SOPHIA'S POVThe morning fog still clung to the edges of the clearing when I stepped out of the safehouse. My coat flared behind me as I walked, crisp and black, my heels slicing into the earth like knives. The air was colder than usual. I liked it. It reminded me to feel nothing.Malachi stood by the edge of the woods, his arms folded, eyes scanning the distance. Always watching. Calculating. Impatient.“We don’t have time for dramatics.” He said without looking at me.“I’m done with dramatics.” I replied, my voice like ice. “Now I’m just efficient.”His gaze flicked to me, assessing. “Efficient, huh? So what’s your move, Queen Without a Crown?”I didn’t rise to the bait. Let him poke. Let him test. He’d see soon enough.“I’ve marked the weekend the twins go to camp,” I said, stepping beside him. “Minimal security. Remote area. Too far from the main pack and their soft little human routines to get help in time. It’s a vulnerability.”“You want to go after the kids again,” he muttered
VICTORIA'S POVThe glass shattered against the far wall, shards catching the light like glittering teeth.“I gave you everything!” I screamed, pacing the narrow space of the safehouse like a caged animal. My heels clicked furiously against the floor, the sound sharp and erratic. “I gave him years of loyalty, blood, strategy, everything – and for what? For her?”No answer. Just the quiet flicker of a half lit candle and the sting of alcohol in the air.I turned sharply, eyes darting to the window, then the door, then the cracked mirror leaning against the wall. My reflection stared back at me, eyes wild, lips smeared with what was once a perfect crimson.Look at you. Unraveling like a cheap spool of thread.The front door creaked open.I didn’t flinch. Only one person was stupid enough – or desperate enough – to come here without knocking.“Don’t you knock anymore, Malachi?” I said without turning, picking up another glass and inspecting it like I might throw it too.“You’re slipping,”
SOPHIA'S POVThe silence that followed could’ve shattered glass.Alex and Alexia stood between us, tiny shoulders hunched with confusion and something deeper – worry. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Just stared at Nathan, his jaw tight, eyes darker than I’d seen them in a long time. The weight of what he said still echoed in the room like a bell rang too hard. I could still hear it, even though I was hearing nothing.“Mommy?” Alexia’s voice was barely a whisper. “Why can’t you and Daddy be together?”My mouth opened, but the words refused to form. What was I supposed to say? That sometimes love wasn’t enough? That sometimes people who were meant to find each other still managed to break apart?I looked away, focusing on the tile floor as if it would help ground me.Nathan sighed – low and long. I could feel it more than hear it. I glanced at him again and saw something raw in his expression. Frustration, yes. But beneath that… hurt. A deep, aching kind that mirrored my own.“It’s
SOPHIA'S POV They finished their pancake masterpiece – an oddly shaped unicorn-cat hybrid something, and called Alex in to try it. He declared it “the best pancake ever,” mouth full and grinning.But it was Alexia who stayed close to Nathan, arms looped loosely around him as he cut the next round of pancakes.Like she had always belonged there.And maybe, deep down, I knew she had.That evening unfolded more smoothly than I could’ve imagined. The kids showed him their drawings – stick figures of the four of us holding hands, surrounded by bright scribbles and crooked hearts. Nathan listened with quiet patience, asked thoughtful questions, even helped Alexia glue some glitter stars onto a paper crown she insisted he wear.Dinner was relaxed. We laughed more than I expected. The twins talked nonstop, trading stories and bouncing between us like magnets.Nathan took it all in, never once looking out of place.And for a fleeting moment… We felt like a family.A real one.If only it could
SOPHIA'S POVI always thought closure came like a slammed door. Loud and final. Whatever that means.But as I sat across from Grace at our usual corner table, watching her nervously fidget with the edge of her napkin, I realized that sometimes, closure arrives gently. Like a soft breeze slipping through the cracks. Quiet. Unexpected.She looked radiant, even with a little uncertainty clinging to her smile.“So… I may have run into Lucas last night,” she said, watching me carefully.I blinked, momentarily caught off guard. “At the bar?”“Yeah.” She said slowly. “I was supposed to meet someone. That guy I told you about – the new one. Turned out he was a walking red flag.”I frowned. “What happened?”Grace let out a sigh, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “He tried to get access to my account. Thought he was slick. But I wasn’t born yesterday.”“Grace,” I said, reaching over to touch her hand, “I’m so sorry.”She gave me a tired smile. “It’s alright. I reported him before he cou
GRACE’S POVIt’s strange how heartbreak echoes.Not always in the form you expect – no tears, no screaming at the sky. Sometimes it’s quiet, subtle, like a breeze shifting the edges of your life just enough to notice something’s off. That’s how Sophia looked when she slid into the booth across from me, her eyes a little too bright and her smile just wide enough to betray the effort it took to wear it.“I’m sorry I’m late.” She said breathlessly, dropping her bag beside her and waving the server over. “The twins had a full-blown war over who got the blue cereal bowl.”I chuckled. “The blue bowl strikes again.”She gave a small laugh but looked down almost immediately, fiddling with the edge of the napkin. That’s how I knew it wasn’t just the twins or some light catch-up session. She was unraveling. Slowly. Silently.“So,” I said gently, “what’s going on?”Sophia hesitated. Not dramatically – just that pause where someone searches for the least painful way to tell the truth. “Lucas and
LUCAS' POVThe office felt colder than usual.Or maybe that was just me.I’d been back since morning, but it was already past noon and I hadn’t done much besides flip through reports and sip on lukewarm coffee that had long since lost its appeal. Numbers blurred together on the screen. Charts and forecasts passed without registering. My team had kept their distance, offering polite nods and updates without pushing for conversation.I couldn't blame them. I wasn’t in the mood for it either.Every time I looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows, all I saw was her face. Sophia. That soft, stunned expression she wore when I got down on one knee. The kind eyes that didn’t sparkle with joy, only guilt. The gentle way she let me down. There was no cruelty in it – she never had that in her – but it still hit like a punch to the gut.I thought I had prepared myself. I thought… maybe I’d stand a chance. But there was no mistaking it now. Her heart belonged to someone else.The knock on my door b
LUCAS' POVThe silence hung between us long after she’d spoken.“I wanted to give you the answer you deserve.” She had said, voice soft but steady. “But if I said yes, it wouldn’t be fair.”Not fair.The words rang in my head like a bell I couldn’t unhear.I didn’t say anything then. Just nodded. I don’t even remember standing up or placing the ring box back in my pocket. It all felt mechanical, like watching myself from outside my own body.Now I was outside, on the cabin porch, the cold air biting through the warmth of the fire still burning inside. I kept my hands shoved deep in my coat pockets as I stared into the dark woods. The lake glimmered faintly beyond the trees, silver and glassy beneath the full moon.She hadn’t come after me.I didn’t blame her.What could she possibly say?The thing was… I’d known. Somewhere deep down, I’d known her heart wasn’t mine. I’d seen it in the way her smile never quite reached her eyes when I brought her flowers. In how she always hesitated be
SOPHIA'S POVIt started with a note on the counter.Just one line. “Don’t make plans tonight. Dress warm. Trust me.”Lucas.The handwriting was unmistakably his – clean, a little slanted, written with the same kind of confidence he carried into boardrooms and kitchens alike. I stared at it for a moment, a faint smile pulling at my lips. He knew how much I hated surprises. And he was doing it anyway.By the time I dropped the twins off at Mrs. Jackson’s for their overnight stay, the sky had deepened into a dusky pink. Lucas was waiting for me in his car, door already open, wearing that charcoal coat I secretly loved. He stood up straighter when he saw me – like he was nervous, but trying not to show it.“You look beautiful.” He said, eyes lingering just long enough to warm my skin.“You don’t look too bad yourself.” I slid into the passenger seat. “What are we doing?”“You’ll see.”I gave him a look.“Okay, fine. I’ll give you a hint.” He glanced at me with a grin. “You’ve been there b