تسجيل الدخول“Sometimes I wish children just used twenty-four hours to become adults,” Amanda said dramatically as she dropped back into her chair and stared at the ceiling like a woman who had completely given up on life.I laughed around a bite of food and shook my head.“Already tired of your only child?” I asked.“You have absolutely no idea how lucky you are,” Amanda said as she immediately lowered her gaze toward me and pointed her fork in my direction.“Oh, here we go,” I said.“No, seriously. You get to wake up whenever you want. You get silence. You get freedom. You get uninterrupted bathroom breaks,” Amanda said as she dropped her cutlery onto the table with a clatter.I nearly choked on my drink.“Uninterrupted bathroom breaks?” I repeated.“You laugh. I had an audience yesterday,” Amanda said.I covered my face.“I am serious. Do you know what it feels like to have a tiny human staring at you while asking questions you cannot answer?” Amanda asked.“You chose this life,” I reminded her
“Home sweet home,” Nina said softly as she closed the door behind her and tried to convince herself that the familiar silence of her space was comforting rather than unsettling. Her phone rang before she could fully settle down for a while. She answered to hear Elena’s voice from her honeymoon, bright and relaxed, as she immediately filled the call with talk about Marco and the destination than asking about her big sister's well being. Nina leaned her back against the kitchen counter and let out a small breath she didn’t realise she had been holding. “You sound like you are enjoying married life more than you expected,” Nina said.“I am,” Elena replied quickly, her voice warm with amusement, “I thought I would be stressed about everything, but Marco is actually surprisingly tolerable outside of wedding planning chaos.”“That sounds like a very generous compliment,” Nina said with a faint smile.“It is,” Elena replied, “because he snored last night and I did not throw anything at him
“Hello, Nina. Can you be in my office right now?” Liam said calmly, his tone controlled but carrying something underneath it that made my stomach tighten.I paused for a second, then replied, “I’m on my way,” Nina said.The moment I ended the call, I already knew this was not going to be a normal conversation. I stood up, grabbed my phone, and walked out of my office with a feeling I couldn’t quite name, something between annoyance and anticipation.When I stepped into Liam’s office, I stopped immediately. His expression told me everything before a single word was spoken. He already knew.I narrowed my eyes. “How did you find out?” I asked.Liam frowned slightly. “Find out what exactly?” Liam asked.“Don’t do that,” I said. “Just tell me what you already know.”He exhaled slowly and leaned back in his chair. “Sit down first,” Liam said.I hesitated but sat, crossing my arms as I watched him carefully.“It was Amy,” Liam said after a moment. “She came to me because she was worried abou
“What do you mean I’m fired?” Camilla shouted from Liam’s office.The entire department seemed to freeze around me as the words carried across the floor. Although keyboards continued clicking and computer screens remained open, nobody was actually working because half the staff were suddenly very interested in whatever was happening behind Liam’s door. I paused for only a second when I recognised her voice, then continued walking toward my office because I had survived enough drama recently to know that getting involved in someone else’s explosion was rarely a good idea.As I passed Liam’s office, I caught a glimpse through the partially open door, and Camilla was standing in front of his desk with her hands planted on her hips. At the same time, Liam sat calmly in his chair, looking completely unaffected by the hurricane happening in front of him. I couldn’t hear everything they were saying, but I heard enough to know that the confrontation was serious and very real.I stepped into m
When the church doors finally opened, my attention immediately snapped toward them, and a few seconds later, Liam appeared wearing the confused expression of a man who had been summoned to a secret meeting without being told why.He spotted me, and after I gestured impatiently for him to hurry up, he made his way down the aisle and slid into the pew beside me, spending several seconds looking around the church before leaning slightly closer."Hey. Why are we meeting at a church?" Liam asked.I immediately elbowed him and whispered, "Keep your voice down."After glancing toward the altar, Liam lowered his voice and said, "Sorry."The priest continued speaking while several worshippers turned pages in their prayer books, and once the church settled back into silence again, Liam looked at me and frowned."Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors?" Liam asked.I stared at him before replying, "Because I don't want to be recognised.""You look like you're trying to rob the church," Liam said
I stared at Daniel for several long seconds while my phone remained pressed against my ear and somewhere on the other end of the line Liam was still waiting for me to respond."Is it true, Nina?" Daniel asked again.I blinked before asking, "What are you doing here?"Daniel ignored the question and instead asked, "Is it true?"My grip tightened around the phone as I said, "Liam, I'll call you back."There was a brief pause before Liam replied, "Nina.""I'll call you back," I repeated.Another pause followed before Liam finally said, "Okay."The line disconnected, and for a moment neither Daniel nor I spoke as the morning sunlight spilt on my front porch while I struggled to understand how my ex-husband was somehow standing outside my house because of an internet rumour."What are you doing here?" I asked again.Daniel looked exhausted, his clothes wrinkled and his eyes bloodshot as though he hadn't slept at all."I saw the articles," Daniel said.I laughed once before asking, "You fle







