Page 230 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

And suddenly, everything we survived crashes back into me all at once.

Her disappearance. The emptiness. The grief. The constant fear of losing her again ever since she came back.

And yet despite all of that…

This heart is beating.

Our baby exists.

I lift her hand to my lips because I’m incapable of speaking without risking completely falling apart.

Then we turn back toward the screen.

Our child appears in profile. Tiny, fragile and perfect.

A violent emotion closes around my throat. For a few seconds, I can think of nothing except this impossible certainty:

We’re going to be parents.

The doctor prints the ultrasound pictures, and we take them with almost absurd care, as though they were made of glass.

This happiness still feels too fragile to be real.

We leave the office wrapped in a strange silence, unable to fully come back down to earth.

Eventually, Valeria laughs softly inside the elevator—a laugh still trembling with emotion—and I think that’s the exact moment I realize this is real.

We spend the rest of the day suspended in a strange kind of happiness.

Like we’re finally learning how to live again.

The next morning, I watch her get dressed from our bed.

Winter light slides across her skin as she pulls on one of my shirts before disappearing into the dressing room.

A faint smile has lingered on her lips since the moment she woke up.

She seems lighter today. As if something inside her has finally eased.

She’s beautiful like this. Not just beautiful. Alive.

Our loved ones still don’t know about the baby. We’re going to tell them at the housewarming party for our new home.

For a long time, I never believed I could have something like this one day.

A house filled with light.

Valeria in my kitchen.

Our child on the way.

A life I thought I’d lost.

And yet, here it is.

Mom and Dad arrive first carrying several plants for Valeria, knowing how much she loves them. Bernadette and Arnaud Perez bring colorful cushions for the living room. Hugo shows up with chocolates from La Mère de Famille. Such a kiss-ass.

Andrea, on the other hand, arrives with several ridiculously expensive bottles of champagne.