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
Jonathan’s POVIt had been one hell of a morning. Numbers bleeding red across every spreadsheet, shareholders breathing down necks like rabid wolves, and the finance team scrambling to put out metaphorical fires with eyedroppers of reason. I’d just come out of a three-hour meeting that felt like a s
Jonathan shook his head, brushing a hand through his hair. “They had a history. That’s true. But you forget that history can be a teacher, not just a tormentor. Damian is doing what needs to be done. That doesn’t mean he’s going to ruin what he has now.”I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I just wa
Albert’s POVI hit send and slid the phone back into my jacket. Jonathan would come. He always did. Good boy, too loyal for his own good. He didn’t need to know everything yet, not until it was time. But he’d help. He always helped. And if things kept going the way they were, I would need all the he
Emily’s POVA silence settled between us, thick and trembling. My eyes locked onto hers, searching for the lie.But there wasn’t one.Her tears slid silently down her cheeks. She didn’t wipe them away.“You’re right,” I said finally, my voice sharp, low. “You are unworthy of forgiveness.”Maya nodde







