LOGINElgin:He tilted his head slightly and held my gaze, the wind brushing through his hair as he left the rest unsaid on purpose.“She’ll need our help,” he added. “For Baxter to be treated in the hospital, she’ll need us.”His eyes stayed on mine, unblinking. It felt like we were circling something forbidden, both of us aware of it, neither willing to say it first.I waited a moment, then straightened my shoulders.“Say it.”He inhaled slowly, my jaw tightening as words kept fighting to slip out of my mouth.“I want one night with her,” Graham said, his voice lower now, the want clear in his eyes.He looked at me, searching my face.“What about you?” he questioned.“I think she owes us that much,” I replied.That was all I said.He stepped closer, the space between us shrinking, and pulled me into a brief hug, his hand pressing against my back as if thanking me for not judging him, for agreeing without spelling it out.I knew he had been craving her, partly for pride, partly for control
Elgin:I had only caught one glimpse of Madeline today, when she was leaving the hospital and heading back toward her motel.I do not know what it was about that night, but seeing her without makeup, without any fancy clothes, stirred something in me again. It made me angry, mostly at myself.I knew exactly what kind of person she was.Difficult.Rude.Arrogant.So arrogant that when she finally decided she did not want us anymore, she said it to our faces, that we had only been an excuse for her.I had a perfectly devoted wife at home, someone who loved me and was ready to do anything for me.And on the other side, there was this woman who had betrayed people more than once.Still, my eyes reacted to her in a way I could not ignore.Or maybe I understood it all too well.Maybe I just wanted to taste her one more time. If I did that, my pride would be satisfied.And even if she chose Baxter afterward, I would not feel regret, because deep down I would know that Baxter ended up with a
Yuvonne:“So don’t worry, and don’t try to cry too much,” my mother told me. “She wasn’t your grandmother. Nobody will suspect you if you don’t cry.”My mother kept talking, and it wasn’t just that her words were getting on my nerves, but also that I realized I was not alone.There was someone standing with me. I also knew that one thing I always do is keep my phone set to a very loud volume.Graham was standing in front of me, and Elgin was standing behind me. They were standing far too close.“Mom, I’ll talk to you later, okay?” I said and ended the call immediately.“That’s strange. Why did you get so scared?” Graham asked, smiling as he slipped his hands into his pockets.“Why would I be scared?” I replied, shrugging my shoulders.“No, it’s just that you were probably talking to someone,” he remarked. “Sometimes voices come through the phone a little.” Graham smirked.“Isn’t that odd?” Elgin added.I turned around to face him.“I don’t know what you people are talking about,” I sa
Yuvonne:From childhood until today, my mother always told me the same thing, that I was lucky, that I was born with good luck.Somewhere along the way, I started believing it too. That is why when I did not get something, I wanted to take it by force.It was much later that I realized none of that was true. You have to create your own luck.You have to fight for yourself. Even then, I started going in the wrong direction.I fought the wrong people. Instead of making my life better, I started taking things from others.By the time I understood it, time had already passed.Still, I had made a promise that I would not make any more mistakes.And it felt as if the Moon Goddess liked my change, because she sent a very good man into my life.I never thought Ron would start liking me, and that I would fall in love with him too.What it truly means to love someone with everything you have, I learned that from Ron.Ever since I fell in love with him, my way of looking at love completely chang
Madeline:“What is going on, Yuvonne?” I asked her as I set her down on the bench.By the time we arrived, we had received more bad news. Ron’s grandmother had passed away, and they had arrested Ron on suspicion of her murder.Yuvonne had been out of it, almost as if she was unable to process everything.“Why are they saying all that?” she uttered in her mouth. “They know Ron would never do that. He would never even hurt a fly. Why would he hurt his own grandmother?”She turned to me, speaking softly. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but each time she wiped them away with the back of her hand, trying to appear strong.“I completely believe you,” I told her. “There must be a misunderstanding. We will deal with it, okay? There is no way they can punish him like this.”I tried to comfort her.As she raised her head to look at me, probably about to say something, I noticed a frown form on her forehead. Someone who had appeared behind me caught her attention.I snapped my head around, and my
Madeline:Those few hours felt like the end of the world.First, I was told that my husband had died, and that my daughter was gone as well.Then, a small piece of hope was given to me. My husband was alive, but his condition was critical.I could not understand how I was supposed to feel. I did not know whether I should be happy that my husband was alive or cry for my daughter, who was no longer there.They gave me a few injections and tried to stabilize me.Yuvonne brought me back with her. She took me to the motel where my children were waiting for me.They had no idea what I had been through. They did not know what kind of pain their mother had faced.They also did not know that a huge change was coming into their lives, that they would never see their sister again.The injections and medication had left me numb.When we reached the motel, Yuvonne immediately guided me into my room and made me sit down.Lord Jonah, who had been sitting on the bed with my children, stood up at once







