ログインI stayed like that for a while, knees drawn up, blanket wrapped tight, staring at the door he had disappeared through.Then I pressed my forehead against my knees, trying to breathe through the rising panic. The only thing that pulled me out of my spiral was the sound of footsteps in the hallway. It was a steady, measured step that didn’t belong to Gage. I lifted my head just as a woman walked in. She looked to be in her forties, with hair pulled back into a very tight bun that didn’t allow a single strand to escape. Her posture was perfect, shoulders back, chin level, dressed in a crisp dark blouse and tailored pants. Her presence felt so intimidating that I didn’t even realize I had stood up until the words were already leaving my mouth.“Yes. I’m Thea.”She stopped a few feet away and looked at me with cool, assessing eyes. I quickly raised my hand for a handshake, the motion automatic and awkward in the heavy silence. But Caroline just stared at my outstretched hand for a b
THEA -ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- I was curled up on the couch in Gage’s study, legs tucked under me, a half-read book forgotten in my lap while I watched him. He sat at his desk, phone in hand, staring at the screen with a deep frown that carved lines between his brows. The expression was rare on him—usually he wore that calm, controlled mask even when the world was burning around us—but today it looked heavier, like whatever was on that screen had finally cracked through. “Is something wrong?” I asked quietly, my voice cutting through the silence. He turned to face me, setting the phone down but not before I caught the flash of something dark in his eyes. “My security has been breached.” I blinked, the words landing like a stone in still water. “Breached? Is that bad?” “Very bad,” he chuckled, cupping my face with both hands and kissing on the forehead, then the tip of my nose, then the corner of my mouth. “I knew this could happen,” he murmured against my skin, his lips brushing my cheek
But still, it also wasn’t her fault either.She’d been older, yes, but she’d also been the one left holding the baby while he was still figuring out how to be a man. She’d paid for everything, housed him, supported him through school, and then watched him become this calm, distant professional who was now asking for a divorce, even after she’d given up pieces of herself for his sake.Yes, she wasn’t innocent, but she wasn’t the villain I’d painted her as in my head either. She was just… human. “You were a kid,” I let out finally. “A fucking kid, Paul. Fifteen. I somehow get why she doesn’t want to let you go and why you can’t push her off completely but none of that makes you a bad person.”He didn’t answer right away, and when he eventually did, his voice was low and rough around the edges.“I did resent her for keeping the baby in the beginning,” he admitted with a soft chuckle. “I felt trapped by the baby’s existence and by a future I was not ready for, and by a woman who had ev
“Yes,” he answered simply, no defensiveness, no lecture, just that single word hanging between us like it explained everything and nothing at the same time.I pondered his words, letting them sink in while the bar noise faded into a dull hum around us.So therapists go for therapy?How does that work??He chuckled softly at my expression as if he could read my mind, the sound low and self-deprecating, almost fond in a way that made my stomach flip even through the whiskey fog. “Yeah… I’m not that amazing of a therapist to be my own therapist.”I stared at him, tears still leaking out from under my lashes, and felt the corner of my mouth twitch despite everything, a tiny, broken smile trying to fight its way through the mess. “You’re telling me the great Dr. Harlan needs someone else to untangle his head? That’s… I don’t know, kind of comforting in a messed-up way. Makes me feel less like the only disaster in the room. Sorry.”I wiped at my face again with my sleeve, smearing more mas
“I know you said it was a mistake. But I can’t stop thinking about it, Paul. I can’t stop seeing your face when you came apart under me, I can’t stop hearing the way you said my name like it mattered, and now you’re not answering and Caleb said you’re never home and I thought something happened to you and I—”My voice cracked again, loud enough that Paul flush deepened to something almost crimson. He looked mortified but he didn’t pull away, thank fucking God. His hand stayed on my elbow, thumb brushing slow circles against the sleeve of my coat like he was trying to ground me through the fabric.“Shh, Mia, please,” he murmured, voice tight. “It’s alright. Just… let’s get you out of the middle of the bar, okay? Please.”I nodded jerkingly, messy tears still falling because I couldn’t make them stop. He helped me off the stool gently and guided me toward the back corner where the booths were emptier. His hand stayed on my elbow the whole way, warm even through my coat, and I hated h
Inside it was the same dim, smoky haze I remembered. A couple of regulars at the far end of the bar, the bartender wiping the same spot on the counter, the jukebox playing some old blues track that sounded as tired as I felt. I scanned the room carefully, my heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my teeth. But there was no Paul. Just empty space where I’d hoped he might be. “I thought as much,” I whispered under my breath, sliding onto the same stool I’d sat on that night. The bartender didn’t even ask; he just poured me a whiskey neat and slid it over like he remembered me from last time. Without hesitation, I took a long swallow, letting the burn chase down my throat and settle hot in my stomach. It didn’t fix anything, but it dulled the edges a little, and made the thoughts slower, louder, more manageable. I sat there, glass in both hands, staring into the amber liquid like it might give me answers—and letting my internal monologue run wild because there was no
I turned pain lancing through my side like a hot wire, and staggered toward the front door. The foyer opened up ahead and when I turned back the housekeeper hadn’t moved from where I’d left her. I could feel her watching me though, that same frozen worry radiating off her like heat from a radiator
“Just because!” “That’s not an answer, Amelia.” She spun to face me fully, eyes blazing. “It’s my answer! And it’s enough!” “We promised not to hide things from each other anymore.” My voice cracked on the last word and I absolutely hated how it sounded—pleading and desperate—but I couldn’t stop
THEA❀𖤣𖥧𖡼⊱✿⊰𖡼𖥧𖤣❀Three days had slipped by since Christmas, each one quieter and softer than the last, like the world outside had finally decided to give us a break. Though today was slower with late afternoon light slanted through the glass, turning the room gold and lazy. Gage was at the
I smiled against his mouth, stroking again but slower this time, twisting my wrist on the upstroke just the way I knew made his thighs tense. “You said taking care of me was your favorite thing,” I whispered, voice husky, and teasing. “But I think taking care of you might be mine.” His laugh was b







