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
For the first time in weeks, Emily’s mind wasn’t racing. The constant hum of worry faded into the background. The sunshine felt warm, the birdsong steady, the world simple.It was nearly midafternoon when Jack returned, his boots dusty, his shirt rolled at the sleeves. “Well, look who decided to vis
Madelin’s POVThe air at the farm was too still. It had that heavy, suffocating quiet that followed long after the storm had passed—but before you realized it wasn’t really over.Madelin sat by the window of the sitting room, her hands clutched around a mug of untouched tea gone cold hours ago. The
Emily’s POVThe knock startled her from a half-dream. For a moment Emily couldn’t place where she was. The ceiling above her wasn’t the familiar one in the apartment; it was higher, trimmed in dark wood. The faint smell of cigar smoke and cedar still clung to the air—Barrett’s mansion. Damian’s old
Emily’s POVThe drive to the farm had been everything Emily needed—quiet, sunlit, lined with fields that shimmered gold in the late morning light. The stress that had pressed on her chest for days seemed to loosen with each passing mile. Her mother, Sienna, rode beside her, humming softly to the rad







