I need you, Alysha

Alysha’s voice trembled as she choked out the words, “You’re a Suegra!” Her tears fell freely, her body shaking against the cold wall. Ivan froze, the weight of her realization crashing down on him like a tidal wave.

His heart ached at the sight of her, at the pain etched into her face. He opened his mouth to speak, but Alysha’s broken voice cut through the silence.

“Your family…” she whispered, her voice cracking, “is the reason I’m in this condition, isn’t it?”

Ivan’s eyes widened in shock, and he quickly shook his head. “No, Alysha,” he said, his voice desperate. “That’s not true.”

But she didn’t seem to hear him, her pain pouring out like a dam that had finally burst. “I know, Ivan. I know. Everyone keeps telling me the same thing: Stay away from the Suegras. Stay away from you!” She pressed her hands against her chest, her tears falling faster. “And now, I can’t believe it—I gave birth to a child of a Suegra. A Suegra!”

Ivan flinched as if she had struck him, her words cutting de