MasukMom claps. “See? Good sense.”Dad groans, drops into a chair, and rubs his forehead. “Fine. Sparklers. But I get to choose the color.”“Deal,” I say, leaning over to kiss his temple. He pretends not to smile but I see it anyway.I never thought I would have this again—a father who tries, really trie
Maya’s POVFrance changed me. I did not expect it to. I thought all I wanted was revenge, a reckoning, a balancing of the scales that would make everything feel right again. But standing at the kitchen window of our townhouse with the late-morning sun warming the old stone, watching Oscar toddle aft
After a few minutes, Emma sits beside me, nudging my shoulder. “How are you really,” she asks, her voice softening.I smile. “Good. Really good. For the first time, everything feels... quiet.”“You deserve quiet.”I nod, my eyes warming. “He is different now. Softer. Present. You should see him read
Emily’s POVSix Months LaterI wake before the alarm, before the morning light even filters through the curtains, to a soft flutter beneath my ribs. A tiny kick, gentle but unmistakably there. I smile into the pillow, pressing my palm over the swell of my stomach. The baby is awake, stretching, gree
Damian’s POVI do not think I exhaled until the plane door shut behind us.No reporters.No blinking notifications.No family emergencies.No corporate disasters waiting like open jaws behind every email.Just Emily beside me, fingers loosely threaded with mine, her head resting on my shoulder as if
Emily’s POVThe morning light over the farm looks unreal, soft as milk, drifting across the grass in wide strokes that make everything glow. It is the kind of light you only see on days you remember forever. A gentle breeze carries the smell of lilac and fresh earth, the decorations swaying slightly
I stare at him. “You’re insane.”“Am I?” he whispers, crouching down so his smug face fills my vision. “The Augustus dynasty has grown arrogant. Damian thinks he can dismantle the board, Charles thinks he can rewrite his reputation, Barrett thinks he can rule until he dies in his tailored suit. You
Charlotte’s POVI come back to consciousness the way a drowning person breaks the surface—desperate, disoriented, and furious that the world hasn’t stopped spinning while I was gone. My eyelids feel glued shut, and when I manage to pry them open, the world lurches sideways. Everything is tilted, swi
Damian’s POVI can still taste the metallic residue of fear on my tongue—someone else’s fear, not mine. Charlotte’s. It lingers even though I keep telling myself I don’t panic, I don’t lose control, I don’t let my world slip out of my grip. But that lie shatters the moment her location blips north o
“That’s right. Which means Albert’s closer than you think. Maybe even watching through her.”Jonathan swallowed hard. “How did you get all this, Charles? You’re not supposed to have access to embassy-grade tracking.”Charles gave a small, humorless laugh. “Let’s just say old friends owe me favors—an







