Damien’s POV
The house felt wrong.
Empty. Too quiet. Even with the kids running around, even with their laughter echoing through the halls, sothing fundantal was missing.
Sera was missing.
I stood at the kitchen window, staring at nothing. My coffee had gone cold an hour ago. I couldn’t rember the last ti I’d actually tasted food instead of just chanically chewing and swallowing.
Two weeks. Fourteen days since she’d moved out.
It felt like years.
"Dad?" Adrian’s voice cut through my thoughts. "Can you sign this permission slip?"
I turned around. He stood in the doorway, holding a piece of paper. His expression was carefully neutral. The way it had been since Sera left.
"What’s it for?" I took the paper from him.
"Field trip. Science museum."
I scanned it quickly. Signed at the bottom. Handed it back.
"Thanks." He started to leave.
"Adrian?"
He stopped. Didn’t turn around.
"You doing okay, buddy?"
"I’m fine."
The sa answer he gave every ti I asked. The sa flat tone. The sa refusal to actually talk to .
"If you need to talk about—"
"I said I’m fine." His voice got harder. "Can I go now?"
I nodded. He disappeared upstairs.
The kitchen felt even emptier after he left.
My phone sat on the counter. Dark. Silent. Mocking .
I’d tried calling Sera. Texting. Leaving voicemails. Everything.
She’d blocked my number.
The kids saw her. She picked them up from school twice a week. Took them to her apartnt for sleepovers. Made sure they knew she hadn’t abandoned them again.
But ? Nothing. Complete radio silence.
I’d tried approaching her at pickup. She’d walked past like I was invisible.
I’d tried showing up at her apartnt. She wouldn’t answer the door.
I’d tried sending ssages through the kids. Adrian refused. Said it wasn’t his job to play ssenger.
Smart kid. Too smart.
Lily bounded into the kitchen. Her backpack bouncing against her shoulders.
"Daddy! Can we have pancakes for breakfast tomorrow?"
"Sure, baby girl."
"With chocolate chips?"
"If that’s what you want."
She bead. Then her face fell slightly. "Will Mama be here for breakfast?"
My chest tightened. "Not tomorrow, sweetheart. But you’ll see her after school, rember?"
"Oh. Right." She fidgeted with her backpack straps. "I wish she could have breakfast with us though. Like before."
"I know, baby. too."
She hugged quickly. Then ran off to join Adrian upstairs.
I stood there alone again.
The silence pressed down like a physical weight.
I grabbed my phone. Scrolled through old ssages from Sera. Back when things were good. When she’d text throughout the day. Little things. Funny observations. I love yous.
The last ssage was from two weeks ago.
**: Can we talk?**
Delivered. Read. No response.
I typed out another ssage. Deleted it. Typed again. Deleted again.
What was the point? She wouldn’t read it. Wouldn’t respond. Wouldn’t give a chance to explain sothing I didn’t even understand myself.
Work had beco a nightmare.
I couldn’t focus. Couldn’t make decisions without second-guessing everything. Couldn’t lead properly when my mind was constantly elsewhere.
Lucas had pulled aside yesterday. Told I was a ss. That I needed to get my shit together.
He was right.
But how could I focus on pack business when my entire life was falling apart?
Claire had stopped asking questions. Just looked at with those pitying eyes. Like I was so tragic figure in a story that wouldn’t end well.
Maybe I was.
The days blurred together.
Wake up. Get the kids ready. Drop them at school. Go to work. Pretend to function. Pick up the kids. Make dinner. Help with howork. Put them to bed.
Repeat.
On the days Sera had them, the house was unbearable. Too quiet. Too empty. Too full of mories.
I’d find myself in our bedroom sotis. The one we used to share. Sitting on the edge of the bed. Staring at her side. At the pillow she used to sleep on.
Everything still slled like her. Her shampoo. Her perfu. That unique scent that was just Sera.
I couldn’t bring myself to wash the sheets.
Pathetic. I knew it was pathetic.
But I couldn’t let go of even that small piece of her.
The one person who might have answers was gone too.
Emma.
I’d tried calling her office. Her phone. Everything.
Complete silence. Like she’d vanished off the face of the earth.
HR said she’d requested extended dical leave. Months potentially. No return date. No contact information beyond an ergency number that went straight to voicemail.
I’d even tried sending Claire to her apartnt. She’d knocked for fifteen minutes. No answer.
Emma didn’t want to be found.
And I couldn’t bla her. After what happened—whatever happened—she probably wanted nothing to do with .
But I needed answers. Needed to understand what the hell had occurred that night.
Without her, I had nothing. Just gaps in my mory and Sera’s devastated face and a marriage crumbling to dust.
I threw myself into pack business during the day. Border patrols. Territory disputes. Anything to keep my mind occupied.
It didn’t help.
Everything reminded of Sera.
The training facility where she worked. The cafeteria where she ate lunch. The paths she walked. The places she’d been.
I couldn’t escape her even when she wasn’t there.
Lucas tried to help. Invited out for drinks. Offered to watch the kids so I could have a night off.
I refused everything. What was the point?
Claire tried too. Showed up with casseroles and concerned questions.
I appreciated it. But food tasted like ash and questions had no answers.
Lily asked about Sera constantly. When was Mama coming ho? Why couldn’t Mama live with us? Did Mama still love us?
Each question was a knife to the chest.
Adrian stopped asking. Just retreated into himself. Spent hours in his room reading. Barely spoke at dinner.
I was failing them. Failing as a father. Failing as a husband. Failing at everything.
The doorbell rang late one afternoon.
I dragged myself to answer it. Probably Claire again with more food I wouldn’t eat.
I opened the door.
Emma stood there.
My breath caught. She looked terrible. Dark circles under her eyes. Pale. Drawn. Like she’d been sick for weeks.
"Emma." Her na ca out strangled. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Can I co in?" Her voice was small. Uncertain.
I stepped aside. She walked past into the living room.
We stood there awkwardly. Neither of us knowing where to start.
"I need to talk to you," she said finally.
"About that night?"
She nodded. Her hands twisted together nervously.
"I need to know what happened," I said. "Everything. I need to understand so I can fix this with Sera. So I can—"
"Damien." She cut off. Her voice shaking. "There’s sothing I need to tell you first."
Sothing in her tone made my stomach drop.
"What?"
She looked up at . Tears filling her eyes. Her whole body trembling.
"Damien, I’m pregnant."
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