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
Jack clenched his jaw. “The bastard. Jonathan told me the details…”“I didn’t tell anyone,” I said, voice cracking. “I thought I could manage it. I thought if I gave him what he wanted, he’d leave me alone. But then… then he brought Charlotte into it.”Jack turned fully toward me now, his expression
I stared at him, shaking my head in disbelief. “But how did she even—how could she send him money without anyone noticing?”“She used her personal account,” he said. “And Lucy’s been helping move the money ever since. Every payment your mother sent went into a Swiss account under Lucy’s name, and fr
Charlotte’s POVThe pain had started two nights ago, a faint, twisting discomfort just beneath my ribs. I thought it was something I ate—the street food, maybe, the curries I couldn’t resist. But by the next evening, it was worse. Sharp. Burning. I couldn’t stand up straight without feeling like my
Charlotte’s POVThe moment the video call ended, the room fell into a strange, heavy quiet. The air conditioning hummed softly above us, stirring the curtains beside the window, but even that sound felt distant. My hand was still trembling slightly from holding the phone, my pulse racing from the ru







