로그인Veronica's POVThe world stopped when Beverly said cancer. Stage three ovarian cancer. The words hung in the air like smoke, choking everything else out. Four went pale, his hand finding mine and gripping so hard it hurt. I squeezed back just as fiercely because we both needed something to hold onto."How long have you known?" Four asked, his voice barely above a whisper."Two weeks," Beverly admitted. "I needed time to process before telling anyone. The doctors want to start aggressive treatment immediately. Surgery first to remove what they can, then chemotherapy."Thomas stood behind his wife with red-rimmed eyes, his hand on her shoulder. He looked like he had aged ten years in two weeks. Beverly was the strongest person I knew, the woman who had survived decades married to a monster and still found ways to be kind. The thought of losing her felt impossible and devastating in equal measure."What do you need?" I asked, because action was the only thing I knew how to do with fear t
Chapter 208Four's POVElena and I had grown close in ways I never expected. After years of separation caused by our father's cruelty, we had rebuilt our sibling relationship from scratch. Weekly phone calls turned into monthly visits. She knew Monte and Sophia as her nephew and niece. Veronica and Elena had become genuine friends, bonding over surviving the Lasombra legacy in different ways.When Elena called asking me to walk her down the aisle, I had to sit down. The weight of what she was asking hit me all at once. Our father had destroyed any chance of giving her away at her wedding. He was dead, his empire dismantled, his memory a stain neither of us could fully erase. But Elena was choosing me to stand in that symbolic role because I represented what family could be when it tried to do better."Are you sure?" I asked, my voice rough with emotion."Completely sure," Elena said. "You are the family that chose to show up, Four. That matters more than biology or tradition. I want y
Veronica's POVI stared at my phone for ten minutes after the UN representative hung up. The kitchen felt too bright, too ordinary for the magnitude of what had just happened. They wanted me to speak at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Me. A woman who three years ago had been sleeping in a shelter with a toddler and no future.Four found me standing there frozen, grocery bags still on the counter. "Veronica? What happened?""The UN," I said stupidly. "They want me to speak about domestic violence prevention. At their headquarters. In front of ambassadors and delegates from around the world."His face transformed. Pride and joy mixed with something deeper. "That is incredible. When?""Six weeks. They saw the interviews I did last year with that nonprofit. They think my story could influence policy changes."Four pulled me into his arms. "You have to do this.""I am terrified," I admitted against his chest. "What if I freeze up there? What if I say the wrong thing? What if I
Four's POVThe courtroom was smaller than I expected. Plain beige walls, fluorescent lights humming overhead, rows of empty benches behind us. Monte sat between Veronica and me, his legs swinging because they did not reach the floor. He wore the little suit Beverly had bought him for the occasion, navy blue with a red tie. He looked so grown up it made my chest tight.Judge Martinez reviewed the paperwork with practised efficiency. There were no objections because Jason was dead and his parents had no legal standing to block the adoption. Our lawyer had confirmed it twice. Still, my heart pounded as the judge looked up at us over her reading glasses."Monte," she said kindly. "Do you understand why you are here today?""Yes," Monte said clearly. "So Four can be my daddy for real.""He is not your daddy already?""He is," Monte said seriously. "But now it will be on paper too. So everyone knows."Judge Martinez smiled. "And you want this? You want Mr Lasombra to adopt you?""Yes," Mont
Veronica's POVTwo years passed in a blur of normalcy that felt like a miracle. Every morning I woke up expecting chaos or crisis and found ordinary family life instead. Monte grew from a toddler into a bright, curious five-year-old who asked endless questions about everything. Sophia transformed from a fragile infant into a sturdy two-year-old who climbed furniture fearlessly, her repaired heart beating strong and steady. Four built his consulting business into something legitimate and profitable, helping companies restructure without the criminal undertones that had defined his father's empire.We moved into a larger house in a quiet neighbourhood with good schools. The kind of place I had dreamed about during those dark years with Jason. A yard for the children. Neighbours who smiled and waved. A life so normal it still sometimes felt surreal.Four and I fell into comfortable routines. Morn
Veronica's POVI watched Four fall apart slowly through the night. He sat beside Manuel's bed, holding that fragile hand, and spoke in a low voice that broke repeatedly. He thanked Manuel for everything. For saving him. For believing in him when no one else would. For showing him what a real father looked like. He apologised for not being enough, for not finding a way to save Manuel the way Manuel had saved him."You were always enough," I whispered, squeezing Four's shoulder. But he could not hear me through his grief.The hospice nurse checked Manuel's vitals every thirty minutes. His pulse was thready. His breathing was shallow and irregular. She told us he could hear us even if he could not respond. So Four kept talking, pouring out years of gratitude and love and pain.Around four in the morning, Manuel's breathing changed. The gaps between breaths grew longer. Twenty seconds. Thirty. Forty. Each time I thought it was the end and then he would gasp again, fighting to stay just a
Four's POV.“I feel no attraction for her,” “I feel nothing for her.”“She's got enough to worry about, I'm not about to insert myself in one of those situations.”Words. Words. Words. They crowded my thoughts, messed with the actual things that worked me up. Words!I reached for the new shipment
Veronica’s POV. After Four put me in my place, I remained there. Rigid in my new round throne with the walls of my heart locked tight, the key thrown out so no one could ever get a hold of it.It didn't help that the girl— Mia, was now assigned to me. Assigned to taking care of me until I was back
Veronica’s POV. Silence detonated between us and in that silence, Four changed. It was subtle, anyone else might have missed it. But I had spent enough time around him now to recognise the shift: the internal door closing, the walls sliding back into place, the distance he wore like armour settlin
Veronica’s POV. The day passed in a blur of muted sunlight and half-hearted attempts to focus. I had tried to eat, tried to scroll through the endless notifications from my assistant, Lily, and even tried to nap but my thoughts refused rest.Every time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing the girl— Mia







