LOGIN[Elena]What the hell is wrong with this man?Asher took a step forward, then another, his face desperate, pleading. But before he could come closer, my hand shot out, rigid and sharp."Back off, Asher." My voice snapped, cold and fierce. My eyes darted immediately toward Darian, peacefully sleeping in his bed at the far end of the room.My jaw clenched so tight it ached. I stared past Asher, fixing my gaze on the door behind him. "You’re blocking the damn way. I need to leave."He shook his head, fingers tangling in his hair as if trying to pull the chaos out with it. "Elena, just listen to me, I—""Are you deaf? I've said it countless times that I don’t want to listen to you! Am I speaking a foreign language?" My voice came out harsher than I intended, slicing the air like a knife.Asher still stood rooted, eyes boring into mine. For a moment, it felt like he was searching for something there.I swallowed hard. My hand curled into a tight fist at my side. I hated this man. Hated him
[Elena]The moment Asher drove into his estate, my heart began to pound so loudly I was sure he could hear it.The car slowed, then stopped.He turned off the engine. His lips moved—he was saying something—but the words never reached me. My ears were ringing, my chest tight, my breath shallow.I lifted my gaze slowly.The house stood before me, tall and imposing, exactly the way it always had. Maybe the paint was fresher. Maybe the gates were newer. But beneath all that polish, it was still the same place.The same house.Something twisted painfully in my chest.I tried to push it down. I tried to pretend it didn’t matter, that this place no longer had a hold on me. But the feeling stayed—heavy, unmoving, undeniable.Memories came rushing in without mercy.Too many. Too fast.My legs felt frozen, like they no longer belonged to me. I couldn’t move.. All I could hear were echoes—voices overlapping, harsh and accusing. The cold clink of handcuffs. The whispers. The stares. The judgment
[Elena]I never thought about how I would react to this moment—not until it was staring me right in the face.For the past week, ever since Darian fully opened his eyes again, he has clung to me.Everywhere I sit, he follows. Every time I leave the room, his eyes search for me first before anyone else.So no, I wasn’t surprised when Asher told me he’d been crying before I walked in.What I wasn’t prepared for was the way my heart squeezed painfully when I actually saw it—the shine in Darian’s eyes, the way his lower lip trembled as he asked about Vienna. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just small, broken words, like his voice was still learning how to exist again.Before I could even form a response, Asher stepped closer and gently took him from my arms."Papa, are you excited to go home?" Asher asked softly.Darian blinked, his lashes fluttering as his gaze shifted from me to his father. For a second, he looked confused, like he was piecing the world together one image at a time. Then
[Asher]"Hey, big boy… are you ready to go home?"I forced a smile as I looked at my son. He looked better—healthier than he had days ago.His eyes drifted past me, settling on the door like he was waiting for it to open. His lips slowly turned downward, and his small fingers fidgeted with the fabric of his shirt, twisting it nervously. He glanced at me, then back at the door again, like he couldn’t decide where to focus."Big boy," I said softly, stepping closer. "Is something wrong?"He nodded immediately, lifting his hand and pointing toward the door.I frowned, following his finger. The hallway was quiet. Empty."You want something?" I asked.He shook his head at once. His lashes fluttered, his eyes glassy already, like tears were sitting just beneath the surface, waiting."Where’s… where’s she?"The words were broken, uneven—but they were words.My breath caught.The bag in my hand slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor with a dull sound as I dropped down onto the edge of his
[Elena]One week later..."You seem so happy today," Cassie nudged me just as we stepped into the mall.My lips stretched into a wide smile.Who wouldn't be as happy as I am?Darian woke up fully the next day, right after Asher called me to the hospital, and ever since then, according to the nurses, he's been sleeping and waking up like every other child.And do you know the sweetest part of it?The day I stepped into the hospital room again, knowing he was awake, with my heart thumping hard and my chest squeezing, thinking of a way my son would react to me being close.He smiled.God, he stared at me and smiled.I sat near him and he couldn't tear his gaze away from me.He hasn't gotten very comfortable speaking. The doctor said it would take him a while to regain his voice, but his eyes alone. God his eyes, the way he didn't stop staring at me.And just when I wanted to leave yesterday evening, right after I put him to sleep, he woke up, and tears were all over his eyes.I had to s
[Asher]My grip tightened around the steering wheel until my knuckles ached, every muscle in my body drawn tight.My jaw locked, teeth grinding together. I swallowed, my Adam’s apple bobbing painfully.I felt terrible.No—terrible didn’t even come close to describing it.I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn’t help. Her face was still there, sharp and unforgiving, burned into the back of my eyelids. The disgust in her eyes was unmistakable.I caught every little detail.The way her shoulders stiffened the moment I mentioned our son. She looked like she wanted to throw up, like the words alone made her sick. Like if she could rip that part of her life out and discard it without a second thought, she would do it in a heartbeat.She looked like she wouldn’t waste even a single minute on me if fate hadn’t cruelly tied us together.For a brief second, my thoughts betrayed me, drifting backward.Back when Elena smiled at me even when I gave her nothing to smile about. Back when she would si







