For Sam.
I found him by the window, clutching a folder tightly. His face looked empty, as if something essential had been ripped from him.
“Sam?” I called softly. “Come here.”
He approached, but slowly… as if each step weighed more than the last.
His eyes flicked from Lily to Nora… and then back to me.
“Why are you looking at them like that?” I asked, a chill settling in my chest.
He swallowed. “I need a minute, Erica.”
“A minute for what?”
He ran a hand over his mouth. “I just… need to think.”
Riley glanced between us, sensing something was wrong. I forced a smile—for her, for the moment, for the fragile happiness we had just created.
“Go get some water,” I said gently. “This is real. Our daughters are here… our lives begin now.”
For a second—just a second—he almost smiled.
But it didn’t quite show in his eyes.
Instead, he leaned down, kissed my hand, and whispered, “Keep the girls.”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
Before I could answer, a nurse came in and broke the moment.
“Go get something to eat while they sleep, Eri,” Riley murmured. “I promise I’ll still be here.”
Sam looked down at the folder again.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “I won’t be long. I’ll get some food and be right back. Text me if you need anything.”
I came back with a paper bag full of food.
Still warm.
Still normal.
Still believing it was all about to begin.
But Sam was gone.
At first, my mind refused to accept it.
Bathroom. Parking lot. A phone call. Her mother.
Gia.
She had a habit of interfering in everything, turning even the most intimate moments into something strategic.
I looked down the hall again.
Nothing.
No Sam.
When I walked back into the room, the silence hit me first.
Just my daughters.
Riley.
And a folded note.
My name written on it.
I opened it.
For illustrative purposes only.
“I’m sorry, Erica.
I can’t do this. I can’t handle the babies. I know we loved them so much, but I think I got carried away by your emotions, not my own.
I can’t handle this life.
Don’t look for me.
You and the girls will be better off without me.
—Sam.”
