ëĄęˇ¸ě¸Hey loves đ
Quick update...things might be a little slow around here for a bit. Iâm in the middle of preparing for an important exam this month, and honestly, my focus is split. I also feel like some of the earlier chapters arenât hitting the way I want them to, so I might go back and polish them up once my exam is out of the way.
I promise Iâm not abandoning the story, I just want to give you my best, and right now, my best will come after I get through this exam. Thank you for your patience and for sticking with me. Youâre the reason I keep writing. đ
â Feesa
AARONNine years.Nine years since we stood in Connorâs office and signed a contract that was supposed to last three.Three years of convenience.Of arrangement.Of mutually beneficial optics.That was the plan.No one planned for love.No one planned for twins with identical stubborn streaks and identical loyalty. No one planned for a third baby girl who believed cake was a human right. No one planned for betrayal, or fear, or a problem that would test the seams of everything we built.And yet here we were.Nine years later.Standing in the backyard of the house that once felt like a fortress.Now it just felt like home.There was no aisle.No elaborate dĂŠcor.Just trimmed hedges, late-afternoon sunlight spilling gold across the grass, and the soft hum of life continuing beyond our walls.Venus stood across from me.Not dressed like a bride.Not dressed for spectacle.Just herself.Steady.That was the word that kept returning.Steady.My mother stood a few feet away, composed but em
AARONThe news broke on a Tuesday morning.Not as a whisper.Not as speculation.But as a headline.ANDREA MARLOWE ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF KIDNAPPING, CONSPIRACY, AND UNLAWFUL SURVEILLANCE.By noon, every major outlet had picked it up. By evening, analysts were dissecting it like it was a corporate scandal instead of the unraveling of something far uglier.I stood in my office, the television muted, watching her face flash across the screen.Polished mugshot.Hair pulled back.Chin lifted.Defiant.Even in custody, she looked like she believed this was temporary.Venus sat on the couch across the room, silent, Iris curled against her side. The kids didnât understand the full weight of what was happening, and I intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.Connor stepped into the doorway quietly.âItâs everywhere,â he said. âThe boardâs already calling.ââTheyâll manage,â I replied.He studied me for a moment. âYou going?ââYes.âVenus looked up at that.âTo see her?â she asked.
AARONâAbout everything.âThe words hung between us: fragile and unavoidable.Venus stood by the kitchen window, sunlight cutting across her face in soft afternoon lines. Outside, the kids were still playingâGeorge pushing Sabine too high on the swing while pretending he wasnât showing off, Iris watching with that careful half-smile she wore now.Two days.It had only been two days.And yet it felt like we had lived a lifetime in between.I leaned back against the counter, folding my arms loosely. Not defensive. Just steadying myself.She turned fully toward me.âStart talking,â she said quietly.There was no anger in her voice.Which somehow made it harder.I exhaled slowly.âRick,â I began.Her expression shifted immediatelyâconfusion first, then something sharper.âHe was Andreaâs mole,â I said.She blinked. âRick? That Rick? The one whoâââYes.âThe word tasted bitter.âHe was feeding her information for months,â I continued. âAccess codes. Schedules. Security rotations. She had l
VENUSTwo days later, the house was loud again. Not the sharp, fractured noise of crisis. Not the low murmur of fear that had lived inside these walls for weeks. Real noise. Children arguing over cereal. Sabine laughing too loudly at something George insisted wasnât funny. The faint hum of the television no one was actually watching. It should have felt normal. Instead, it felt fragile. Like glass glued back togetherâbeautiful, functional⌠but still aware of the cracks. I stood in the kitchen doorway and watched them. Iris sat at the table between George and Sabine, a bowl of fruit untouched in front of her. Her fingers moved slowly over the edge of the table, tracing invisible lines. Sabine leaned against her shoulder more clingy than usual, as if proximity itself was reassurance. George sat straighter than he ever had before. Older. His eyes flicked toward Iris every few seconds, checking without making it obvious. When Sabine bumped her too hard reaching for t
VENUSThe drive felt endless. Every red light stretched too long. Every turn felt wrong, as if the world had shifted slightly off its axis and nothing fit the way it used to. Aaronâs security didnât speak much as they drove me to the house where Rosemary had taken George and Sabine after everything exploded. The silence wrapped around me like something heavy, pressing against my chest until breathing felt like work. I kept replaying Andreaâs last words in my head. This was never just about your daughter. The thought clung to me even as the gates opened and the car rolled into the driveway. Home. Or something that used to feel like it. The moment the door opened, small footsteps thundered across the living room. âMommy!â Sabine reached me first. She launched herself into my arms so hard I nearly stumbled backward. I caught her instinctively, lifting her against my chest, breathing in the scent of her hair like oxygen. George followed right behind, trying to look c
AARONThe sun was already high when I stepped out of the car.Afternoon light flooded the ridge road, bright and unforgiving, turning every detail too sharp to ignore. Dust hung in the air where tires had churned through the dirt, and the scent of hot asphalt mixed with the faint bitterness of gunpowder.Connor stood near a black SUV, arms crossed, posture rigid. Two men sat slumped against the hood in handcuffs, their eyes heavy and unfocused. A third was being lifted into an ambulance, paramedics working quickly around the blood soaking through his sleeve.Alive.All of them alive.Which meant Iris had been here.My pulse hit harder.I closed the distance between us quickly.âWhy are we still standing here?â I demanded. âWhy arenât you already out looking for Colton and Iris?âConnor didnât react to my tone. He rarely did.âWe are,â he said evenly. âSearch teams are moving through the ridge. I stayed back to brief you.ââAnd Gabby?â I asked. âWho the hell is Gabby?âConnorâs jaw tig
VENUSThe day of the launch should have felt like a coronation. Instead, the suite was heavy with tension.Sabine stood behind me, fussing with pins and fabric, her jaw tight, her movements sharper than usual. She hadnât said a word about him all morning, but I knew her too well. Sabine Sinclair si
VENUSAaronâs grip on my wrist was unrelenting. Not painfulânever painfulâbut firm, like iron forged for the sole purpose of keeping me tethered to him. His eyes were wild, restless, like a caged animal faced with the choice of tearing down the bars or tearing himself apart.âYou want the truth?â H
VENUSThe hospital discharge papers felt too light for the weight they carried.Two weeks. Thatâs how long Iâd been here, existing in a place that smelled like antiseptic and false hope, the air too clean to be real. My body had healed enough to pass whatever checklist they had, but my head? That w
VENUSThe door slammed so hard I swore the walls shook.Rosemaryâs hand tightened briefly over mine, but her eyes went sharp, unreadable. She knew the storm rolling into her garden before his voice even carved my name into the air.âVenus.âI couldnât lift my head. Couldnât look at him. The weight







