Bonus Chapter – Leo’s POV : "The Heartbeat That Broke Me"

I don't remember what I said that morning.

Something cold, clipped. "I cleared my schedule. I'm coming with you."

Her eyes had widened. She didn't expect me to care.Hell, I didn't expect me to care.

But I'd stared at her for too long the night before. The shape of her belly, the way she held herself — as if she didn't want to take up too much space in a home that was technically hers.

She was carrying my child, living under my name, and still acting like she didn't belong.

And for the first time, that bothered me more than I was willing to admit.

The clinic was too bright. Too quiet.

Ayla lay down like she'd done it before. Calm. Strong.The technician greeted us with that fake cheeriness I hated. I sat beside Ayla, stiff, trying not to look nervous.

Then she reached for my hand.

Not because she needed me. But because she thought I might need her.

Her fingers were small. Warm.

It undid me.

The screen came to life. Static. Then shape. Then—

thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.

It was a fast rhythm. Too fast for a normal heart. Too fast for mine.I stared at the screen like it was some kind of lie.

"That's… them?" I asked, my voice foreign.

The technician smiled. "That's your baby."

I didn't breathe.

I didn't blink.

I just listened.

thump-thump-thump-thump.

So small. So alive.

I didn't know you could fall in love with a sound.But in that moment, I think I did.

I couldn't look away.

Not from the screen. Not from her.

Ayla turned her head slightly and whispered, "She's strong."

She didn't say "it." She said she.

And for reasons I couldn't explain, that made it real.It gave the sound a name. A weight. A presence.

"She sounds like a fighter," I said, barely above a whisper.

But what I meant was:

She sounds like hope.She sounds like something worth becoming a better man for.She sounds like something I never had, but might finally be allowed to protect.

Back in the car, I said something stupid.

"I want to be part of this."

As if I hadn't been part of it from the second she put my name on that marriage certificate.As if Ayla hadn't already been doing all the work — eating right, staying quiet, keeping peace between two strangers in one too-perfect house.

She didn't owe me anything.

But when she nodded, and when she told me not to be afraid…

Something inside me cracked open.

Not all the way.

But enough to hear it.

Enough to feel it.

The heartbeat that broke me —and started to put me back together.

End of Bonus Chapter.