MasukANTHONY’S POVThe second my phone started ringing, I knew exactly who it was. Ossie saw the name too.She was still in my arms in the kitchen, warm from holding me, soft from whatever Donna had said upstairs, and I hated the way reality always seemed to know when to interrupt something good.I picked up the phone and instinctively started to step away.“I want to listen,” Ostara said immediately.I stopped.Of course she did.Her eyes were steady, but I could see the tension already pulling through her shoulders. “I promise,” I said carefully, “I will tell you everything once I have her answer.”I could tell she hated that, but she didn’t stop me. She just nodded once—tight, reluctant—and stepped back.I took the call into the study, shut the door behind me, and answered.“Natalie.”There was a beat of silence.Then: “I spoke to Valentin.”I leaned against the desk. “And?”“And,” she said, sounding more tired than nervous, “I’d like to know what exactly you had in mind.” She paused,
OSTARA’S POVElijah stood outside Penny’s bedroom door for a full five seconds before knocking.It was such a small hesitation, but it revealed everything. My brother was used to handling logistics and lawyers and accountants, but this… this was his daughter. It required a skillset Elijah hadn’t quite perfected yet. “Come in,” Penny called.Her room was neat. Books stacked in even piles, one cardigan folded over the back of her chair, her schoolbag zipped shut and already packed for tomorrow. The only real mess was a sketchbook open on her bed, pencil resting across the page.She looked up when she saw us, immediately clocking the atmosphere.“What happened?” she asked.Elijah sat down on the edge of her bed. I took the chair by the window.He didn’t waste time pretending this was casual.“There’s something important I need to tell you,” he said.Penny went still.She looked from him to me and back again.“Okay,” she said.Elijah took a breath.“You may not know this,” he began slowl
OSTARA’S POVThe family group chat had been completely useless ever since the rooftop dinner.Mum: We should book somewhere elegant before everything good is takenAdam: Taken? We have enough money to kick someone out if we like a place.Elijah: Jesus, Adam Dad: Destination wedding makes the most sense. Lake Como, obviously. Penny: I want glitter shoesDonna: We should have two cakes, one for guests and one for just us so there is more for usDavina: That is the smartest thing anyone has said in this chatEthan: I agree with the kidI smiled at the screen and set my phone down.Anthony walked past my office just then, one hand holding a coffee, the other tucked into the pocket of his trousers. He glanced in, caught me smiling at nothing, and doubled back.“What’s that face for?” he asked.I leaned back in my chair. “Everyone’s going insane planning our wedding on the group chat.”He came around the desk and bent to kiss the top of my head. “Sounds like they’re having fun.”“When do
NATALIE’S POVDubai was warm in a way that made forgiveness feel possible.The air here did not cling to old ghosts the way New York had, or prison, or that awful in-between phase where every room I entered still seemed to contain a version of myself I wanted to slap. Dubai let things shine. Surfaces were polished. And because for the first time in a very long time, no one was dragging me. No Peter. No Zane. No parents.I had a husband—still absurd to think about—who asked instead of demanded.That alone felt like a miracle.I was sitting in the private room of a boutique hotel in Downtown Dubai, going over sample tables for a wedding planner who had too many opinions about flowers, when it hit me again:I was planning a wedding.Not the prison paperwork version but a real one with a white dress, music, friends, and photographers.The planner pushed a tray of invitation paper toward me. “This one has the best texture,” she said, lifting a creamy card stock. “Elegant, understated, ve
ANTHONY’S POVSpeaking to Natalie again was the last thing I wanted to do.Every time her name came back into our lives, it dragged old filth in with it. My grandfather’s death. Ostara’s fear. Donna’s nightmares. And I was done letting the Montgomerys treat my fiancée like she was still theirs to summon, accuse, and corner.I found Ossie in her office that night. She was standing by the glass wall with her arms folded, looking down at the empty lab.I came up beside her and touched the small of her back.“Donna’s with your parents for another night. I explained the situation to them.” She nodded and sighed. “Tell me you have a plan,” she said. “I am so ready to have a normal life again, I don’t want to look over my shoulder anymore.” “I do,” I said. “Everything will be fine. I’ll fly to America, speak to Nat, and end this.”That made her blink. “She would’ve left by now, surely.”“Probably,” I admitted. “I’ll call the prison and check.”I stepped aside and did exactly that. The co
OSTARA’S POVFor one ridiculous second, all I could do was stare.My adoptive parents stood in the Harvest Bloom entrance like they had walked in from another universe—my old universe—the one made of cold dining rooms, conditional affection, and the constant feeling that I should be grateful just to remain in the house.Except now they weren’t in that house.They were in mine.My office. My world.My mother spotted me first and stiffened even further, if that was possible. My father’s jaw was so tight I thought it might crack.“There she is,” he said.The security guard beside me shifted. “Would you like me to call the cops—” “No,” I said quickly, though my pulse had already started to pound. “It’s alright.”It wasn’t alright. But I knew them.If I had them physically removed, they’d turn it into another story. So I stepped forward instead.“What are you doing here?” I asked.My mother gave a short, disbelieving laugh. “What are we doing here?”“Yes,” I said. “What are you doing her
ANTHONY’S POVBeing left behind tasted worse than the smoke.The warehouse was secured, the perimeter crawling with Victoria’s people, but none of it mattered. Not when Ostara wasn’t there. Not when every second stretched like wire pulled too tight.Zane sat on a crate near the edge of the property
OSTARA’S POV“What the hell is that?” Peter frowned.“What?” I asked.He’d descended into a new layer of madness… muttering constantly now, voice rising and falling as he argued with himself, as if someone invisible kept interrupting him. I’d started to wonder if he was now hearing things.Except t
ANTHONY’S POVThe jet vibrated beneath my feet as we cut through the night sky, engines steady, relentless. Halifax was still an hour away, but time had taken on a strange elasticity—stretching where I needed it to hurry, compressing where I needed it to slow down.Elijah sat across from me, jacke
OSTARA’S POVThe timing couldn’t have been worse.Or better, depending on how you looked at it.But I’d hoped—desperately, in fact—to have Anthony to myself for five minutes before Natalie stumbled into the picture. Five quiet minutes to brace him, to hold his hand, and prepare him for the eventual







