Nick arrived in one of the most dangerous parts of the city, his heart pounding with every turn of the wheel. When Sara stepped into the car, he was momentarily stunned. She looked nothing like the composed, radiant woman he adored. Her clothes were disheveled, her face pale, and her eyes — those violet eyes — carried the weight of something heavy and unspoken.
As they drove away from that place, Sara pressed her hands to her face. She was trembling, breath uneven. The silence between them was thick with tension. When they crossed into the safe district, Nick reached for her hand, but she gently pulled away and lit a cigarette.
"Sara," he said softly, trying to control the ache in his chest. "You can't... You're pregnant, you shouldn't smoke."
She didn't answer. Her gaze was lost in the blur of streetlights outside the window. Nick parked the car, took the cigarette from her fingers, and tossed it away. Turning to her, he whispered, "You've been drinking too, haven't you?"
She still said nothing. He brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, his touch tender. "Please talk to me. I don't understand… is it me? Are you not happy? Are you... tired of this life with me? With our children?"
That was when Sara's voice broke. "How can you think that?" she said with trembling lips. "You're everything I have. Everything I need. But I've been carrying something inside me, something that's been suffocating me."
She held onto him tightly, then slowly pulled away to look into his eyes.
"There's something I have to tell you," she said. "Something I never wanted you to know. But if I don't say it now… it'll destroy me. Please, just listen. No questions until I'm done."
Nick nodded, heart racing.
Sara told him everything. From the day she disappeared to protect him… to the years of isolation and suffering. She spoke in trembling, broken fragments — her voice a storm of sorrow and shame. Her memories came like waves, crashing painfully over her, choking her.
And then she told him the one truth that had haunted her every day since: while in captivity, she had given birth — and the child had been taken from her. She had no way to protect him. She was restrained. Powerless. And the horror that followed was something she could hardly put into words.
Nick held her as she wept, his own tears falling freely. He kissed her forehead, rocked her gently, and whispered, "You survived, my love. That child… he will always be part of you. And now, we live — for him, for our children, for us."
WE'RE A TEAM
When they returned home, they retreated into the quiet of Nick's study. Sara poured herself a small glass of champagne from the bar. Nick gently took it from her hands and placed it aside. He didn't need her to numb the pain. He needed her to speak, to breathe, to release it all.
She stood near the fireplace, a flicker of firelight dancing in her eyes. From her coat, she pulled a small object and, with swift precision, threw it across the room. A dagger struck the wall with a sharp thud, embedding itself in the wood.
Nick froze. Sara turned to him, voice cold but steady.
"The people you saw on the news — the politician and her bodyguard — they're dead," she said. "They were part of the organization. She was the one who gave the orders… and he was the one who carried them out."
Nick could barely breathe. "Did you…?"
"She destroyed my life," Sara interrupted, eyes glistening. "She gave the command that led to the end of my child's life. I survived, but barely. And now you ask why I don't believe in the law, why I don't trust the system."
"I wanted to help you through justice, Sara. To make them pay."
"And I've already begun," she said quietly. "They won't hurt anyone else. But I didn't want you involved because… if I lost you or the children... I couldn't survive that again."
Nick crossed the room and cupped her face in his hands.
"You're not alone in this," he whispered. "You never were. Let me stand beside you — you in the shadows, me in the light. We're stronger together."
Sara hesitated. Then, for the first time in days, she allowed herself to believe it. "Alright," she said. "But promise me — no matter how dark things get, you'll stay with me."
Nick smiled. "I swear it. I'm not afraid of the dark anymore, not if you're in it."
They kissed, long and deep. And as they held each other, the scars on their souls didn't vanish — but for once, they didn't ache quite as much.
Later that night, they lay entwined, the fire crackling nearby, the weight of truth between them now shared, no longer a burden shouldered alone.
They had lost much. But they still had each other. And that was where the healing would begin.