LOGIN(Ciara’s POV)This was the night of our wedding, and somehow the entire day still felt unreal to me.Not because the ceremony had been extravagant.Not because of the flowers, the lights, the expensive decorations, or the number of people who spent half the evening pretending not to gossip while very obviously gossiping.It felt unreal because after everything Lucas and I had destroyed, survived, rebuilt, denied, and nearly lost forever…We had still found our way back to each other.Even now, hours after the ceremony had ended, I still could not fully process it.The guests were gone.The music had faded.The staff had cleaned most of the reception hall downstairs.And somewhere in the city, people were probably already turning our wedding into headlines, business articles, dramatic social discussions, and unnecessary opinions nobody asked for.But inside the house…Everything was quiet.Peacefully quiet.Not the painful kind of silence I had grown used to during the years Lucas and
(Ciara’s POV)Months passed after the day I forgave Lucas.Not dramatically.Not with sudden change.But slowly.Like healing usually happens when no one is forcing it.At first, things were careful between us.Not awkward.Just… intentional.Lucas showed up more often.Not only for Williams, but for me too.And I noticed something I hadn’t seen before.He didn’t try to rewrite the past anymore.He didn’t rush explanations.He simply stayed consistent.Present.Patient.Real.Williams adjusted faster than I expected.Children don’t hold onto tension the way adults do.He just saw Lucas as someone who showed up.Someone who played with him.Someone who stayed.And that, to him, was enough.For me…It took longer.But not because I didn’t want it.Because I was afraid of trusting something that had once broken me so deeply.Still…Lucas never rushed me.He waited.And somehow, that made all the difference.The proposal came on an ordinary evening.No crowd.No staged drama.Just a quiet
(Ciara’s POV)The knock came softly at first.Not the kind that demands attention.Not the kind that interrupts life.But the kind that waits.Patient.Careful.Almost unsure of whether it deserves to be answered.I paused where I stood.For a second, I considered not going.Not because I didn’t know who it was.But because I did.And somehow, that made it harder.Williams was in the living room, playing with a small toy car across the rug, humming to himself in that innocent way children do when the world around them feels simple.Another knock came.Still gentle.Still waiting.I exhaled slowly.Then walked to the door.And opened it.Lucas stood there.For a moment, neither of us spoke.Time didn’t feel like it moved forward.It felt suspended.Like the world had quietly stepped back to give us space to remember everything we had tried to forget.He looked different.Not in appearance.But in presence.Less guarded.Less certain.Like someone who had come carrying something heavier
(Ciara’s POV)Sleep didn’t come peacefully that night.It came like surrender.Not gentle.Not calm.Just… sudden.As if my mind had been waiting for the moment my body finally gave up trying to stay awake.And when it came…I fell into a dream that did not feel like a dream at first.It felt real.Too real.I was standing somewhere I couldn’t immediately place.Not unfamiliar.But distant.Like a memory that had been softened by time but never erased.The air was quiet.Warm.Still.And then I saw her.My mother.She stood a few steps away, dressed in something simple, familiar in the way only memories can preserve people.My breath caught instantly.Because it had been so long since I saw her like this.Not in fragments.Not in fading thoughts.But fully.Clearly.Right in front of me.“Mom…” I whispered.My voice didn’t sound like my voice.It sounded younger.Weaker.Like a version of me I had outgrown but never fully lost.She smiled gently.The same smile I remembered.The same
(Ciara’s POV)The house was quiet in the way only late evenings can be.Not empty.Not lifeless.Just softened by time.The kind of silence that wraps itself around walls after a long day, holding onto echoes of movement, laughter, and conversation that had already faded.I sat in the living room with Williams lying against my lap, his small hand still loosely holding onto my sleeve even in sleep.He had been excited earlier.Running toward the door the moment he heard it open.“Grandma!” he had shouted with pure joy.And when Annie’s mother stepped inside, she didn’t even get time to properly drop her bag before he ran into her arms.She laughed immediately, lifting him slightly as if he still weighed nothing.“My boy,” she had said warmly.And for a moment…The house felt full in a way I didn’t even realize I had missed.Lizzie had not come.And that absence still lingered somewhere in me, quiet but noticeable.Annie’s mother stayed longer than usual that night.She played with Will
(Ciara’s POV)The room had long emptied.The noise had faded.The guests had left.The lights had dimmed slightly, leaving behind only the quiet hum of a space that had witnessed too much in a single night.But I was still there.Standing.Still.Not because I wanted to be.But because my body had not yet caught up with what my mind had just absorbed.Taylor’s words.Lizzie’s silence.Williams.Lucas.Everything was overlapping in a way that made it hard to separate truth from shock.And anger… was the only thing that kept me standing.The door opened softly behind me.I didn’t turn.I already knew who it was.Lizzie.I could hear her footsteps before she spoke.Careful.Slow.Hesitant.“Ciara,” she called gently.I didn’t respond.Not immediately.Because I didn’t trust my voice yet.I could feel her stopping a few steps behind me.Waiting.Always waiting.“I know you’re angry,” she said quietly.That made me exhale sharply.Angry.That word felt too small.Too controlled.Too polite







