The rain hadn't stopped for three days.
It matched my mood perfectly — dark, relentless, and cold.
I stood in front of the small bathroom mirror, shirt lifted, staring at my rounded belly. The baby was growing fast. Too fast. I could feel the magic inside me reacting to the new life, making my skin glow faintly sometimes, especially at night. I gently ran my hands over the bump, feeling a strong kick in response.
"You're strong, little one," I whispered. "Just like your daddy."
But the comfort lasted only seconds before the darkness crept back in.
Elena.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her. Smiling at Stefan. Hugging him. Needing him. Being the one he always ran to comfort. His first love. The girl this entire town still believed he belonged with.
My hatred for her had become something ugly and all-consuming.
I hated her perfect face.
I hated her "I'm just trying to help" messages.
I hated that she got to cry on Stefan's shoulder while I was here alone, pregnant and terrified.
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Stefan showed up again that evening.
He was soaked, standing outside my apartment door like a ghost who refused to leave. I finally let him in — only because the baby had been kicking hard all day and I was exhausted.
The moment the door closed, he dropped to his knees in front of me, hands gently cradling my belly. His forehead pressed against the swell as tears filled his eyes.
"Myra… our baby," he breathed, voice breaking. "I felt him kick. God, I love you both so much."
For a moment, the warmth of his touch almost melted the ice around my heart.
Then my phone buzzed on the table.
Elena:Myra, please. Stefan is destroying himself looking for you. Come home. We're family.
The hatred surged like poison.
I snatched the phone and threw it across the room. It shattered against the wall.
Stefan stood up slowly, eyes wide with concern. "Myra… what's going on?"
I laughed bitterly, tears streaming down my face. "What's going on? Your precious Elena is still texting me. Still trying to play the perfect sister. Still trying to pull you back to her."
"She's worried about you," Stefan said gently. "We all are."
"Worried?" I spat. "She's worried she's losing her favorite emotional support vampire. The one she can always run to when her perfect little life gets hard."
Stefan reached for me. "Myra, stop. I love you. You're carrying my child. Elena is my past. You are my future."
I backed away, shaking with rage and heartbreak.
"If you still contact that bitch," I said, voice trembling but deadly serious, "if you keep letting her cry on your shoulder, if you keep running to her every time she needs you… I will end my own life, Stefan."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
Stefan froze. The color drained from his face. "Myra… don't say that."
"I mean it," I whispered, fresh tears falling. My hands cradled my belly protectively. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep wondering if I'm just the rebound. If one day you'll wake up and realize you still love her more. If our baby grows up watching you choose Elena over us. I'd rather die than live with that pain."
Stefan looked completely shattered. He stepped forward slowly, like I was a wounded animal that might bolt.
"Myra… please. I'm begging you. Don't do this. I will cut Elena off completely if that's what you need. I will block her number right now. I will never speak to her again. Just… don't hurt yourself. Don't hurt our baby."
He pulled out his phone with shaking hands and deleted Elena's contact in front of me, then blocked her.
"There. She's gone. No more. It's only you. You and our child. Please believe me."
I wanted to believe him so badly. But the poison had spread too deep.
"I need time," I whispered, voice hollow. "Real time. Away from all of you. Away from her."
Stefan looked like I'd killed him. He pulled me into his arms anyway, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe. I let him. For a few minutes, I let myself melt into his warmth, his familiar scent, the safety of his body.
"I love you," he whispered against my hair, voice thick with tears. "More than anything. I'll wait forever if I have to."
He kissed me then — desperate, heartbroken, passionate. I kissed him back just as fiercely, clinging to him like he was oxygen. Clothes came off in a rush. He lifted me onto the kitchen counter, spreading my legs and burying his face between them.
I cried out as his tongue worked me expertly, bringing me to a shattering orgasm within minutes. Then he stood, freed himself, and thrust into me hard and deep, eyes locked on mine the entire time.
"Only you," he groaned with every powerful stroke. "Only you, Myra. Forever."
We came together violently, my nails digging into his back, his face buried in my neck as he spilled inside me.
Afterward, he carried me to bed and held me all night, one hand protectively over my belly.
But when I woke up the next morning, Stefan was gone.
He had left another letter on the pillow:
I'll give you the space you asked for. But know this — I'm not giving up on us. I love you and our baby more than life itself. Come back to me when you're ready.
Yours always,
Stefan
I clutched the letter to my chest and cried.
The hatred toward Elena still burned inside me like wildfire. Even now, knowing Stefan had chosen me, the resentment wouldn't die.
I placed both hands on my belly and whispered to our child:
"We're going to be okay… even if it's just the two of us."
But deep down, I knew the truth.
I was breaking.
And I didn't know how much longer I could hold on.