mlm

The doctor's office seemed too bright for the words that were spoken.

The diagnosis was rare and cruel: a hostile uterus. The omega's body simply refused to accept the very possibility of conception. Sperm died before they could reach the egg, and even if a miracle occurred, the embryo had almost no chance of developing. There was hope... but it was short-lived.

They drove home in silence. The silence between them was heavy, as if the air had grown thicker. Noah could smell Elian's bitter pheromones nearby—unsettling, murky, saturated with pain.

As soon as the apartment door closed, Elian turned away abruptly. A sob escaped him, and a second later the bedroom door greeted him with a loud slam.

He always did this. He hid the pain, endured it alone.

Noah approached the door anyway. He was prepared to hear screams, anger, even rudeness. All of this would simply reflect a broken heart.

However, there was only silence behind the door.

Elian sat on the bed, hugging himself as if afraid he'd fall apart. Tears flowed quietly, almost unnoticeably.

He dreamed of a child with all his heart. And now I understood: sometimes dreams exist only to make it more painful to lose them.