Bastien pulled out of her and went to the bathroom to get some wipes to clean her up. Kate had already surrendered, even if she always felt a little embarrassed. Bastien cleaned her carefully, then washed his hands and returned to bed. He pulled her into his chest and covered her with a sheet. The tip of his fingers traced the soft skin of her back while Kate stroked his sculpted abdomen.

—I missed you so much —she whispered, breaking the silence.

Bastien hugged her tighter as he listened.

—I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t eat. That image kept replaying in my head over and over again… the words too. I didn’t understand what I had done wrong, what had happened. That night, I was going to tell you that you were going to be a father. I imagined a thousand happy scenarios, but reality hit me hard. I never thought something like that would happen. Bastien, I…

—Shhh… it’s over now. We’re together.

—I need to let it out… talking about what we lived helps ease the pain.

Bastien felt his chest g