Venessa’s POV

The sound of that newborn’s cry still clung to my skin like blood. Piercing, beautiful, and cruel all at once. I hadn’t planned to hear it so close, hadn’t planned to see his little face. But when the healer lifted the boy into the air, something inside me snapped.

That should have been mine.

It was like the universe reached inside my chest, ripping open every scar I’d tried to stitch shut. I’d spent months watching Kael parade around with Aria like she was his salvation. I’d watched him throw away every promise he’d made me, every whispered vow in the shadows, like I was just dust in...