The Mafia's Bride

Chapter 32

— Hayat's POV

Time moves differently on an island.

Back home every day felt rushed. There was always somewhere to go, something to do, someone waiting.

Here...

The mornings began with the sound of waves.

The afternoons smelled of bread and cinnamon.

And the nights belonged to the stars.

Somehow weeks passed without me noticing.

I had fallen into a routine.

Wake up.

Work at the bakery.

Write.

Come home.

Sleep.

Repeat.

Simple.

Peaceful.

Safe.

The word safe still felt strange.

I wasn't sure I had ever truly felt safe before.

Not after my parents died.

Not after everything that happened.

Not even after marrying Hazar.

Because loving him always came with fear.

Fear of losing him.

Fear of his world.

Fear of becoming attached to something that could be taken away.

And yet...

Some mornings I woke up missing him so much it physically hurt.

⸻

"You're thinking about him again."

I looked up from the dough I was kneading.

Luna stood across from me with her arms crossed.

I rolled my eyes.

"I wasn't."

"You're a terrible liar."

I threw flour at her.

She gasped dramatically.

"Violence?"

"You deserved it."

She laughed.

For a moment I laughed too.

It felt nice.

Normal.

The kind of normal I hadn't experienced in a long time.

Luna had become my closest friend here.

She never pushed.

Never asked questions I didn't want to answer.

She simply stayed.

Some days that was enough.

⸻

A week later I had a doctor's appointment.

I almost didn't go.

Not because I didn't want to.

Because I was scared.

Every day this baby became more real.

And every day I loved them a little more.

Which somehow made everything more terrifying.