LOGINThe engines went quiet at six. The hull met the pier. The crew moved above us. River light came through the porthole, grey and silver, crossing the ceiling in slow panels. She was on her side facing me. Her hair across the pillow. Her mouth softly parted in the way that belonged only to sleep. I
Edward’s POV The hull rose and settled with the slow pull of the river. I lay in the dark with my jacket on the floor and my shoes beside it and listened to the boat. The timber. The joins. The engine below running its low faithful count. The porthole showed clouds. The moon behind it traced the
"I fell off a bicycle when I was seven," I said. "Broke my arm. The left one." "You're afraid of the dark," he said. "You sleep with the curtain open so the street light comes in. You never told me directly but I worked it out in the third month." I set down my wine. "You remember that." "I remem
Alicia's POV The dress arrived at four. I found the box on Elena's table. Black paper, no ribbon, his handwriting stark on the card: The water. Inside, folded in tissue, was the black silk from the wardrobe at the estate. The one I had left hanging there. I showered. I pinned my hair up. At seve
Edward's POV The grey light filled the room. Alicia's leg lay across mine, heavy with sleep. Her hair spread on my shoulder, across the pillow. Her palm rested on my chest, rising and falling with my breath. The arm beneath her had gone numb hours ago. I flexed my fingers until the pins and needl
Alicia's POV He was on the floor. I looked at him until the silence found its shape. He looked back. The full version of him. Just Edward on the floor, his eyes on mine, waiting without arranging what he was waiting for. "We never chose each other," he said. "Let me choose you." "Then start,"
Then turned to Caroline. "Tell me about the gallery renovations. I heard the timeline shifted." Caroline launched into an explanation about contractor delays and permit issues. The conversation moved. Lucy stared at her plate. Her jaw working. I took another bite. None of it landed. But I ke
Alicia's POV I wheeled Lily into the consultation room. Parked her chair beside the examination table. The room smelled like disinfectant. Strong. Chemical. Lily shifted in her wheelchair. "You okay?" "I'm fine." "You're doing that hovering thing." "I'm not hovering." "You are." The nurse ca
Alicia's POV The cab pulled up to the apartment just as the sky turned that soft purple-gray before dark. I paid the driver. Got out. My legs felt shaky. The last three hours replayed in fragments. The hospital. Edward's face. Getting Lily home. My mother's questions. Lily's guilty silence. I w
Alicia's POV It took a while before I realized my hands had stopped shaking. That was the first thing I noticed. Walking through that door, handing Edward the envelope, crossing the room under every pair of eyes—all of that had cost me. But now I was here. Seated. And my hands were steady on t







