I woke up at 4 AM, the house wrapped in silence except for the occasional creaks of the floorboards beneath my feet. The chill of the early morning clung to my skin, but I ignored it, pulling my robe tighter around me as I made my way to the kitchen.
Victor had been working himself to the bone for weeks, skipping meals, coming home late, and barely sleeping. He’d lost weight, his cheekbones more pronounced, the bags under his eyes deeper each day. No matter how much I pleaded with him to take care of himself, he just brushed it off.
I wanted to do something—anything—to ease his burden. A hot, homemade breakfast before his long shift seemed like the least I could do. But when I stepped into the kitchen, my breath caught in my throat.
A woman stood in the dim light of the refrigerator, the soft glow casting shadows across her face. She wasn’t a stranger.
It was her.
Ariadna. Victor’s ex. And she was visibly pregnant.
I froze, my mind scrambling to make sense of the sight in front of me. Her dark curls were unkempt, her clothes loose but unable to hide the roundness of her belly. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
“What the hell are you doing here?” My voice came out sharper than I intended, but the shock and confusion twisted in my chest like a vice.
Ariadna gasped, stepping back against the counter as if cornered. Her eyes filled with tears as she struggled to find her words.
“I—I’m sorry,” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I—I had nowhere else to go.”
I frowned, the initial rush of anger giving way to something more complicated. “Nowhere else to go?”
She nodded, swallowing hard. “I ran away from my boyfriend. He… he was hurting me. Controlling me. And when he found out I was pregnant, it got worse. I was scared he’d do something unforgivable, so I left in the middle of the night.”
I didn’t move, my hands gripping the back of a chair for support. My thoughts felt like a tangled mess, but one thing was clear—Victor knew about this.
Before I could ask anything else, footsteps sounded behind me.
Victor.
His hair was tousled, his eyes heavy with sleep, but the moment he saw the scene in front of him, his expression turned to one of quiet resignation.
“How could you keep this a secret from me?” I asked, my voice trembling. “Of course, I would be okay with helping her out.”
He exhaled slowly, running a hand over his face. “I didn’t want you to think… the worst. She had nowhere else to go, and I was the only person she trusted. I let her stay in the guest room, but I—I didn’t know how to tell you.”
I stared at him, my heart pounding. He thought I would turn her away? That I would rather see a pregnant woman—a woman in danger—left to fend for herself just because of our history?
A sharp pain twisted in my chest, not from betrayal, but from the realization of how much Victor had been shouldering alone.
I turned back to Ariadna. She was still standing near the counter, looking down at her hands as if waiting for me to lash out.
Instead, I sighed, trying to ease the tightness in my throat. “How long have you been here?”
“Almost three weeks,” she admitted, barely above a whisper.
That was how long Victor had been losing weight. Not because of overwork, but because he had been trying to help her. Making sure she had enough food, worrying about what I would think, carrying the weight of a secret he thought might break us.
I shook my head, a sad smile creeping onto my lips despite the chaos in my mind. “Victor, you idiot.”
His eyes widened slightly. “What?”
I gestured toward Ariadna. “You thought I’d rather have her out on the streets than under our roof?”
He hesitated before sighing. “I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to put you in an impossible situation.”
I walked over to Ariadna, my pulse still erratic, but something inside me softened. She had been terrified, desperate, and Victor had done what he thought was right, even if he went about it the wrong way.
“You should have told me,” I said quietly, looking back at Victor. “I could have helped.”
Ariadna let out a shaky breath, wiping at her eyes. “I didn’t want to be a burden.”
I shook my head. “You’re not. No one deserves to be trapped in a situation like that.” I glanced at her belly and felt something shift inside me. I couldn’t imagine the fear she must have felt, running in the dead of night with a life growing inside her.
Victor looked between us, clearly relieved. “So… you’re okay with her staying?”
I let out a small laugh, crossing my arms. “She’s already been here for weeks, hasn’t she? Might as well make it official.”
Ariadna let out a small, surprised chuckle, her eyes still wet but her shoulders relaxing. “Thank you.”
I nodded. “But from now on, no more secrets, alright?” I gave Victor a pointed look, and he raised his hands in surrender.
“Agreed,” he said, a hint of guilt in his expression. “I should have told you from the start.”
I turned back to the stove, exhaling deeply. “Now, let’s do this properly. I was going to make breakfast for Victor, but I think we could all use a good meal.”
Victor smiled, and for the first time in weeks, the tension in his face eased. Ariadna gave me a grateful nod, and I realized that, despite everything, I had gained something unexpected—a moment of understanding, a chance to do the right thing.
The three of us sat down together, and as I placed a plate in front of Ariadna, I realized how much this meant.
Sometimes, love wasn’t just about who we had chosen as our partner. It was about the kindness we extended to others, the trust we built, and the unexpected ways we could heal.
It wasn’t the morning I had planned. But maybe, it was exactly the one we all needed.
