Episode 16

The air in the restaurant kitchen was thick with the smell of simmering sauces and the clatter of pans. Claire, her movements surprisingly decisive for someone heavily pregnant, tugged at Bright’s sleeve, pulling him away from the lingering tension of the baby shower. He followed, a mixture of bewilderment and resignation on his face. Eli, still flushed from their latest skirmish, watched them go, a knot of unease tightening in his stomach. He’d been so close to… something. A breakthrough? A final, definitive victory? He wasn’t sure, but Claire’s intervention had, as always, shifted the ground beneath his feet.

Inside the steamy kitchen, Claire released Bright’s arm. She leaned against a cool stainless-steel counter, her hand instinctively going to her swollen belly. “We need to talk,” she said, her voice softer now, devoid of the sharp edges it had acquired during their earlier argument. Bright nodded, his gaze softening as he looked at her. He still looked a little shell-shocked, his hair mussed from their rooftop wrestling match and the subsequent frantic rush to calm him down.

“I know,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “Eli… he’s always been like this, hasn’t he? Stubborn. Obsessed.”