"My lady, please… calm down. Please remember you're carrying a baby now." Adelle's voice was soft, careful, but firm—threaded with genuine concern as her eyes followed Ava, who paced like a storm caged in silk.
"Your feelings… your emotions—they're the child's too. And this little one, Lady Ava… it's delicate. You already know that. More stress like this and—" her voice broke slightly, "and we could lose little Ford again."
The name—little Ford—made Ava freeze, just for a breath. But it passed as quickly as it came, swallowed by a sea of nerves and tension crawling down her spine like electricity. She clutched her arms around herself, rubbing them as if to warm the truth that had begun to chill her from within.
"I—" Ava's voice cracked, and she dropped onto the chaise as though her knees had simply buckled beneath the weight of her thoughts. "I have never felt this anxious, Adelle."
