로그인Taylor’s POVThe entire flight, I felt like I wasn’t really there.My body sat in the seat. My hands rested in my lap. My eyes stared out the small oval window at clouds that looked too soft to be real.But my mind...My mind was still at the airport. Still watching him laughing like an idiot. Still watching the way Ivy’s hand fit so easily around his arm, like it had always belonged there.I swallowed hard and shifted in my seat, forcing myself to breathe slowly. In and out. In and out. The hum of the plane was supposed to be calming, but my thoughts were louder than the engines.Did Devon really just move on like that?The question came back again and again, no matter how many times I tried to shove it away. I pictured his smile. The relaxed set of his shoulders. The ease in his posture.He hadn’t looked haunted. He hadn’t looked conflicted. He hadn’t looked like a man who just lost his family.He had looked… fine. Too fine.“You’re thinking too hard,” I muttered under my breath.Lar
Taylor’s POVBy morning, I had already made up my mind.Running away meant nothing if people noticed I was gone too soon. Questions would follow. Devon’s world thrived on questions, on patterns, on noticing when something was out of place. If I vanished without warning, he would come looking. And I could not risk that...I couldn't risk having my plan fail So I went to work.I dressed carefully, choosing a neutral blouse and trousers, the kind of outfit that blended into routine. My hands trembled as I fastened the buttons, but I forced myself to slow down, to breathe, to look normal. I practiced my face in the mirror—soft eyes, relaxed mouth, nothing cracked or broken.Ashley watched me quietly from the bed.“You’re going to work?” she asked.“Yes,” I said lightly. “Just for today.”She nodded, then asked, “Are we still going?”“Yes,” I answered, more firmly this time. “We are.”That seemed to settle her. She smiled faintly, like she was holding onto that promise.Finally, I arrived
Taylor’s POVLara had not given me time to argue.The moment the front door slammed shut behind Devon, her hand had been on my arm, firm but gentle, steering me toward the stairs as if she knew I might collapse if I stayed where I was. My legs had felt weak, like they were not entirely mine anymore, like they belonged to the shock still rattling through my bones.“Taylor,” she murmured, low and urgent. “Come upstairs. Please.”I had glanced back once, just once.Derrick had been standing in the living room, blood smeared across his mouth, his eyes bright with something cruel and satisfied, like he had finally said the thing he had been holding in for years. The sight of him had made my chest tighten painfully.“I need you upstairs,” Lara had said again. “Ashley needs calm right now.”Ashley.The word had pulled me back into my body. I had nodded, letting Lara guide me up the stairs, each step heavier than the last. My ears had been ringing. My heart had been pounding too fast. I kept
Devon’s POVThe sound of Ashley crying did not fade when I stepped back. It stayed. It rang in my ears like something broken that could never be fixed again.Blood smeared my knuckles. It dotted the floor. It stained the moment in a way I knew I would never forget. Derrick lay on the ground groaning, his laughter still wet and ugly, but none of that mattered anymore.All I could see was my daughter.Ashley clung to Lara, her small body shaking, her face red and streaked with tears. She looked at me like she did not recognize me at all.And that… that destroyed something inside my chest.What have I done?I took a step toward her instinctively, my hands lifting in surrender, my voice already breaking before it left my mouth.“Ashley,” I said softly. “Baby, I...”“Get away from her.”Taylor’s voice cut through me like a blade.She stood between us now, her back straight, her arms shaking as she reached for Ashley. Lara hesitated for only a second before passing her into Taylor’s arms.A
Taylor’s POVDevon and I exchanged glances. What was Lara talking about? “Taylor,” Lara called, now downstairs, her voice sharper now. “You really need to come down. Please.”Something in her tone made my stomach tighten.I paused at the top of the stairs, my fingers curling around the railing as if I needed it to stay upright. A thousand thoughts ran through my head at once, none of them good. Lara never sounded like that unless something was wrong.“I’m coming,” I said, forcing my voice to steady.Devon appeared beside me, quiet, watchful. I did not look at him, but I felt him there, solid and grounding in a way that made my chest ache.I glanced at Devon. He was watching me closely, his expression unreadable, but his body was alert, like he sensed the shift before I did.“Go,” he said quietly. “I’m right behind you.”The moment I reached the living room, I knew. Lara stood stiffly near the window, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She did not say a word. She just stepped as
Taylor’s POVI should have said no.I knew I should have. That was the sensible answer so as the safe one. The answer that kept everything neat, contained, rather than spilling over the way my chest already felt like it was doing—pressing and threatening to shatter me from the inside out.But Devon’s hands were still there, warm and firm on my hips, anchoring me in a way that felt both strange and familiar. Like I was remembering something I hadn’t realized I’d forgotten. Somewhere deep down, it felt like he had never left.“Should we take this upstairs?” he asked, his voice low and steady.It hung between us, soft but heavy. Not commanding, not pushing, not assuming. Just asking...like really asking!! And somehow, that made it harder to breathe than if he had grabbed me and demanded it.I searched his face, desperate for a foothold, for the arrogance I had known for years, the kind of confidence that made him unstoppable. The kind that made him seem untouchable. But somehow with me,







