Novels by AuthorVee

Dylan's POVThe phone rang in my hand and the world tilted sideways. NICU flashed across the screen and my blood turned to ice in my veins. Around us, couples danced and laughed but I could not hear any of it over the roaring in my ears."Mr. Winters, this is Nurse Rose from the NICU." Her voice was professionally calm but I heard the urgency underneath. "Ethan had a sudden breathing crisis about ten minutes ago. His underdeveloped lungs collapsed and we had to intubate him immediately. He is back on full life support.""No." The word came out strangled. "He was stable. You said he was improving.""Preemie lungs can be unpredictable. You need to get here as soon as possible." She paused. "He is fighting hard but the next few hours are critical."The call ended and I stood frozen on the dance floor. My son was dying. My baby whom I had just kissed goodbye hours ago was fighting for his life and I was here at a party.Nadia grabbed my arm. "What happened? Is it Ethan?"I could not form

Nadia's POVI looked at Dylan across the café table and my heart pounded against my ribs. He had been working so hard for the past eight days. Present, communicating, showing up for the kids and for me. But I needed one more thing and it was the hardest thing I could ask."I need you to choose me over Ethan." The words came out steady even though my hands shook in my lap. "Once. Just once. To prove you can."Dylan's face went pale. "What?""Cassandra wanted me to choose between you and my hatred of her." I kept my voice calm. "Now I am asking you to choose between me and Ethan. Not permanently. Not forever. Just once in a symbolic way to prove I am your priority."Dylan looked like I had slapped him. "I don’t understand what you are asking."I took a breath and explained the thought that had kept me awake for nights. "Roman's wedding is in three days. You agreed to come with me months ago. Ethan will still be in the NICU. You will want to stay with him and I understand that instinct.

Dylan's POVI had fourteen days to save my marriage and I was not going to waste a single second. That night I sat in my truck outside James's house and made a plan. I will be present for all my children while showing Nadia that she was my priority. Not just words but in action.Day one started at five in the morning. I let myself into the house quietly using my key and started breakfast before anyone woke up. Pancakes, eggs, and fruit were cut into shapes the way the kids liked. When Elena came downstairs rubbing sleep from her eyes she froze in the doorway."Daddy?" Her voice was small and surprised. "What are you doing here?""Making breakfast." I flipped a pancake and smiled at her. "Go wake your siblings. Tell them breakfast will be ready in ten minutes."She ran upstairs and I heard excited voices. Aiden and Lyra thundered down the stairs still in pajamas and crashed into m

Dylan's POVI was standing by Ethan's incubator watching monitors beep and flash when my phone rang. Nadia's name lit up the screen and my heart stopped. She had not called me since filing for divorce."Can you come home?" Her voice was tight and controlled. "We need to talk."Those four words sent ice through my veins. We need to talk. Nothing good ever followed that phrase."I will be there in ten minutes." I kissed my fingertips and pressed them to Ethan's incubator before leaving.The drive home felt like hours even though it was only a few minutes. My mind raced through possibilities. Was she accelerating the divorce? Had something happened with the kids? Was she moving out? Every red light felt like torture and every green light passed too quickly.When I walked through the door, Nadia sat at the kitchen table with papers spread in front of her. Her fac

Nadia's POVTwo days after filing for divorce, I was trying to move forward when my doorbell rang. I opened it expecting Luna or maybe a delivery and instead I found Cassandra standing on my porch looking like death warmed over.She had been released from the hospital but wore the same clothes from days ago, wrinkled and stained. Her hair hung limp around her face and dark circles made her eyes look sunken. She looked broken in a way that almost made me feel sorry for her. Almost."What do you want?" I kept my hand on the door, ready to slam it."Please." Cassandra's voice cracked. "I need to talk to you. Just five minutes."Every instinct screamed to send her away. This woman had drugged and assaulted my husband. She had destroyed my marriage. She had no right to ask me for anything.But something in her face stopped me. Desperation. Real desperation.

Nadia's POVI drove home in tears so thick I could barely see the road. Luna had to talk me through every turn because my vision kept blurring. I meant what I said to Dylan. I could not do this. I could not watch him be a father to Cassandra's child or have that woman at birthdays and holidays and school events for the next eighteen years.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Dylan's face when Ethan grabbed his finger. Pure love and instant connection. The same look he gave our children when they were born. It was beautiful and devastating all at once.At home, the kids were asleep. Luna's maid had been watching them then she left when we came. Luna took one look at my face before pulling me into the kitchen and making tea I would not drink. We sat at the table as dawn light started creeping through the windows."Talk to me," Luna said gently. I could finally talk to her now."I to