Novels by vivacious viven

Sunlight filtered softly through the curtains, spilling into the room in slow, golden streaks.For a moment, I stayed still.Listening.A quiet laugh drifted in from down the hall.Then another.Lighter.Smaller.Haven.I smiled before I even opened my eyes.Because that soundThat sound still felt like a miracle.“Mom!”

“They’ve been arrested.”The words didn’t register immediately.They hung there.Suspended.Like my mind needed a second longer to catch up to what my ears had just heard.“What?” I asked.Flavian didn’t move closer.Didn’t rush to explain.He just stood there.Controlled.Careful.Like he understood that every word from here mattered.“There’s been a report,” he said. “A

The days that followed settled into something… unfamiliar.Not chaos.Not peace.Something in between.Quiet.Structured.Careful.Haven woke every few hours.Fed.Slept.Cried.Lived.And in between those momentsI learned how to exist again.Not as someone’s partner.Not as someone reacting.

I didn’t sleep.Not after the message.Not after the image.I replayed it over and over again in my head until it stopped feeling like something I saw and started feeling like something I understood.The angle.The distance.The clarity.That wasn’t something taken by chance.That was taken by someone who knew exactly what they were doing.Someone inside the house.My fingers tightened slightly around my phone.Because nowThere was no doubt.Not about what happened.Not about what I saw.Not about what I had believed.Flavian didn’t touch her.He was pushing her away.And I had walked outCertain.Certain that everything I had was gone.A quiet knock sounded at the door.I didn’t move immediately.“Fiona,” my grandmother called softly. “He’s back.”Of course he was.I exhaled slowly.Then stood.Carefully adjusting Haven in her crib before stepping out.He was waiting in the living room again.But this timeHe didn’t look like someone asking.He looked like someone finishing something

I didn’t touch the messages.Not that night.Not the next morning either.I saw them.Every time my phone lit up.Every time his name appeared across the screen.But I didn’t open them.Because opening them meant listening.And listening meant giving space to something I wasn’t ready to question.Not yet.Haven stirred softly inside her bassinet, her tiny movements pulling me out of my thoughts.I adjusted her blanket instinctively, my hand lingering just a second longer than necessary.She was calm.Unaffected.Unaware.And somehow that made everything feel heavier.Because the world could fall apart around meAnd she would still sleep peacefully through it.A knock sounded at the door.Light.Measured.“Fiona,” my grandmother called softly. “You have a visitor.”My chest tightened slightly.I didn’t ask who.I already knew.“I’m coming,” I replied.He was in the living room.Standing.Not sitting.Not comfortable.Like he didn’t belong here.Like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to.Fo

The morning felt quieter than the night before.Like everything had already happened, and now all that was left was to sit in it.Haven stirred softly in my arms, her tiny fingers curling instinctively against my skin.I watched her for a moment.Memorizing her.Grounding myself in something that didn’t shift.Didn’t lie.Didn’t hurt.A soft knock sounded at the door.I didn’t need to look up.“Come in.”Flavian stepped in slowly.Careful.Like he was aware of every movement he made around me now.He stopped a few steps away.Not too close.Not too far.“How are you feeling?” he asked.“I’m fine.”It wasn’t entirely true.But it was enough.His gaze dropped to Haven.Softening immediately.“She slept?” he asked.“On and off.”A small pause.Then silence.Because we both knew why he was here.And neither of us was pretending otherwise.“Fiona,” he started.I looked up at him.Not angry.Not emotional.Just… steady.“I need you to listen to me.”I didn’t respond.Didn’t encourage it.Bu