ELENAI hadn’t moved from his bedside since yesterday. Not when the nurses gently nudged me to rest. Not when my back ached from the hospital chair. Not even when my eyes burned from staying open too long.Aiden hadn’t stirred.The doctors said he was stable, that the transfusions were working, that
His voice was calm. Measured. But I could feel the weight of it settling over all of us like a thundercloud.Logan shifted on his feet.Mason glanced between them, but didn’t speak. He was still at the foot of Aiden’s bed, his eyes glassy and fixed on the boy, one hand lightly resting on the rail li
ELENAThe world had been reduced to a series of small rituals.Wake up. Tiptoe down the Moonstone hallways. Open the door to Aiden’s room. Sit by his side. Watch the rise and fall of his chest. Whisper prayers to the Moon Goddess I’d neglected to properly worship since I was a teenager.Repeat.He’d
The silence was driving me insane.He was my son.My son.And I wasn’t even allowed to see him.I’d left Barbados because I had no choice. Moonstone had taken over his care, and they’d made it clear I wasn’t welcome. Logan hadn’t said a word to me during that entire final hour at the hospital. Mason
ELENAAiden was awake. I should have felt nothing but joy, and I did. I did.His eyelashes fluttered like bird wings before they opened, and his little fingers twitched around mine like he was afraid I might disappear. But with the joy came something else—an ache. Because some of the first words ou
“If you want to be part of Aiden’s life,” I said finally, softer now, “then you have to show up. Not just with presents. With presence. With love. With support. You have to earn his trust. His love. Not buy it.”He didn’t argue, he just nodded slowly, like each word I’d spoken had cut through to som
ELENAI sat cross-legged on the edge of Aiden’s bed, carefully peeling the corner of a sticker he’d just plastered onto my jeans. He’d decided I looked “too serious” and was now decorating me with sparkly stars and cartoon wolves.“I think you need one right here,” he said, grinning as he stuck a br
Derek stood slowly, watching me. “Only if you’re okay with it.”Aiden looked between us, eyes big and hopeful. “Can we all do something together? Like… like a real family?”A real family? Was something we weren’t. All the traumas with Derek that I’d just relived had me feeling like I was standing in
Caroline looked uncomfortable. I didn’t care.Cassandra gave Aiden a soft smile. “You enjoy your dinner, sweetheart.”He didn’t answer.She turned, her heels clicking against the tile, and Caroline followed—but not before giving me a look I couldn’t quite read.A mix of confusion and betrayal.I sat
DEREKNonna Lucia’s smelled exactly the way I remembered it—like garlic, fresh bread, and something slow-simmered and sacred. The kind of smell that belonged to memory more than to food.Aiden was practically bouncing in the seat beside me, legs too short to sit still, eyes wide as he watched a serv
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I whispered.“That makes two of us.”He didn’t ask for more. Just stood there beside me, hands still in his pockets, looking out at the river like it held answers we were both afraid to reach for.CASSANDRAThe tailor’s bell chimed softly overhead as I stepped inside,
ELENAWas I crazy?I might’ve been.I kept asking myself that the entire walk down the Moonstone hill, the hem of my coat swishing around my knees and the crisp night air curling against my neck. I had said yes. I had agreed to go on a date—with Derek. Of all people.And now I was doing something ev
I grew angrier the more I talked.“You gave me a heartbeat on a monitor and a false sense of fatherhood. And then, when you knew the walls were closing in, you faked a miscarriage to seal the story. You didn't just lie—you tried to break me.”Tears welled in her eyes, but I kept going.“I mourned a
DEREKThe cemetery was quiet.The kind of quiet that settled into your bones, that made your thoughts louder, your memories sharper.I stood alone, one hand tucked into my coat pocket, the other wrapped around the slim stem of a white chrysanthemum. It was early—too early for mourners or caretakers.
Amy’s voice was small now. “I believe so.”I set the glass down with a soft clink. “Pour the full glass.”She did.“Now decant the rest,” I said. “I’ve lost my appetite for food. But I’ll be staying to enjoy the bottle.”Amy said nothing. She bowed slightly and stepped away to fetch the decanter.Th
DEREKI didn’t stop for the cameras.They flared like tiny suns as I stepped out of the black SUV, their shutters clicking rapid-fire.Flashes bounced off the platinum buttons of my coat, off the trim of my collar, illuminating the sidewalk in sharp, artificial bursts. I walked straight through the
The temperature in the room shifted.Not dramatically, but enough. Like a subtle drop in pressure before a storm. Erin straightened, her laughter tapering. I smoothed the sample fabric in front of me and didn’t look up right away.“Hey,” Logan said casually. “What’s so funny?”Erin glanced at me. “J