.
“I want what’s best for the baby. And for Zeus. This is hard. But you’ll be a good mom, Savannah. The baby’ll love you.”
My throat burned. I still felt the hospital soreness. My body a battlefield. My heart a graveyard.
They didn’t know I was pregnant too. Seven weeks. Seven fucking weeks pregnant.
They didn’t know I was dying.