Luna. Chapter 3

(Lyra’s POV)

Three days passed in the same pattern. Kael would wake early, check on Seraphina, bring her breakfast, spend the morning tending to her needs. I existed on the periphery of his attention, catching glimpses of him between his caretaking duties.

I tried to be patient. I tried to be understanding. But watching my husband lavish attention on another woman while barely acknowledging my presence was slowly breaking my heart.

On the fourth morning, I decided to try again. I made Kael's favorite breakfast - blueberry pancakes with maple syrup - and waited for him in the dining room. When he came downstairs, he looked surprised to see the elaborate spread.

"This looks amazing," he said, sitting down across from me. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion. I just thought we could have breakfast together." I poured myself orange juice instead of coffee, another small accommodation to the pregnancy he didn't know about. "We haven't really talked in days."

"I know. I'm sorry about that." He cut into his pancakes, but I could see his mind was elsewhere. "Seraphina had nightmares again last night. She's still so afraid they'll come back for her."

"That must be terrifying for her," I said, meaning it. "But Kael, there's something I really need to tell you-"

"I've been thinking," he interrupted, not noticing my attempt to speak. "Maybe I should set up a bed in her room. Just temporarily, so she feels safer at night. Having someone nearby might help with the nightmares."

The orange juice became extremely sour."You want to sleep in her room?"

"Just until she's stronger. The guest room has that reading chair - I could sleep there, be available if she needs anything." He was already working it out in his head, planning how to be the perfect caretaker.

"And where does that leave me?" The question escaped before I could stop it.

Kael looked up from his pancakes, seeming to really see me for the first time all morning. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you've been spending every waking moment with her. Now you want to spend your sleeping moments there too. When exactly do I get to be with my husband?"

"Lyra, don't be dramatic. It's temporary."

"Everything is temporary with you lately. Temporarily sleeping somewhere else, temporarily putting all your attention on her, temporarily treating me like I don't exist." My voice was rising despite my efforts to stay calm.

"You're exaggerating."

"Am I? When's the last time you asked how I'm feeling? When's the last time we had a real conversation that wasn't about Seraphina's needs?"

Kael set down his fork, and I could see his patience wearing thin. "She's been through trauma, Lyra. She needs support right now. I thought you, of all people, would understand compassion."

"I do understand compassion. But I also understand that I'm supposed to be your wife, not some distant acquaintance you occasionally share meals with."

"You are my wife. That doesn't change."

"Doesn't it? Because it feels like I've been demoted to roommate status."

Kael stood up abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. "I don't have time for this right now. Seraphina is expecting her morning medication, and Dr. Sarah is coming by to check her bandages."

"Kael, please. I really need to tell you something important-"

But he was already walking away, taking his half-finished breakfast with him. "We'll talk later, okay?"

I sat alone at the table I'd carefully set, looking at the cold pancakes and untouched orange juice. The words I'd been trying to say for days felt like stones in my throat.

Later that afternoon, I tried a different approach. I knocked softly on the guest room door, carrying a tray of Seraphina's lunch.

"Come in," came Kael's voice.

I entered to find him sitting beside the bed, reading aloud from a book while Seraphina rested against the pillows. She was beautiful, I had to admit - even weakened and pale, she had the kind of ethereal elegance that made other women feel clumsy by comparison.

"I brought lunch," I said quietly.

"Thank you," Seraphina said, her voice soft and musical. "You're very kind to take care of me."

I wanted to point out that Kael was the one taking care of her, not me, but I bit my tongue. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better. Kael's been reading to me - it helps distract from the memories." She looked at him with such gratitude, such affection, that I felt like an intruder in my own home.

"That's nice," I managed. "Kael, when you have a moment, could we talk privately?"

"Actually," Seraphina said, reaching for Kael's hand, "I was hoping you could stay a little longer. I get anxious when I'm alone, and you make me feel safe."

Kael's attention immediately focused on her. "Of course. Whatever you need."

I stood there holding the empty tray, watching my husband hold another woman's hand, and felt invisible. "I'll just... leave you both to it then."

Neither of them protested. Neither of them asked me to stay. As I closed the door behind me, I heard Seraphina's soft laugh at something Kael had said, and I realized that my important news would have to wait another day.

Downstairs, I sat on our couch and finally let myself cry. Four months pregnant with the child of a man who barely seemed to remember I existed. Four months of carrying this joy alone, waiting for the right moment to share it with someone who was too busy caring for his past to notice his present.

My hand found my belly again. "I'm sorry, baby," I whispered. "I'm trying to tell him about you. I really am."