MasukCHARLOTTE~•~I’d looked forward to hosting Thanksgiving all year, but when the day finally came, I dreaded it.I’d never hosted Thanksgiving so I didn’t think I needed to do much work until the day actually came. If I had known it would be this stressful, I would have hired caterers to do the job, but I didn’t so I was stuck cooking. Well, Alexander and I were stuck with cooking.Briella offered to help since she had arrived early with George, but we pointed her to the table and asked her to set it. I wanted to figure it out by myself so I’d be more confident to host in the upcoming years.A few hours later, the house smelled like roasted turkey and the sweetness of cinnamon from the pies cooling on the counter. I stood in the middle of the kitchen, an apron tied around my waist, stirring the gravy while trying not to let the chaos of the day overwhelm me. Nyla and George raced through the living room, their laughter echoing around the house. At six years old and in first grade, the
CHARLOTTE~•~Three months later, I stood on a soundstage in Los Angeles. It was strange being back, holding a script and having production buzzing all around me. Surprisingly, it wasn't as overwhelming as expected. We’d been shooting for the past few days and I had completely eased into the role.I had enough flexibility to fly home during weekends, which was why I was excited for the day to be over. The past three months had been some of the best of my life. We had properly settled into the new house. Nyla’s room was a chaotic explosion of pink and purple, stuffed animals everywhere, and drawings taped to the walls. George actually had his own room now too. Nyla had spent it decorating it with him which meant it was filled with green and blue. They spent most weekends together, building forts, arguing over any and everything, and falling asleep in the middle of movies. Briella had moved into her apartment and was slowly finding her footing. She worked a lot and took a lot of nigh
ALEXANDER~•~I was beginning to understand why people lost their minds planning proposals.The wedding was easy. You picked a date, hired people to handle the details, and showed up.The proposal was different. It had to be right. And apparently, according to Harvey, I was overthinking it. I’d gone through so many ideas with him over the past week, but none of them stuck. The only one that made sense was the ranch. We’d gone there for a date as a publicity stunt but it was still where she opened up to me for the first time.I told Charlotte about going to the ranch over breakfast one morning. Charlotte looked up from her coffee with an arched eyebrow. “The ranch?” she asked, setting her mug down. “This weekend?”I nodded, keeping my voice casual even though my mind was already racing at the thought of proposing to her again. “It’s been a while. Plus Nyla’s never been. I thought it’d be good for her if she learnt how to ride a horse early.”Nyla’s head snapped up immediately, her eyes
ALEXANDER~•~I was in my home office, reviewing reports from the meeting I’d walked out on a week ago when Charlotte walked in holding her phone up with a grin on her face.“It’s done,” she said, shaking her phone in the air. “Vanessa’s team accepted the terms. Full settlement. A public apology will be issued tomorrow morning. No trial.”I set my laptop aside and stood up, crossing the room to pull her into my arms. She melted against me immediately, her forehead pressing to my chest. I held her tight, one hand stroking her back, and the other tangled in her hair.“You did it,” I murmured against the top of her head. “You won.” Charlotte had been open to a trial but she preferred to settle it as long as Vanessa was willing to publicly apologize. Hopefully, she’d follow through with the apology because I was also tired of the lawsuit.She let out a short laugh. “We won.” She corrected me. “You and Harvey made sure the evidence was airtight. I just signed the papers.”I pulled back eno
CHARLOTTE~•~It didn’t take long for Briella to get approved for an apartment. It was kind of a big deal because it was her first apartment. She’d been living with her parents and after they died, she’d lived with my parents all her life.Her new apartment was nice. It was a small two-bedroom unit in a quiet neighborhood not too far from our new house. It wasn’t, but it had a decent kitchen, a small balcony, and enough space for George to have his own room. When she told me the news over the phone, her voice was shaky with a mix of relief and nerves. “I can’t believe it,” she said. “They actually said yes.”“You sound surprised,” I replied, leaning against the kitchen counter as I watched Nyla try to braid Alexander’s hair.“I am. After everything… I didn’t think anyone would trust me with my own place.”I didn’t know what to say to that. Part of me still carried resentment toward her for the past, but another part, the part that had watched her try to be better for George, felt a re
ALEXANDER~•~My phone rang while I was in the middle of a meeting with the finance team. I almost ignored it as we were deep in quarterly projections, but something made me glance at the screen. Charlotte’s name flashed across it.I frowned. Charlotte wouldn’t call me during work unless it was important. She’d rather leave a text instead. I answered immediately. “Hey, baby." I greeted and waited for her to speak."Nyla's missing."I blinked, waiting for her to tell me that she was joking or that it was a prank to see how I’d react, but none of that came. "What?""We came to pick her up and George came out alone. Nobody knows where she is." Her voice was shaky, letting me know that this was real. My daughter was missing. “I’m worried, Alex.”I was already standing up, chair scraping loudly against the floor. My assistant looked up from her notes with wide eyes. The entire room went silent as I grabbed my jacket. "I'm on my way." I hung up without waiting for a response, not knowing
CHARLOTTE~•~Promotions were stressful. Two weeks after the premiere, we were always in one interview or another. The movie officially dropped a week ago, which meant we had to continue building hype around it by answering questions about our personal lives.Well, I didn’t mind answering question
ALEXANDER~•~“Sir, you have a visitor,” my secretary informed me through the telephone.“Who?” I asked absentmindedly, focused on the work in front of me.“Uhh…” she hesitated. “Briella.”I paused and let out a breath. “I’m busy.”“She said it’s very important.”I sighed. Did I really need to get
CHARLOTTE~•~“You know, there’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Dave said as we finished our burgers.I picked at my fries, staring at him. “Go on,” I prompted, even if I wasn’t entirely sure whether or not I wanted to ask this question.“Do you hate me?”I blinked, then laughed, taken a
ALEXANDER~•~I almost didn’t go.I sat in my car outside my parents’ house for a full five minutes, engine still running, staring at the front door like I was about to walk into war. I really didn’t want to be there, but I’d promised Leah already and I didn’t want my mom more worried than she alre







