FAZER LOGINLena’s povI was sitting on the floor with Eli while he played with his blocks when I suddenly saw him pull himself up using the couch and my eyes widen immediately, "Dad!" I yelled making him rush into the living room."What happened?" He asked looking around.I pointed at Eli, "Look!"Dad looked over and his face soften seeing Eli standing while holding onto the couch. "No way," he laughed.Eli looked between us smiling proudly like he knew he did something good. "Oh my God baby," I whispered crawling closer to him.Eli let go with one hand trying to reach for me before falling on his butt making himself laugh.Dad chuckled shaking his head, "That boy really has no fear.""He got that from Ethan," I smiled softly before my smile slowly faded because Ethan should have been here for this he should have seen Eli trying to walk for the first time and he would have probably picked him up spinning him around like Eli just won a championship. My chest hurt thinking about it.Eli crawled ov
Ethan's povI was walking through the gardens outside the villa trying to clear my head when I heard somebody yell a name."Lena!"The second I heard it my whole body froze as pain hit my chest so hard I actually grab onto the stone railing beside me. What the hell? Suddenly flashes started hitting me one after another an ocean, white flowers moving in the wind and a woman standing barefoot near the water and then another memory hands holding mine, wedding vows, a ring sliding onto someone's finger and tears in someone's eyes.My breathing became uneven while more memories kept coming a nursery, a baby crib, tiny clothes folded on a chair and a woman crying while I held her against my chest. The pain in my head got worse making me shut my eyes tightly."Sir?" One of the guards asked sounding worried.I barely heard him because the memories kept coming a woman laughing while I kissed her, warm skin under my hands, ocean air coming through open windows and the feeling of loving somebody
Lena’s POVPregnancy feels different this time, and not because my body changed in some dramatic new way but because this time I was supposed to experience it with Ethan beside me from the beginning instead of carrying everything alone.When I was pregnant with Eli, Ethan had already walked away before I could even tell him about the baby and by the time he came back into my life properly, I was already close to giving birth, which meant he missed the cravings, the morning sickness, the fear, and all the tiny moments that slowly turn a pregnancy into something real.He missed everything except the end.This baby was supposed to be different.This time Ethan would have been there from the start.He would have attended every appointment even if he pretended to hate hospitals. He would have hovered over me every time I felt nauseous. He would have touched my stomach every night before falling asleep because lately he looked at me like losing me once had changed something permanent inside
Ethan’s POVThe human body heals faster than the mind does which means every day inside this villa feels divided into two separate battles one physical and one psychological and while my injuries improve steadily enough that the doctors seem satisfied with my recovery the growing sense that something is deeply wrong becomes harder to ignore with every passing day.The mornings are the worst every time I wake up there is a brief moment before full awareness settles in where confusion hits hardest because for a few seconds I forget where I am forget the explosion forget the strange emptiness inside my head and then reality returns all at once Italy, the recovery, missing memories and Maya.I stand inside the private gym connected to the lower level of the villa while rain falls steadily outside the enormous windows overlooking the lake and although my shoulder still protests sharply during certain movements I push through the discomfort anyway because movement gives me something else to
Lena’s POVThe problem with becoming responsible for an empire overnight is that grief does not pause long enough for you to learn how to carry it properly.Every morning begins before I feel ready for it and every night ends with exhaustion so heavy that sometimes I fall asleep without even remembering closing my eyes but despite how overwhelmed I constantly feel the company continues moving forward because businesses do not stop simply because someone important died and unfortunately neither does the rest of life.By the second week of officially taking over Carter Enterprises the pressure surrounding me has become almost unbearable the media follows everything I do, investors analyze every public statement I make, executives question every decision behind carefully polite smiles and somewhere beneath all of that I am still a grieving widow trying to raise a baby while carrying another child alone.The only thing keeping me functioning most days is routine like wake up, feed Eli, tr
Ethan’s POVThere is something deeply unsettling about knowing your own name but still feeling disconnected from yourself in ways you cannot explain because every morning I wake up inside this villa with the same awareness settling through me all over again the awareness that pieces of my life exist somewhere beyond my reach while everyone around me pretends that is normal.The doctors call it trauma recovery and Maya calls it healing but to me it feels more like standing inside a room filled with locked doors while hearing voices behind them that I cannot fully reach.The frustration of it settles heavier every day. I stand near the balcony overlooking the lake with one hand braced lightly against the railing while cool morning air moves through the open doors behind me, and despite the beauty surrounding this place, despite the silence and luxury and carefully controlled calm something about being here continues to feel wrong in ways I cannot properly define.My body healed faster t
Ryan’s POVI knew the second Maya went down that I needed a new angle.I didn’t panic. I don’t panic. I adjust.That’s the difference between me and people like Ethan. He reacts. I plan.When I found out Lena suddenly had “biological parents” who appeared out of nowhere, I didn’t believe it for a s
Lena’s POVI wake before the sun staring at the ceiling with my heart beating too fast. The house is quiet and I lie on my side, one hand curled over my stomach like it belongs there. The baby moves sometimes at this hour, slow, soft kicks that feel like tiny reminders that life is still happening
Lena’s POVFour weeks have passed since the storm rolled across Achwick like it wanted to erase everything in its path and yet the town is still standing, breathing and somehow growing instead of breaking.From the front window of the café I watch it every morning the slow reshaping of a place that
Ethan’s POVI don’t sleep much anymore. I lie in that guesthouse by the beach staring at a ceiling thinking about the Millers.That is what sits in my head when I close my eyes. Samuel and Chanel Miller.Names that look perfect on paper too perfect.I sit at the small desk in the guesthouse with my







