Mag-log inMom 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
Damian’s POVI held her against me as if the world itself might try to pry her away. Her skin was warm, her heartbeat steady, and for a moment the walls I had built to keep my fears contained began to crumble. “Emily,” I murmured, my voice low, almost hoarse from the weight of everything unsaid, “I
Louis’ POVThe morning sunlight spilled into our house with a golden persistence, glinting off the glass of Oscar’s crib as if determined to remind me what I was leaving behind for the day. I bent over him, breathing in the delicate sweetness of his skin, pressing a kiss to his tiny forehead while h
His throat moved as he swallowed. A line between his brows smoothed out. He nodded, once, not quite trusting his voice yet. I pushed a little further, because I needed to say the part that had been scraping the inside of my ribs since last night.“I want you to be honest with me about your fear,” I
Jonathan’s POVI left Charlotte at the curb with a kiss on her cheek and a pit in my stomach. The night had been a disaster, and I had only myself to blame. Her eyes had searched mine the entire dinner, looking for something real, for something honest, and all I gave her was silence and evasion. I h







