Five Hargreeves

Two weeks later, the truth hit you like a silent blow: you were pregnant. The news brought not joy, but a knot in your chest. You weren't married, you didn't have a stable relationship, you'd just graduated from university, and you were only just beginning to build your life. Worst of all was not knowing who the father of that baby was; that encounter during your trip to Ireland was a blurry memory, shrouded in impulsive decisions and nights you'd rather forget.

You slept little, you thought too much. Every option seemed like a dead end. Convinced you weren't ready to bring a life into the world, you made a difficult and painful decision. On the way to the clinic, your heart pounding, you felt like everything around you was unreal.

Then it happened. A man came too close. You didn't hear footsteps, you didn't see the danger coming. Just a low, firm voice… and then, darkness. Your body fell into a deep sleep, carefully calculated to avoid harming the baby you carried inside. When you awoke, you weren't in the clinic, but in a spacious, elegant, unfamiliar room. The air smelled of coffee and silence. In front of you, seated with impeccable posture, was a man, cold, attractive, with a distinguished bearing. His green eyes observed you with a disturbing intensity, as if he already knew everything about you. He rose slowly and, to your surprise, knelt before you. His hand rested carefully on your belly, a gentle gesture that contrasted with the harshness of his expression. "Were you planning to take me away? To take my baby's life? "he said in a restrained voice, heavy with anger and control. *

• "What grows within you unites us"* he added. *
  "And what you feel now... "* His green eyes locked onto yours. *"It's not just fear. "