I marveled at the subtle transformation. We were no longer just partners in conflict or lovers bound by circumstance; we were about to be parents now, protectors of a future that would stretch far beyond our own.
Breaking the silence, Michael looked up and caught me gazing at him. "You're staring," he teased, his lips curving into a smile that was warm and slightly bashful.
"Sorry," i murmured, my cheeks warming. "I just… I don't know. This feels different. This isn't about us anymore. It's about her." I placed a hand over my stomach, my voice softening slightly. "I never thought I'd feel this connected to something so fragile and new."
Michael reached across the table, resting his hand on mine. "I feel it too," he said quietly, his gaze intense. "It's strange, isn't it? How much you can love someone you haven't even met. But that's the power she has over us already. And it scares me… because there's so much I want to protect her from."
