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Chapter 11: Dinner For Two

last update Last Updated: 2025-03-10 03:01:22

The house felt warmer than usual, filled with the soft scents of garlic, rosemary, and caramelizing onions. I stood at the counter, chopping vegetables with more focus than I’d had in weeks.

Tonight mattered.

I had spent the entire day preparing. Grocery shopping in the morning, recipe hunting in the afternoon, and now after three failed attempts at a sauce I could never get right I was finally ready.

Tonight wasn’t just dinner. Tonight was my moment.

I was going to tell Leonard about the baby.

For a few fleeting hours, I let myself believe that this night could fix everything.

That a perfect meal, some soft music, and the right words could turn us back into the couple we used to be. I could see it in my mind, the way his face would light up when I told him.

The way he’d pull me into his arms, his hands cradling my stomach, whispering promises about the future we’d share.

Hope was dangerous, but tonight, I let it live.

The table was already set, candles lit, wine chilling, and soft
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