LOGIN"I don't want to go back to what we were," she said. "I'd burn it down before I let that happen." Her chin lifted slightly. "So whatever this is," she said, "it has to be something we've never been." "From the ground up." The air between us had changed. Nothing had moved to change it. My finge
Edward's POV A flight of stairs. Elena's door was ajar when I reached the landing. I pushed it open and stepped inside. She was at the window. Coat still on. I shrugged mine off and set it on the chair by the door. The click of the latch made her shoulders tighten once before they released. "Y
Thursday. The registry doors opened before I fully reached them, air still adjusting around the gap, carrying paper dust and ink heat and the low sound of decisions being processed without ceremony, none of it pausing for me. My name came almost immediately. Not because I was expected—because the
Alicia's POV Apartment light warmed the room before I crossed the threshold. Elena stood at the counter, spoon tracing slow circles through a pot resting on low heat. Steam rose in thin strands, breaking apart under the ceiling light before it could gather into anything defined. My shoes paused b
Edward's POV I didn’t remember walking into the estate. I remembered the gate. Then nothing clean after that—just fragments of motion stitched together without pause. Headlights fading into the drive. The slow roll of tires over stone. The way the house lights adjusted as if it had already antic
The car didn’t stop at the main entrance. It passed the glass frontage of the building, continued past the visible entry point, and turned into the service approach that only functioned as an entrance once the guard stepped aside. No signage. No announcement. Just controlled access. I didn’t que
"You're welcome to stay here as long as you need," my mother said immediately. "You know that. Your room is always ready." "That's generous, but I couldn't impose—" "It's not imposing. It's family." My mother's voice was firm. "Besides, grandmother would be heartbroken if you left again so soon. S
Alicia's POV The room felt impossibly large in the quiet of the morning. Light filtered through drizzle-smeared glass, the rain now behind it. The city beyond looked washed clean, but it didn't reach me. Inside, the room smelled of antiseptic, stale coffee, and exhaustion. They'd been up once befo
There it was. The command was disguised in the pretense of suggestion. You'll attend. As if my presence was a foregone conclusion, as inevitable as sunrise or quarterly reports. Something flickered in my chest, a brief flash of rebellion, a moment where I wanted to ask what gave him the right to or
"Wasn't it?" I stepped closer, exhaustion making me bolder than usual. "Elena saw you, Edward. She saw how you looked at her. How do you let her touch you?" His composure cracked slightly. "Elena doesn't understand—" "She understands perfectly." My voice was quiet but steady. "She understands that







