7

June sat cross-legged on her childhood bed, the corners of her room still covered in old posters and trinkets from another life. The silence in the house was loud, and the pink sheets beneath her were a reminder of just how long she’d been gone. Her mother was downstairs talking on the phone, probably bragging about her daughter being back in town. But June wasn’t listening. She was somewhere else entirely.

Her mind was still in that café.

Still replaying the moment her lips touched his.

Alexander Reed.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Every detail of him was burned into her memory…the crisp white shirt rolled at the sleeves, the watch that gleamed when he adjusted it, the veins on his forearms. The calm way he spoke. The way he pulled back, steady and sure, like he had everything under control.

And his face…

That face.

He was beautiful, but not in the fragile, model way. His features were bold. Masculine. A jaw that looked like it had been carved by someone who meant business. Hair that was always perfectly in place, but never looked like he spent too long on it. And those eyes…sharp, unreadable, but not cold. Just… guarded. Like they held too many secrets and didn’t plan on giving them up.

God, he looked good. And better now than he did five years ago.

She pulled her laptop onto her thighs and opened it. She didn’t hesitate…just typed in his name.

Alexander Reed wife

The screen lit up with results instantly. She clicked the first article that wasn’t from some shady blog and waited for it to load.

There it was. A picture of Alexander and his wife on their wedding day. It was from just a month ago.

June zoomed in.

Ava.

The wife.

She was… cute. Pretty, even. Petite. The kind of woman who always looked kind no matter what expression she wore. Her eyes were wide, soft brown. Hair pulled back neatly, probably without effort. She wore a simple white dress. Minimal makeup. No drama.

Ava Reed, formerly Ava Whitmore, fourth-grade teacher at a private school in the city.

June scoffed.

Of course.

The sweet, helpful type. The one who bakes cookies for bake sales and stays late with the kids whose parents forget to pick them up. The orphan-turned-perfect-wife with a quiet life and a predictable routine.

She kept scrolling through the images. School events. A charity brunch. Ava in a long coat and boots, laughing beside a group of elementary school kids.

June shut the laptop.

She stood and walked over to the mirror, tying her robe tighter around her waist. Her reflection stared back…messy hair, a thin silk strap falling off one shoulder, lips still stained with the gloss she wore to meet Alexander. Her skin tingled when she remembered how close she’d been to him. How warm he felt. How big his hands were.

There was no way that man was truly satisfied.

Not with that.

Ava might’ve had a sweet little heart and a pretty face, but June knew how the world worked. She knew what men like Alexander needed. Fire. Passion. A match…not a doormat.

Ava wasn’t competition.

She was an obstacle.

And June had never been afraid of obstacles.

June picked up her phone from the nightstand and scrolled through her contacts until she found the name…Mrs. Deidre Reed. Alexander’s mother. She hesitated for a second, then pressed the call button and brought the phone to her ear.

It rang twice.

“June?” came the sharp, unmistakable voice on the other end. “Well, I’ll be damned. Are you back?”

June smiled, a slow, knowing smile. “I am.”

“Oh, honey, it’s about time.” Deidre’s tone shifted instantly from surprise to satisfaction. “Your mother mentioned you were coming back, but I didn’t think it’d be this soon.”

“I figured it was time,” June said, walking back to the bed and sitting with her knees tucked in. “Besides… I needed to see some things for myself.”

There was a pause. Then Deidre's voice dropped lower, more direct. “You saw him, didn’t you?”

June didn’t answer right away. She didn’t need to.

“I did.”

“God,” Deidre sighed, “I still don’t understand how that boy ended up with her. One minute he’s making smart decisions, running things like a man should…and the next? He’s marrying a teacher. A nobody.”

“She’s not even from anywhere,” June added, her tone amused. “No family, no background. Orphaned since she was fifteen, raised in some group home upstate. It’s cute, I guess. In a Lifetime movie kind of way.”

Deidre laughed, but there was no humor in it. “She’s a phase. You? You’re legacy. You’re everything I ever pictured beside my son.”

June twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. “Then maybe it’s time he wakes up and realizes that.”

Deidre didn’t miss a beat. “Make him realize it. Whatever it takes. Alexander’s stubborn, but he’s still a man. Remind him what he used to feel.”

June’s eyes darkened a little, confidence blooming. “He never stopped feeling it. He just forgot.”

“Well, then jog his memory.” Deidre sounded pleased now, her voice light and satisfied. “Ava may wear the ring, but she’s weak. I see it every time I look at her. She doesn’t belong in his world. She belongs behind a desk teaching math songs to children.”

June smirked. “Don’t worry. I didn’t come back just to stir things up, Mrs. Reed. I came back to finish what I started.”

“That’s my girl.” Deidre’s voice lowered again, conspiratorial now. “Do whatever you have to do. Just make sure that when it’s over… she’s gone.”

And June…June had never been more ready.

“Consider it done,” she said.

Then she hung up, leaned back on her pillows, and smiled to herself. The game had started. And June didn’t lose.