LOGINNADIAI don’t go home to Felix.I know I should. I know it would be easier to walk into whatever is waiting for me and get it over with, but I can’t bring myself to do it, not tonight. I refuse to let the sharpness of that world touch something that felt soft. Honest.Jo.I whisper the name under my breath, letting it settle there, private and fragile. My fingers drum lightly against the steering wheel as I navigate the late-evening traffic, streetlights blinking past in a steady rhythm. The day still clings to me—the laughter, the warmth, the way he looked at me like I wasn’t something broken that needed fixing.I turn toward Laura’s place instead.My phone vibrates. I ignore it until I’m stopped at a red light, then glance down.It’s Asher.Thinking of getting Laura a condo as a wedding gift. Need your thoughts.A smile tugs at my mouth, unexpected but real. I call him immediately.“Hey.”“Nadia,” he says, his voice brightening. “How are you?”“I’m good,” I reply. “How are you holdi
JORDANThe night settles over Boston the way a held breath finally releases—quiet, warm, and unhurried. By the time we step out of the bar, it’s just past seven, the sky deepening into navy, streetlights flickering on one by one.We decide to explore the city on foot.No plan. No destination. Just walking.We pass through the Common first. The grass is darker now, dotted with people stretched out on blankets, couples talking low, laughter drifting through the air. Nadia slows, taking it all in. She smiles—not the guarded one she wears when she’s thinking too much, but something softer. Something lighter.“I like it here,” she says. “It feels… lived in.”We talk as we walk. About music. About places we’ve been and the ones we still want to see. She tells me what Boston makes her feel—how the old buildings comfort her, how the city feels steady without being suffocating. I listen more than I speak. Watching her react to everything feels more important.We stop by the water. The Charles
JORDANI know I’m playing a dangerous game with Nadia—walking the thin, treacherous line between love and lust. I keep reminding myself that I can’t pursue anything deeper. Not with everything I have at stake. Not with the kind of life I live. And certainly not when her life is still cemented to a man who happens to be my best friend.That line should be enough to stop me.It isn’t.So I draw a boundary where I can. I tell myself this is temporary. That I won’t reach for more than what the moment allows. I won’t make promises I can’t keep or ask her to choose between worlds that would cost her too much.But the present? The now? That, I can give her. I can offer today. The quiet. The space to breathe. The kind of attention that doesn’t demand anything in return.And for now—that has to be enough.She turns to me then, really looks at me, like she’s weighing every word I haven’t said yet.“Be careful what you say to me,” she murmurs. “My heart is fragile. I’m… vulnerable right now.”T
NADIAWhen I walk into the shelter’s dining hall, Laura is already laying out food, chatting animatedly with the matron. The moment she spots me, she hands the tray to the older woman and touches her shoulder gently. “My sister is here,” she says with a warm smile. Then she hurries over and wraps her arms around my neck. “I’m so sorry about the way I went off on you earlier, Nadia.”I cup her face and kiss her forehead. “It’s fine. You were right. And I appreciate you always keeping me in check.”She nods, grabs my hand, and pulls me toward the long table in the center of the room. “Come and see what I did with the dessert!” she says, practically glowing with childlike excitement.Laughing, I follow her—until I reach the table and stop short.It’s beautiful. Cookies shaped like dogs and other animals are arranged neatly on the trays. I pick one up, but instead of eating it, I trace its edges with my finger.“What does it remind you of?” she asks softly, resting her head lightly on my
NADIAI manage to avoid further confrontation and conversations with Felix, but I can’t help noticing that he has started coming home early and leaving some coffee and bagels or whatever he eats for breakfast for me on the breakfast table. An action I find extremely suspicious.After work on Wednesday, I step into his study and find him skimming through a document with the seriousness of a man decoding a bomb manual. I pause at the door like a cornered cottontail, instantly rethinking my decision to lash out at him and tell him to stop being nice.He lifts his head and just stares at me.Instead of walking further into the room, I lean against the doorjamb and cross my arms.“What are you doing, Felix?”He raises his brows, drops the document. “I have a contract to create a robot that would keep kids company while their parents are out. I’m going through the paperwork to be sure there’s no loophole.”I nod slowly, tilting my head. “Congratulations, but what exactly are you doing?”His
JORDANFacts have confirmed that Eli was right about the Mafia coming for me. They probably think that taking me out will give them access to Russo—let them do whatever the hell they want with him.The print staring back at me is a perfect match to one of the men I’ve suspected for a while. They were in my car last night, and the only reason they got access at all was because I left it unattended when I stepped out for a walk.Felix has been on my neck—dinner invitations, endless calls, begging me to meet his wife. He thinks my presence might somehow fix his marriage. In his words, she’s been eager to meet me, and seeing me might “loosen her up a bit.”I had to take a long walk to clear my head and think things through. Because I have a sickening feeling that if I meet Nadia officially—as her husband’s best friend—I’ll never get the chance to be with her again.Nadia might deny it all she wants, but a part of her still clings to that marriage. A part of her still belongs to him. And t
JORDANThe moment I swing the door open, three-year-old Zara barrels into me, her tiny arms flinging around my waist.“Uncle Jordan!”“Hey, bug!” I crouch down and let her bounce against me, her curls tickling my chin. “It’s so good to see you.”“Is it? Because you’ve been avoiding everyone.”I loo
NADIA“I still can’t believe you were caught having sex in an open space, sis. You’re becoming wild, and I love it.”I bury my face in the magazine I’m pretending to read, wishing the ground would open up and swallow me.“Keep your voice down, Laura. We weren’t caught. He handled it before it escal
JORDANThe first thing I see when I step into the bar is Felix — shoulders hunched, one hand wrapped around a half-empty glass of scotch like it’s his last bit of control. The amber catches the light, flickers across his face, and for a second, he looks older. Tired in a way that has nothing to do
NADIAI can’t sleep. I keep tossing, sheets tangled around my legs, body aching for something I haven’t had in too damn long. It’s pathetic how easily my mind drifts back to him—Mystery Man. The only one who ever really knew how to touch me.Felix and I might as well be flatmates at this point. We







