"Seraphina," Nico said, his voice dripping with a faux gentleness that now made my skin crawl. He tugged his left cuff down over his wrist as he spoke, a gesture so practiced it had become invisible to everyone but me. "You can't blame me for this. I'm just a man."
He spread his hands slightly, as if explaining something obvious.
"You had your uterus removed. You can't have children anymore. What choice did I have?"
A dry laugh escaped me, hollow and devoid of warmth.
"You're the one who asked me to do it," I said, my voice calm but cutting. "So we could live a child-free life together. You told me we'd never regret it. You swore that if I gave up my ability to have children, you would stay with me forever."
For a brief second, silence lingered between us.
Then Nico shrugged, dismissive, as if none of that had ever mattered.
"Well, that was then," he said casually. "Things change."
His gaze hardened, his tone turning blunt and unapologetic.
"I want a family now. I want children. And since you can't give them to me, I'll find someone who can."