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
Charlotte’s POVBy the time I finished curling my hair, slipping into my soft pink silk blouse, and adjusting the diamond stud earrings I borrowed from Madelin’s drawer, I was already mentally rehearsing excuses to leave early. The baby shower was that day, and although I had smiled and nodded when
Maya’s POVThe moment I walked through the front door, I let out a breath I had been holding in all afternoon. The mansion lunch hadn’t ended in chaos. That in itself was a miracle. No one had cried. No one had stormed out. Emily had even smiled at me. Smiled. I don’t know what kind of divine tricke
Louis’ POVI was halfway through a limp turkey sandwich, the kind I always told myself I’d stop ordering from the building café but inevitably reached for anyway, when I felt the rising boil of frustration hit me again. The fluorescent lights above me hummed like a mosquito in my ear, relentless and
Jonathan’s POVThe city buzzed below our brick high-rise, the skyline flickering with office lights and red blinking cranes. I sat by the window, shirt unbuttoned at the collar, tie flung across the armrest like a lazy snake, sipping a lukewarm glass of rye and staring out at nothing. My mind wasn’t







