At the dinner, everything felt normal. Too normal. People were laughing, talking, raising their glasses like this was just another gathering. Then the topic shifted.
“You’ve been married five years now. It’s about time you had a child.”
“Yeah, Hudson’s the head of the family now. There needs to be an heir.”
“Mika, you should hurry up.”
I kept my head down, fingers brushing against the rim of my glass. A child? With him? Did I even have that right?
“No rush,” Hudson said.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through everything. The whole room went silent. Everyone exchanged looks but no one dared say anything else. Not to him. Not anymore. The atmosphere turned stiff after that and the dinner ended quickly.
“Mika,” Mrs. Hayes said sharply as we stood. “Come with me to the study.”
I knew what that meant. Anyone could see it. A warning. About children. About my place.
“If you’ve got something to say, say it in front of me,” Hudson said, frowning.
Before she could respond, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and his expression changed immediately.
“…Amber?” he answered, already stepping aside. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”