Fredric’s POV

The shrill ringing of my phone dragged me out of the shallowest sleep.

It was Paula.

My eyelids felt like lead, my head heavy and clouded from barely two hours of rest. The clock on the screen confirmed it—2 a.m.

Fatigue and irritation mixed like poison in my chest. I didn’t want to answer.

Not because I hated her, but because I needed peace—just a moment of silence to think.

The secret I’d been keeping was eating me alive. Mathilda’s pregnancy.

And I was terrified that my restles