ログインAxlThe next morning, they ate breakfast with Calvin and CJ in the living room of their suite, sunlight pouring through the wide windows and casting a warm glow over the polished furniture. Aspen sat close to him on the couch, her knee brushing his every so often, a quiet reminder that she was still there. The simple act of sharing coffee and toast felt almost domestically intimate, something he hadn’t realized he’d craved. They talked about how they met, Calvin and CJ listening with raised brows and amused expressions as Aspen filled in details Axl conveniently “forgot.”The knock on the door silenced them all, cutting through the laughter. Calvin looked questioningly at Axl. “That’ll be someone from the boutique.”CJ got to his feet and answered the door. A woman walked in pushing a rack of dresses into the room, the soft swish of fabric breaking the quiet tension. Aspen’s head snapped toward Axl as the woman’s eyes widened slightly when she saw him, recognition sparking there.“You
Axl“You were never a problem, Aspen,” he said softly, his voice thick with unshakable conviction, and pressed his forehead against hers. The simple touch grounded him, steadied the frantic pulse still racing beneath his skin. “Do you believe me?”“Yes,” she whispered. Her breath brushed across his lips, warm and certain.“That’s good, because I’m not letting you go again. For two years, I couldn’t breathe.” His chest tightened as he said it, the memory of those hollow months clawing at him. “I can’t lose you again.”Aspen smiled as she cupped his jaw. Her fingers traced lightly over the faint stubble there, and he closed his eyes, leaning into her touch with unfiltered need. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed something so simple—her hands on him, steady and familiar.“We should talk about that.”He shook his head immediately, almost stubbornly. “I don’t care how we do it. I’m not losing you again.” His hands rested at her waist as if anchoring her in place.“I have to go home an
Aspen“Axl?” He looked up as the doors closed, and Aspen saw the shock in his eyes—not just surprise, but staggering disbelief. Her heart was hammering in her chest, a frantic rhythm that made her fingertips tingle. For a split second she wondered if she was imagining him, if grief had conjured him out of memory.The elevator doors slid open again, then Axl was right in front of her. His hands cupped her face, warm and firm, thumbs brushing over her cheekbones as if confirming she was real. Before she knew it, he was kissing her. Her handbag fell to the floor as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His arms locked around her back with desperate strength, lifting her so her feet dangled in the air. The kiss wasn’t gentle. It was months of silence, confusion, and longing colliding at once. She tasted salt—tears, she wasn’t sure whose.“We need to move,” a man said, but Aspen barely registered the fact that Axl was moving. The hallway blurred around her.Her feet touched the floor, and
NorthHe held Jordan’s hand as they walked into the hotel lobby, his fingers lacing through hers automatically, grounding himself in the familiar warmth of her touch. The lobby was lavishly decorated—marble floors polished to a mirror shine, crystal chandeliers cascading from the ceiling, soft instrumental music filtering through hidden speakers. Fresh lilies stood in oversized vases near the entrance, their scent faint but noticeable. Everything about the place whispered wealth and discretion.North glanced around, instinctively assessing the room the way he’d learned to do over the years. Businessmen clustered near leather couches. A concierge spoke in low tones to a family dressed in designer travel wear. No obvious press. No cameras lurking nearby. That was good. Especially for Axl.His mother hadn’t arrived yet, and though he would never admit it out loud, he was grateful for the reprieve. Seeing her after everything that had happened always stirred something raw in him—guilt, pr
AxlTwo years laterHe closed the flap of the piano slowly, his fingers lingering against the polished wood for just a second longer than necessary before he finally pushed himself to his feet. The roar of the crowd crashed over him in waves. It wasn’t just noise—it was vibration, pressure, something alive. It pulsed in his chest like a second heartbeat, like oxygen flooding his lungs. The stage lights still flashed in blinding bursts of white and gold as they made their way offstage, the heat from them clinging to his skin.Sweat trickled down his spine beneath his shirt. His muscles felt heavy, loose from exertion, the adrenaline still humming in his veins even though the final chord had already faded. He was exhausted—bone-deep exhausted. Europe had been madness. City after city. Flights, buses, interviews, rehearsals. The schedule had been relentless, unforgiving. But when the crowd screamed like that, when thousands of voices sang their lyrics back to him, it made the fatigue alm
NorthHe rubbed the sleep from his eyes and fumbled for his ringing phone, squinting at the unfamiliar brightness of the screen. His room was still dark, the early morning light barely filtering through the curtains.“Hello,” he muttered, voice thick.“North?”He went rigid. “Mom?”“Honey… have you heard from your father?” Sleep vanished instantly.Only four days had passed. Four long, stretched, suffocating days. He had known it wouldn’t take long. Weston St. John was not a man who could disappear quietly. He was too powerful, too visible, too connected.“No,” North said carefully. “Not since that night he came to tell me I wasn’t really married to Charlotte.”There was a sharp inhale on the other end. “What?” she whispered.“So you didn’t know?” North sat up slowly. “What’s going on?”“Nobody’s been able to reach him,” Janine said. “Patrick Marsh called me this morning. He thought maybe Weston had mentioned something to you.”North swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood,
AspenFrancine made omelets, and they sat at the kitchen counter to eat. The woman was a saint. Aspen liked her more than she liked her own mother, but she couldn’t help it. She was warm, honest, and loving. She treated Aspen like part of the family. Everyone did, even North’s mother.The quiet cli
NorthAxl left at midnight, and Merit followed soon after that. He could see that she was dying to ask a million questions about Peyton, their singing, and who Axl really was. He kept a stoic mask in place at school, but with North and Aspen, he could be himself.The quiet that followed felt heavie
AxlThe weather was changing, but the day promised to be nice. Axl loaded Peyton and his grandmother in the car and headed to the outskirts of Esperton. It was their weekly ritual, and his friends knew that Saturdays were reserved for his grandmother.The drive felt slower out here, the air lighter
MeritShe’d been a nervous wreck, but Axl wasn’t in school on Monday. She’d tried calling him, but realized he’d blocked her number. Everything was a mess, and she desperately wanted to call Aspen when the news of North and Charlotte’s impromptu wedding broke.The headline had spread through the co







