**THREE MONTHS LATER **
\nWe got discharged 2 months ago. Life has been moving so fast ever since, faster than my heart can keep up with. My babies are growing up so fast, their tiny faces changing almost every morning.
\nSometimes I just sit and stare at them, afraid that if I blink, I\u2019ll miss something important. Their little hands grip my fingers like they already know this world can be cruel and they need to hold on tight.
\nNot Leo giving a them a bottle as soon as they cry. He doesn\u2019t even wait, doesn\u2019t ask, doesn\u2019t hesitate. One cry and he\u2019s already there, bottle in hand, acting like a trained soldier on duty.
\nHe is overfeeding my kids, and I swear he does it just to prove that he can handle it too, that he is just as involved as I am. Watching him with them softens me, but it also annoys me because he doesn\u2019t listen.
\nLeo: Baby don\u2019t you think we need a Nanny they are growing up fast and I got work.
\nI look at him, really look at him. The same man who once ruled fear with just his presence is now stressed about schedules, meetings, and time slipping through his fingers. And suddenly, it feels like I\u2019m alone in this, like I\u2019m the only one whose whole world revolves around these babies.
\nMe: You can go and work. I will take care of my babies cause it seems like works matters more than your own family.
\nThe words come out sharper than I planned, loaded with everything I\u2019ve been holding in. Sleepless nights. Endless crying. Studying with tired eyes. Healing while still breaking.
\nLeo: I don\u2019t like your tone. And this is not the first time I tell you this. If I don\u2019t work how am I gonna take care of my family.
\nHis voice is firm now, defensive. He doesn\u2019t see that I\u2019m not attacking him, I\u2019m drowning. He doesn\u2019t see that I\u2019m scared of doing this alone even when he\u2019s right here.
\nMe: I told you to take a 6 months leave.
\n(It wasn\u2019t just a suggestion. It was a plea. A desperate attempt to keep my family whole before life pulls us in different directions.)
\nLeo: I don\u2019t operate like that and you know I don\u2019t have one company.
\nAnd there it is. The world he belongs to, the world I married into. One company, ten companies, danger, power, responsibility. It always wins.
\nMe: You can go I don\u2019t mind and Auntie Noah will come cause he loves them.
\n(I try to sound calm, reasonable, like it doesn\u2019t hurt to even suggest someone else stepping in where their father should be.)
\nLeo: Forget it I\u2019m not going anywhere. It too early for your friends to be all over my babies.
\n(His possessiveness rises, sharp and sudden. These are his children, his blood, and no one gets access without his approval.)
\nMe: But they are 3 months. You said that when they are 3 months they can see them.
\n(I remind him, quietly but firmly, because promises matter to me. Especially now.)
\nLeo: And you told me that I will have to wait for you for 3 months. And 3 months is over now you are still denying me, a good love session. Since the babies are born you hardly bond with me.
\nThat one hits deep. I feel my chest tighten. As if bonding with my babies means abandoning him. As if my body, my time, my emotions belong to him on a schedule.
\nMe: Leo are you serious right now. The babies are still young.
\n(My voice cracks slightly, disbelief mixing with exhaustion. Does he really not see how much this took out of me?)
\nLeo: Don\u2019t lie to me . You have recovered. Fully recovered.
\n(I clench my jaw. Recovered physically maybe, but emotionally? Mentally? No one talks about that part.)
\nMe: Can\u2019t you wait until you hear from me when I feel like it.
\n(This is me asking for control over my own body, my own readiness, my own healing.)
\nLeo: I will be in my study if they bother you bring them to me
\nJust like that. He walks out. No compromise. No reassurance. Just distance. The door closing feels louder than it should.
\nNow that was crazy. Men are crazy, did he just ask for a love making session while I gave birth few months ago to premature. My mind spins as I stand there, surrounded by baby bottles, toys, and silence. I hardly manage studying, balancing motherhood and my future on a thin line. If I fail this year I won\u2019t blame anyone but myself.
\nI look down at my babies sleeping peacefully, unaware of the tension in the room, unaware of how much their existence has changed everything. I take a deep breath, reminding myself that I\u2019m strong, that I survived worse than this. But tonight, strength feels heavy, and love feels complicated.
\n.
\n.
\n**LEONARDO **
\nKatherine and I have been talking for a while now, and every conversation leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
\nAt first, I thought closure was harmless. I thought I owed her an apology, a final explanation, something clean to end the past properly. But now she is annoying me, crawling back into spaces I worked so hard to seal shut.
\nI get a text from her, short but heavy, like she knows exactly how to pull at the loose threads in my chest. Without thinking too much, I call her.
\nOn the call::
\nMe: What do you want? I apologized to you for whatever I did to Jason. It been months now.
\nKat: I told you I want us to meet somewhere and talk.
\nMe: I don\u2019t want anything to do with you Katherine.
\n(Every word I say feels firm, final, but deep down I know I wouldn\u2019t be on this call if I truly meant it.)
\nKat: Please this once and I will leave you alone.
\nMe: Okay fine meet where.
\nKat: You can come to my apartment I will send you the location.
\nShe drops the call before I can object. I stare at my phone, irritation mixing with something I don\u2019t want to name. Really, why her apartment? When there are so many restaurants with great food out here, public places where things stay controlled. But Katherine was never about control. I wrap up my work, my mind drifting, unease settling in my stomach. Two hours later I\u2019m done. It\u2019s 18:16. Night has already claimed the city.
\nAt home, my babies are already sleeping in their comfy night clothes, peaceful, innocent, unaware of the storm quietly building inside their father. That sight should have stopped me. It should have grounded me. But instead, I feel torn, pulled between the man I am and the man I used to be.
\nMe: I have to go somewhere
\nAmanda: Where.?
\nMe: I will be back soon Babe, I promise.
\nThe lie slips out easily, too easily. I walk out while she\u2019s showering, avoiding her eyes, avoiding the weight of her trust. Every step away from the house feels heavier than the last, but I keep moving anyway. I get in my car and drive to Katherine\u2019s apartment, my chest tight, my thoughts loud. She opens the door before I even knock, like she\u2019s been waiting right there the whole time.
\nMe: You asked to see me.
\nKat: No need to be so cold. I\u2019m still the Kat you know.
\nMe: What do you want.?
\nKat: I can\u2019t get you off my mind Leon. What happened to us. I waited for you. But did you.?
\n(Her voice carries history, memories I buried but never erased. I hate how familiar it feels.)
\nMe: Is that why you moved here.?
\nKat: Yes I couldn\u2019t find you guys where you lived they told me you moved back. So I followed you here.
\n(The words hit harder than I expect. Followed. That should scare me. Instead, it unsettles me in a different way.)
\nMe: Hey I moved on from whatever we had. I\u2019m married now and I have kids.
\nKat: Do you love your wife.?
\n(The question hangs between us, heavy and dangerous.)
\nMe: Yes . After you I promised myself to never love someone like I did to you but then I found myself deeply in love with Amanda.
\n(I mean it. I really do. And that\u2019s what makes everything that follows unbearable.)
\nKat: But I still have a special space in your heart right. Honestly I never stopped loving you Leon just like how you still do .
\nMe: You called me for this madness.
\nKat: My feelings are madness. You are calling our love madness.
\nI shake my head and turn to leave. I don\u2019t want to hear anymore. I don\u2019t trust myself. But she steps into my space, wraps her arms around me from behind. Her touch is familiar, deliberate, and my body reacts before my mind can stop it. I hate that it does
\nMe: Kat stop.
\nI pull her hand away, breathing hard, torn between leaving and staying. She looks at me like she already knows she\u2019s won. The tension snaps. Boundaries dissolve. One moment turns into another too fast. It\u2019s not love. It\u2019s hunger. It\u2019s unfinished history colliding with bad choices.
\nBut lines have already been crossed. What happens next doesn\u2019t feel like love, doesn\u2019t feel like the past either. It feels empty, rushed, and wrong. A release without meaning. A mistake dressed up as nostalgia. When it\u2019s over, there\u2019s no comfort, no warmth\u2014only silence and regret crawling under my skin.
\nI wear my clothes and walk out without looking back. It\u2019s almost eleven. Gosh. Panic grips me as I drive as fast as I can, every red light feeling like judgment. When I get home, the sight breaks me. Amanda is breastfeeding Ryan, this one loves breast milk, her face calm, tired, devoted. She looks like home. Like everything I almost shattered.
\nI don\u2019t say a word. Shame lodges in my throat. I rush to the shower, letting the water burn my skin, trying to wash off guilt that won\u2019t come off. Standing there, I realize the worst part isn\u2019t what I did\u2014it\u2019s knowing I chose it. And no amount of regret will undo that choice.
\n.
\n.
\n**AMANDA **
\nFinally everyone is sleeping. The house is quiet in that rare, fragile way that only comes after long nights of crying, feeding, and endless rocking. My body feels heavy, exhausted in a way sleep doesn\u2019t easily fix, but my heart feels calm knowing my babies are finally resting.
\nI can now go to sleep, or at least lie down and pretend that rest will come. I hate that Ryan can\u2019t sleep without getting his milk from me. Sometimes I feel like my body doesn\u2019t belong to me anymore, like I exist only to give, to feed, to soothe. Still, when I look at his tiny face relaxed against my chest, I forgive everything.
\nI got inside the room quietly, careful not to wake anyone. Leo was standing in front of the mirror, staring at himself, but not really seeing himself. It wasn\u2019t the usual confident, dangerous Leo I know. He looked\u2026 distant. Lost in thought. Almost haunted. That was unusual. Leo doesn\u2019t overthink. He acts. He decides. He controls. Seeing him like that sends a strange chill down my spine.
\nMe: Are you fine.?
\nLeo: Yes I am.
\nMe: Okay.
\nHe joins me in bed, but something is off. The moment he lies beside me, I feel it. His heart is beating differently. Faster. Uneven. That really unusual. Leo is never scared or nervous of anything. He is the kind of man fear avoids. So why does it feel like he\u2019s running from something?
\nMe: Why are you nervous.?
\nLeo: It\u2019s nothing
\nMe: What is going on.?
\nLeo: It\u2019s nothing
\nSame answer. Again. Okay something is going on. My chest tightens. I know this man. I sleep next to him. I share children with him. He doesn\u2019t repeat himself like this unless he\u2019s hiding something.
\nMe: Did you kill someone.?
\nLeo: Not exactly. I told you I don\u2019t kill people. I have changed.
\nMe: Telling them to kill them that still killing.
\nLeo: It really nothing let\u2019s sleep please.
\nI nod and keep quiet, but my mind refuses to rest. Something is not adding up here. He is not someone to get nervous over something small. Whatever it is, it\u2019s heavy enough to follow him into our bed, heavy enough to disturb his breathing. I turn my back to him, pretending to sleep, but my thoughts run wild. I wonder what is going on with him. And why I feel like the truth would break something between us.
\n.
\nNEXT DAY**
\nI wake up to soft noises instead of cries. That alone surprises me. When I check the time, I realize I slept longer than usual. I rush out of bed, panic rising, but then I see it.
\nHe already did everything for them. Feeding. Changing. Carrying. My heart softens instantly. How cute. Matching outfits. On all of them. My babies look like tiny dolls lined up in his arms, and for a moment I forget my worries.
\nI rinse my face and go downstairs. I eat, my mind drifting between gratitude and unease. Leo keeps glancing at his phone, distracted, like his body is here but his mind is somewhere else. I help him feed them, correcting him gently when he rushes, when he forgets their cues. Afterwards, I head to the shower.
\nAnyways I\u2019m almost done with varsity. I will be graduating in few months to come. My course was 2 years. Sometimes I sit and think about it \u2014 how fast life changed. Like bruh I\u2019m 20 years. Mummy is growing. But red flag I have babies at such small age. I try not to dwell on it too much. I remind myself that I\u2019m strong, that I\u2019m managing, that I didn\u2019t lose myself completely. The water runs down my body, washing away exhaustion but not the knot in my chest.
\nI showered and went downstairs.
\nMe: Leo wtf are you crazy.?
\nI say it sharply, fear taking over as I snatch Kayden from him. He was done drinking from his bottle. Even milk was coming out on the sides. My baby is full and he was signaling his father by not swallowing the milk but he still didn\u2019t pull out the bottle from his mouth. My hands shake slightly as I hold him close, protecting him.
\nLeo: I\u2019m sorry I didn\u2019t notice.
\nMe: What on your mind Mmh. Since yesterday you have been acting strange tell me what is going on with you.
\nLeo: Nothing. Can we go to the park I think fresh air will do.
\n(The suggestion feels rushed, forced, like he\u2019s trying to escape the house.)
\nMe: The weather is not good for kids.
\nLeo: Yeah. I have something to deal with. I will be back.
\nJust like that. No explanation. No reassurance. He grabs his car keys and walks out, leaving the door closing behind him louder than it should. I stand there holding Kayden, my heart pounding.
\nWhat the fuck is wrong with him. I look around the house, at our babies, at the life we built, and suddenly everything feels fragile. Like something is coming. Like a storm I can\u2019t see yet but somehow feel in my bones.
\n.
\n.
\n**LEONARDO **
\nI wore back my clothes as she was laying down in the bed. The room feels smaller now, tighter, like the walls themselves are judging me. What just happened doesn\u2019t sit right in my chest. There\u2019s no satisfaction, no relief, just a hollow feeling that grows heavier by the second. I don\u2019t even want to look at her properly. This wasn\u2019t what I came here for. This wasn\u2019t supposed to happen.
\nMe: This will never ever happen again.
\n(The words come out fast, desperate, like I\u2019m trying to convince myself more than her.)
\nKat: What? Is she not good in bed? Is she not giving it to you right?
\nHer tone irritates me instantly. Amanda\u2019s face flashes in my mind \u2014 tired eyes, soft hands, a body that carried my children. Shame crawls up my spine.
\nMe: She is.. (Even saying that feels like a betrayal.)
\nKat: Oh there are some changes since she pushed four heads out. Oh I can imagine. Four head at an hour.
\nSomething in me snaps. Anger flares hot and sudden. That\u2019s the mother of my children she\u2019s talking about. The woman who almost lost her life giving me a family.
\nMe: Don\u2019t talk about her like that. She gave birth through c-section.
\nKat: Oh.
\nShe sounded disappointed. That alone tells me everything I need to know. This woman doesn\u2019t respect what Amanda went through. And yet, here I am.
\nMe: And we she is not ready to you know. She is denying me.
\n(Saying it out loud makes it sound uglier than it already is. Like I\u2019m justifying something that can\u2019t be justified.)
\nKat: So you are using me.?
\n(Her words hang in the air. Maybe she\u2019s right. Maybe we\u2019re both using each other to fill spaces that shouldn\u2019t exist anymore.)
\nMe: Am I? That what you get for throwing yourself at me. And is Jason not giving it to you.
\nKat: He is away for a business. He is always busy. But he is good but not like you. I guess I just missed you.
\nMissed me. The old me. The version that doesn\u2019t exist anymore. The man before responsibilities, before love matured into something deeper than desire.
\nMe: Mxm. You know what we are done here. I regret doing this. I actually thought I still love you but it seem like I\u2019m just confuse. This is not love, just a starving confused man trying to find comfort.
\nAs the words leave my mouth, the truth finally settles in. Heavy. Final. Painful. This wasn\u2019t love. It was weakness. Ego. Loneliness disguised as nostalgia.
\nKat: What do you mean.?
\nMe: It made me realize that the only person I love and care about is Amanda. And my feelings for you has long faded. Open up.
\nMy voice is cold now, distant. I force her to drink the pills, not wanting any loose ends, not wanting consequences to follow me home. Control is the only thing I cling to at this point.
\nKat: You think I will wanna have a baby with someone like you. Amanda gave you everything. She gave you a family but here you are. I don\u2019t wanna be a fool like her .
\nHer words sting because there\u2019s truth buried inside them. Amanda gave me everything. And I almost destroyed it.
\nMe: She is not. What is your body count.?
\nKat: Why are you asking.?
\nMe: Isn\u2019t obvious.? I guess you lost count. That why.?
\nShe pushes me off her bed hard. The tension finally explodes. I laugh \u2014 not because it\u2019s funny, but because laughter is easier than admitting how disgusted I am with myself. I wink at her, a reflex from a past version of me I should\u2019ve buried a long time ago, and walk out, leaving her angry, bitter, and shouting behind me.
\nThe moment I step outside, the night air hits my face and regret crashes down on me without mercy. It\u2019s heavy. Crushing. Unavoidable. I realize then that no matter how fast I drive, no matter how much water I let run over my skin later, this feeling will follow me home. Because I crossed a line I can\u2019t uncross. And the worst part isn\u2019t getting caught \u2014 it\u2019s knowing I betrayed the woman who trusted me with her heart, her body, and her children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
**THREE MONTHS LATER ** We got discharged 2 months ago. Life has been moving so fast ever since, faster than my heart can keep up with. My babies are growing up so fast, their tiny faces changing almost every morning. Sometimes I just sit and stare at them, afraid that if I blink, I\u2019ll miss […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/702144210_4601799926715590_7984063492170098898_n.jpg",736,849,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/702144210_4601799926715590_7984063492170098898_n-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/702144210_4601799926715590_7984063492170098898_n-260x300.jpg",260,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/702144210_4601799926715590_7984063492170098898_n.jpg",640,738,false],"large":["https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/702144210_4601799926715590_7984063492170098898_n.jpg",640,738,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/702144210_4601799926715590_7984063492170098898_n.jpg",736,849,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/702144210_4601799926715590_7984063492170098898_n.jpg",736,849,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Sigma Jay","author_link":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/?author=4"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"**THREE MONTHS LATER ** We got discharged 2 months ago. Life has been moving so fast ever since, faster than my heart can keep up with. My babies are growing up so fast, their tiny faces changing almost every morning. Sometimes I just sit and stare at them, afraid that if I blink, I\u2019ll miss…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=969"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":971,"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions\/971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oneclickstip.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}