LOGINMARCUSI hadn’t moved in what felt like forever.The doctors had taken my mum into the emergency almost an hour ago.Maybe longer.Time had stopped making sense.I sat in one of the chairs in the waiting area, staring blankly at the floor.Jake sat beside me.Mrs. Maddy sat a few seats away, silently praying under her breath.Nobody spoke much.There wasn’t anything to say.Not when every second felt like it could change your life forever.My stomach twisted every time a door opened.I couldn’t stop imagining the worst.What if she stopped breathing?What if I never got the chance to talk to her again?What if—I rubbed my face, trying to wipe the thoughts from my mind.My head hurt.My ribs hurt.My entire body hurt.But none of it compared to the fear sitting in my chest.I couldn’t lose her.I just couldn’t.A loud yell suddenly echoed through the hallway.At first, I barely paid attention.Hospitals were full of grief.People cried.People screamed.People lost loved ones.I assu
ETHANI sat alone in the far corner of the seating area, staring at nothing. The place was beginning to fill up with people.The image of Marcus leaning against Jake wouldn’t leave my head. I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about that at the moment, but I was.The look on his face.Broken.Terrified.Completely lost.It just didn’t feel right seeing him like that.I dragged a hand down my face.The wedding needed to be moved.At first, the thought had seemed ridiculous.Now that I’d thought about it for a while, it felt like the only reasonable option.Mrs. Amber was fighting for her life.Nobody knew if she would survive.Holding a lavish celebration while the bride’s mother lay in a hospital bed felt wrong.Heartless.I wasn’t even sure why I was struggling so much with the decision.If it were my mother, I would do it in a heartbeat.The wedding could be rescheduled.People did it all the time.The only thing left was convincing Emily.A familiar pair of heels clicked against the fl
ETHAN The second venue which was going to be outdoor was coming together. Exactly the way Emily wanted. White flowers everywhere. Crystal accents caught the afternoon sunlight, elegant tables were spread across the perfectly manicured lawn, and more flowers were still being unloaded. The kind of wedding people talked about for years. The wedding planner stood beside me, excitedly flipping through designs on her tablet. “It’s going to be a blast, Ethan. The way the light hits the arch at sunset? Emily’s going to look radiant. You two are going to dance the night away as the happiest married couple anyone’s ever seen.” I managed a nod and a half-smile. “Yeah… it’ll be great happy married man and all that”. The words came out flat, barely more than filler. “And once the reception starts, the live band will be positioned here.” She pointed toward a raised stage. I nodded. “Looks good.” “It’ll be amazing,” she continued with a smile. “Honestly, once everything
MARCUS Mrs. Maddy stumbled inside. Her face was pale. Terrified. My stomach immediately dropped. Something was wrong. Very wrong. “Marcus…” The way she said my name made every muscle in my body go rigid. Mrs. Maddy looked seconds away from crying. “It’s your mother.” Everything inside me froze. “What about her?” The unfinished sentence hung in the air. “She’s not responding anymore. She’s unconscious. I tried everything I have been calling her name. She’s just lying there, breathing so weakly…” The room went silent. My heart slammed against my ribs once hard then everything inside me went cold. Fear—pure, bone-deep terror—flooded me so fast it drowned everything else. The pain in my bruised ribs, my swollen face, my aching muscles? Gone. Just adrenaline screaming through my veins like fire. No hesitation. No thought. No. No. No. Not her. Not my mother. For a second, I couldn’t feel my body. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. I shoved past Jake and sprinted ou
MARCUSThe sound of a door opening dragged me out of the darkness.At first, I didn’t know where I was.Everything felt heavy.My eyelids.My limbs.Even breathing seemed like too much effort.Then the pain hit.A vicious throb exploded behind my eyes, sharp enough to make me groan aloud.“Fuck…”My hand immediately flew to my head.Bad idea.The movement sent another wave of agony through my skull.I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned forward, trying to wait it out.It didn’t.Every pulse of my heartbeat seemed to hammer directly against my temples.And it wasn’t just my head.My ribs hurt.My shoulder hurt.Even my neck felt stiff.Like I’d been thrown down a flight of stairs.Fragments of something flickered through my mind.A bar.Drinks.Too many drinks.Anger.Then…Nothing.Just blank spaces.I forced my eyes open.The room spun for a second before settling.My bedroom.Home.How the hell did I get home?I blinked several times, trying to clear my vision.A figure stood near the
EMILYMy mood completely flipped the moment I walked into the kitchen and found it empty.No breakfast.No coffee waiting.No Ethan.Just silence.I checked my phone for messages.Nothing.Not even a pathetic apology.“Unbelievable.”I stormed upstairs and got dressed faster than usual.If Ethan wanted to act like a child, fine.I had better things to do.I slammed the bedroom door so hard the frame rattled.I yanked open my walk-in closet.I dressed like the woman I was. A cream silk blouse tucked into a high-waisted pencil skirt that hugged every curve I paid good money to maintain, Louboutins that clicked with authority, and the diamond studs Ethan had gifted me because, even when he annoyed me, I still knew how to wear his gifts like trophies.Hair in a sleek low bun, makeup flawless in under twenty minutes. I wasn’t about to let his selfishness ruin my face.“I can’t believe he took the McLaren.”The annoyance returned again.“Ethan will always be Ethan, I guess. Highly unbothere
Marcus's POVThe bachelor party was the next day, a promise of chaos wrapped in neon and bass.Emily had insisted on separate celebrations… “girls’ night out, boys do boys’ things.”But Ethan had vetoed anything too wild. No strippers. No blackout-level debauchery. Just a private rooftop lounge dow
Marcus' POV.*Don’t let him touch you again.*Not a suggestion. Not even a threat. Just fact. Like he really did own me.I exhaled hard, shaking my head and trying to shake *him* off too.Faileed woefully.Dropping onto the bed, the laptop balanced on my thighs, towel barely hanging on. The screen
Marcus' POVThunder cracked out of nowhere. One second, sunlight. The next—this.Fuck.Even nature was acting up, forcing the drive home to become anything but comfortable.Every red light stretched forever. My hands shook on the wheel, replaying Jake’s thumb on my wrist, Ethan’s mouth on Emily’s,
Merlina’s eyes were still wide when Ethan’s arm stayed draped over my shoulders a second longer than necessary. His fingers kept brushing the nape of my neck… deliberate and slow, before he finally lifted it.The absence of his heat felt like losing gravity.“Uh… sure” She cleared her throat. “Try







