LOGINMom 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
Madelin’s POVThe air was crisp, golden with the scent of early autumn—woodsmoke in the distance, fallen leaves damp from morning dew, the quiet rustle of the horses shifting near the paddock. Jack’s steady hands were brushing the saddle when I stepped out of the farmhouse, bundled in my wool sweate
Emily’s POVI sat frozen long after Jonathan left, the front door closing behind him like the lid on a coffin. His words echoed in my mind—Lucy is in Thailand with Albert.Lucy. My ex-mother-in-law. The woman who had glared at me from across dinner tables, who whispered to her friends that I was ben
I told her everything.About Albert. About the threats, the blackmail, the money I’d transferred. About how I’d thought I was protecting Charlotte, saving her from something worse. About the pictures. The fear. The constant dread that every time my phone buzzed, it meant something terrible had happe
Emily’s POVThe night air outside was cool and heavy with the scent of rain, the kind that promised a storm but never quite followed through. I pulled my jacket tighter around me as I stepped out of the car, exhaustion and worry tugging at my chest like twin weights. The drive from the restaurant to







