Mag-log in~ Lily ~ Mom cries while she laughs in the kitchen three days before Christmas because Oliver threw mashed bananas at the dog while she stands there with food-stained fingerprints on her shirt. “I give up,” she says, laughing harder while Oliver slaps his hands against the highchair tray like he invented comedy. The dog licks the mess off the floor. Cole I mean..Dad walks in, takes one look at the mess, then quietly walks back out. Mom points toward the hallway. “See? Even your father abandoned me.” “I went to get paper towels,” Dad calls back. Mom snorts. I sit at the kitchen counter watching all of them while pretending to do homework. Oliver notices me staring and immediately starts yelling gibberish at me. He likes yelling at people. Mom says he got that from Dad. Dad says he got it from me and Mom combined. Honestly? That feels fair. The house smells like cinnamon candles and coffee and the weird baby lotion Mom uses after Oliver’s baths. Outside,
~ Cole ~ I’m in the middle of reviewing dealership numbers when Mara calls me sounding two seconds away from homicide. “Your favourite person is at Lily’s school.” I lean back slowly in my office chair. “That bad?” “He’s arguing with the front office about custody,” she snaps. “Apparently now he suddenly wants to act like father of the year.” I run a hand through my hair. “What exactly happened,” I ask “He showed up during lunch,” Mara says. “Lily got excited because she thought he came to actually see her, then he started questioning the staff about pickup permissions and legal rights.” Yeah. That sounds like a man spiralling. “Where’s Lily now?” I ask “In class. She’s okay,” she replies “And Evan?” “He left before I got there,” she says I stare at the paperwork on my desk for a second. Old me would’ve handled this differently. A lot differently. But lately, every time anger starts climbing up my throat, all I can think about is how I don't want Lily
~ Cole ~ Marriage changes absolutely nothing and somehow changes everything at the same time. Mara still wears my clothes. Lily still talks too much before breakfast. Oliver still wakes up crying like he’s personally offended by sleep. But now there’s a wedding ring on my hand. Now Mara signs her name differently. Now when people look at us, they don’t look at us like a fling anymore. I didn’t think paper would matter. Turns out it does. Monday morning starts early. I’m already dressed by six while Mara sleeps upstairs with Oliver curled against her chest. Lily has school in an hour. The house is still dark except for the kitchen lights. I’m halfway through coffee when my phone buzzes across the counter. Elijah. I answer immediately. “What?” “You got a minute?” His tone makes me straighten slightly. “Yeah.” “I ran the plate from the car outside the wedding.” My expression hardens automatically. “And?” “Private investigator,” he answers That
~ Mara ~ I wake up before everyone else. Not because I’m nervous. Because Oliver decides five in the morning is the perfect time to start making tiny angry noises through the baby monitor like he personally pays bills in this house. I groan into my pillow before reaching for the monitor on the nightstand. Beside me, Cole shifts slightly but doesn’t fully wake up. His arm slides across my waist automatically. “Got him,” I whisper. His eyes stay closed. “Mhm.” I stare at him for a second. Messy hair. Half asleep. Think to myself today's our wedding day and this man still somehow looks intimidating while unconscious. Life is strange. I slip out of bed carefully and head down the hallway toward Oliver’s room. The house is still dark except for the soft lights near the stairs. Everything feels calm for once. No chaos yet. No wedding planners. No Rhea screaming about flowers. Just me and the sound of my son complaining to the universe from his crib. “Okay,”
~ Mara ~ “I swear if you put motorcycles at the wedding entrance, I’m cancelling the whole thing.” Rhea looks offended from across my kitchen counter. “You’re being dramatic,” she says “I’m being sane,” I reply “Those are not the same thing,” she argues while flipping through flower samples like she’s negotiating a hostage situation. My mother sighs into her coffee. Jax looks exhausted already, and it’s barely ten in the morning. Meanwhile, Lily is sitting beside Oliver’s baby chair showing him pictures of dresses on a tablet even though he’s four months old and literally cannot care. “This one is prettier,” she tells him seriously. Oliver drools on himself. Cole walks into the kitchen halfway through the chaos wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, Oliver’s bottle in one hand and his phone in the other. “What’s happening now,” he asks carefully. “Your future wife hates joy,” Rhea replies instantly. “I hate stupid wedding entrances,” I correct. Cole glances a
~ Mara ~ “You’re getting married again?” My mother’s voice comes through the phone so loudly I have to pull it away from my ear for a second. I lean against the kitchen counter, watching Cole hold Oliver while Lily sits on the floor with a notebook full of wedding ideas she’s been forcing on me since breakfast. “Yes,” I answer carefully. “That’s usually what happens after someone gets engaged.” My mother ignores the sarcasm immediately. “Mara, I’m serious.” “I know.” There’s silence on the line for a second before my father speaks in the background. “Ask her when.” “When?” my mother repeats. I glance toward the living room. Cole is standing near the windows with Oliver against his chest, slowly patting his back while talking on the phone with someone from one of the dealerships. It still catches me off guard sometimes. That this dangerous man walking around my house with a baby in his arms is going to be my husband. “Soon,” I tell her. “Probably in a few
~ Mara ~ I found out from Instagram. Not a phone call, not a formal letter from a lawyer, not even a warning from Evan. Just a notification. Some random, burner account tagged me in a story, and I clicked it before my brain could tell me not to. It was a picture of Cole’s truck idling outs
Cole I punched the wall hard enough to make my knuckles split. Not because I lost control. Because control was the only thing keeping me from going to Evans' office and burning down the whole goddamn building. Jax didn’t flinch. He just watched me from the doorway like he always did when
Cole By the time I shut my door, it was already done. That was the truth I didn’t want to look at. The clubhouse noise faded behind me, but the damage didn’t stay there. It followed. Sat heavy in my chest. Quiet. Certain. I hadn’t needed Jax to say anything. I hadn’t needed Rhea’s look when
Mara She didn’t introduce herself. She didn’t have to. That witch, Vanessa stood in front of me like she belonged there, like the sidewalk outside Lily’s school was her territory and I was the one trespassing. Polished hair. Perfect posture. A smile that didn’t reach her eyes. I knew that







