LOGINAmelia’s POVEverything blurred. The fire. The screams. The chaos. I could barely process any of it.Figures moved in the distance. People gathering. Voices rising.And then—I caught a glimpse of her face—Burned. Twisted. But still recognizable.My stomach dropped. "…Victoria?" I whispered.My heart began pounding."Why would she—?" I muttered, the thought incomplete, fragmented.Did she just destroy everything I built?Did she just—Almost kill me?A fresh wave of shock hit me, colder than the night air."Oh my god…""Stay with me," a paramedic urged, placing a mask over my face. "Focus on your breathing."I nodded weakly, though my attention had already shifted again.To Rowan.He had sunk down onto the ground not far from me. The adrenaline that had carried him through the fire was gone. Replaced by something far more dangerous.Agony.His face was pale, his movements sluggish, his body finally catching up to everything it had endured."Rowan," I whispered, panic rising.I tried
Rowan’s POVOne moment, the fire was a contained blaze—manageable, distant.The next—It was everywhere.Flames licked up the walls, devouring the carefully designed interiors, crawling along the ceiling like something alive. Smoke thickened rapidly, turning the air heavy, suffocating."Everyone out!" someone shouted."Move! Move!"Panic erupted instantly. People surged toward the exits, shoving, stumbling, shouting over one another.I tightened my grip on my walking stick, scanning the chaos."Amelia," I muttered.I couldn’t see her.Not through the crowd. Not through the smoke."Amelia!" I called out, louder this time.No response.My chest tightened. Maybe she was already out. She had to be.She was smart. Quick. She wouldn’t stay behind.I forced myself to believe it."She’s out," I muttered under my breath. "She’s already out."But something in my gut twisted.No certainty. No relief. Just… doubt."Sir, you need to move!" someone urged, grabbing my arm.Adrenaline surged through
Amelia’s POV"About who you are?" I repeated slowly.Gabriel gave a small, almost resigned exhale."Yes.""That’s… not exactly a small thing to casually drop at my front door," I said."No," he agreed. "It isn’t."I sighed and stepped back. "Fine. You might as well come in.""Thank you."He walked past me, his presence calm, controlled—like always. But now that he had said that, something shifted. Something in the way I looked at him. Something in the way he held himself.I closed the door behind him and turned."Well?" I asked, crossing my arms. "I’m listening."He didn’t sit right away. Instead, he glanced around briefly, then met my gaze again."You know me as Gabriel," he began. "A psychologist."My chest tightened slightly."Okay…" I said slowly. "So that’s not who you really are?"He hesitated. And that hesitation told me this was bigger than I thought."I am a psychologist," he said first. "That part isn’t a lie.""Good to know," I muttered."But it’s not the full truth.""Clea
Amelia’s POVI didn’t even remember opening the livestream.One moment, my phone buzzed. Next, I was staring at it in horror."...What the hell is this?" I whispered.The viewer count in the corner kept climbing.1.1M…1.2M…Still rising.My stomach twisted.At first, I thought it had to be staged. Some kind of desperate publicity stunt. Something calculated.But then Tristan spoke. And I knew. This wasn’t controlled. This wasn’t planned.This was real."Oh my god…" I breathed, my eyes glued to the screen.I watched as he confronted her. As he tore into her lies. As everything unraveled in real time.And then—It all went wrong.Victoria lunging forward—The kettle tipping—The water. Boiling. Violent. Unforgiving.It poured over her in a single, horrifying instant.Her scream cut straight through me. High-pitched. Raw. Absolutely real.I gasped, my free hand flying to my mouth. "Oh my god!"The phone shook in my grip as I instinctively stepped back, like distance could somehow separa
Tristan’s POVI didn’t say another word. I didn't trust myself too.If I opened my mouth again too soon, I might’ve done something worse than insult her.So instead—I walked straight past her, into the kitchen."Tristan?" Victoria’s voice followed, sharp with irritation. "What the hell is wrong with you?"I ignored her.I pulled my phone out of my pocket. My fingers were steady now.A cold kind of calm had settled over me.The kind that came right before everything snapped.Behind me, her heels clicked rapidly against the floor as she followed."Don’t you dare walk away from me when I’m talking to you," she snapped. "You don’t get to insult me and then just—what are you doing?"I set my phone down on the kitchen counter, camera facing us."Tristan," she said again, slower now, suspicion creeping in. "What. Are. You. Doing?"I didn’t answer immediately. Just adjusted the angle slightly.Perfect.Then I hit a record on Instagram live.Let them see. Let everyone see.I turned back to he
Tristan’s POVThe drive to Amelia’s house felt longer than it should have. Every red light dragged. Every turn stretched out.And through it all—My mind wouldn’t shut up.One single pill. That’s all it had taken.One tiny, insignificant-looking pill lying on the floor. One Victoria hadn’t noticed in her frantic attempt to gather the rest.At the time, I hadn’t even fully understood why I picked it up. Just… instinct. Suspicion that had been lingering for far too long.The way she’d panicked when I tried to help. The way her so-called illness only seemed to appear when it benefited her.It hadn’t made sense, but I had ignored it. Because it was easier to believe her. Easier than questioning the foundation of my entire marriage.I tightened my grip on the steering wheel."Idiot," I muttered under my breath.I had taken that pill straight to the lab. Demanded immediate testing. Pulled every favor I still had left.And when the results came back—I hadn’t been prepared."These are inert,
Amelia’s POVJust like that, the fragile ease in my chest tightened into something sharp and painful.The tone of his voice—too casual, too familiar—stung harder than I wanted to admit.I froze in place. I should’ve walked into the kitchen, acted normal, minded my own business. But instead, I stay
Amelia’s POVHe placed a hand over his heart as if trying to steady it. "Let me make it clear. Publicly. Loudly. No more hiding. No more rumors. No more Sienna overshadowing anything."I stared at him, unsure if this was a grand gesture… or another impulsive attempt to fix a mess with a bigger mess
Amelia’s POVOh god. Oh god. Why did I say that?That was stupid and I knew it.Rowan looked at me with so much tenderness it made my chest cave in. We were still half-collapsed across the back seats, our bodies tangled, our breathing uneven."Oh, Amelia…" he murmured, brushing his fingers through
Amelia’s POVI waited another ten minutes. Then another five. Then… I snapped."That’s it," I muttered, grabbing my clutch. "I’m not wasting a perfectly good blowout and a couture gown sitting on my couch like a rejected prom date."If Rowan couldn’t be bothered to show up, or even text, then I’d g







