10
AURELIA
I’m sopregnant that I can’t see my feet anymore.
My belly is enormous, stretching the fabric of every shirt I own until Helena finally gave up and started buying me clothes three sizes too big. My back aches constantly. My ankles are swollen. The babies kick me at all hours, little feet or elbows or fists jabbing into my ribs like they’re testing the limits of the space they have left.
The doctor comes every two weeks, says they’re both healthy and everything is progressing normally for twins.
Twins.
I’m carrying two babies. Two tiny humans who are going to arrive any day now, and I still can’t wrap my head around it.
Life has changed in ways I didn’t expect. The Baptiste family still comes by, but I can’t play with the kids anymore, or chase Marcus when he steals Celine’s toys, or walk down to the beach with Asha to collect shells. I just sit on the porch or in the garden, huge and exhausted, while they bring me things and tell me stories.
Marie checks on me almost daily now. She brings me home-cooked food, insisting I need to eat more to keep my strength up. Thomas nods at me from a distance, respectful and kind. The kids are fascinated by my belly, pressing their small hands against it to feel the babies move.
“When they come out, can we hold them?” Celine asks one afternoon, her gap-toothed smile bright.
“Maybe,” I say. “If you’re very gentle.”
“I’ll be gentle! I’m always gentle!”
Marcus snorts. “You dropped your doll in the ocean last week.”
“That was an accident!”
I smile despite the exhaustion weighing me down. These kids are the only good thing about being trapped here, and I’m going to miss them when I leave.
Because I will leave eventually. Victor made that clear.
Julian has visited three times since I told Victor about the pregnancy. The first time, he came alone, looking tired and older than I remembered. He hugged me carefully, as if I might break, and we sat on the porch while Helena made tea that neither of us drank.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know Victor sent you here. I didn’t know any of this until he told me you were pregnant.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It feels like it is.” He looked at my belly, and something sad crossed his face. “Nadia and I lost another one two months ago. Our fifth miscarriage.”
“Julian—”
“Victor suggested you could be a surrogate for us. Give us your babies after you deliver.”
My hands went to my stomach instinctively. “He told me that too.”
“I said no. I told him that was insane, that you’re my sister, that those are your children. But he wouldn’t listen.”
“He’s gone mad.”
Julian was quiet for a long moment. “My hands are tied, Aurelia. As long as Victor is alive, he makes the decisions. He’s older, he has more influence with the family, and I can’t override him without starting a war.”
“So I’m stuck here.”
“For now. But when he’s gone, when I’m fully in charge, things will change. I promise you that.”
It was the best he could offer, and we both knew it.
His second visit was shorter. He brought updates about the family, told me about Nadia and how she was coping, and asked about my health. He held my hand when I cried about being trapped, scared, and alone.
