"How was your health after hers, Natasha?" he asked again, his tone a low, patient rumble that sliced through the silence, reminding her that he had seen through her earlier sidetracking.

Natasha's gaze skittered down to the ground, a nervous habit he remembered all too well. "It was… I wasn't…"

Theo maintained steadfast eye contact, his expression unchanging, and she worried at her bottom lip before shrugging and handing over the bitter, unflinching truth. "I was sick a lot. I was tired after giving birth and didn't recover well after bringing Nikki home from the hospital. I was awake at night feeding and changing her, and then back to work."....