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
Damian’s POVWhen I woke, the apartment was silent except for the soft hum of the fridge and the faint rush of cars outside the window. The first thing I saw was the folded note on the coffee table, Emily’s careful handwriting catching the morning light.I sat up slowly, my body stiff from the couch
Madelin’s POVI couldn’t breathe. The air in the kitchen had turned heavy, thick like fog, and the words Charlotte might be in danger echoed over and over in my skull until they didn’t sound like words anymore—just noise. I felt dizzy, like the world had slipped sideways beneath me. My hands were co
He hung up and stared at the phone for a long moment, his jaw tightening. He could feel that old, familiar frustration bubbling under the surface. He’d spent his whole life cleaning up messes—his father’s, his son’s, Albert’s—and yet here he was again, doing it all over.He took a steadying breath a
I closed my eyes for a moment, guilt washing over me like cold water. She’d been up half the night worrying, and I hadn’t even checked my phone once. I could practically hear her pacing, waiting for me, calling again and again.“Damian?” Jonathan said softly, pulling me out of it.“I should’ve calle







