LOGINCiara’s POV Rose was on the play mat kicking her legs like she had somewhere important to be. I sat cross-legged beside her, making the same ridiculous faces I’d been making for weeks with zero results. Cain was in the kitchen rinsing bottles, humming something off-key.Then it happened.Her mouth stretched wide. Not gas. Not a random twitch. A real smile. Eyes locked on mine, gums on full display, pure delighted baby joy.I froze. Then the tears came so fast I couldn’t stop them.“Cain,” I called, voice cracking. “Cain, come here. Hurry.”He appeared in the doorway, dish towel over his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”“She’s smiling. Look. She smiled at me.”He dropped to his knees beside us just as Rose did it again, this time for him. The sound that left his chest was half laugh, half something deeper. He reached out and traced her cheek with one rough finger.“Hey, pretty girl,” he murmured. “There you are.”I cried harder. Happy tears. Ugly, messy, can’t-catch-my-breath tears. Cain’s a
Ciara’s POV The table looked almost normal. Plates that matched. A simple salad. Pasta Cain had actually helped me finish without burning. Rose’s high chair sat at the end like it belonged there. I kept adjusting the napkins like the angle of the folds might decide whether the night felt safe or not.Cain came up behind me and rested his hands on my hips. “You’re overthinking the silverware again.”“I’m overthinking everything.” I leaned back against him for a second. “It feels strange. Having people over. Laughing on purpose. Like we’re pretending the past didn’t happen.”“We’re not pretending.” His mouth brushed my temple. “We’re living. There’s a difference.”The doorbell rang before I could answer. Alice came in first, arms full of dessert and a soft stuffed rabbit for Rose. Seraphine followed with wine and zero volume control.“Something smells edible,” Seraphine announced. “Miracle. Cain, did you supervise or just look pretty?”Cain took the wine from her. “I stirred. Twice. Be
Ciara’s POV The sewing machine sat in the corner of the spare room like it had been waiting for me. I hadn’t touched it since before the divorce, before the move, before Rose. Dust covered the cover. My old sketchbooks were stacked underneath, edges worn soft from years of use.Cain’s voice drifted from the dining table where he sat with his laptop and Rose in the carrier. He was on a call, voice low and firm, bouncing her gently every time she made a sound. He hadn’t asked me to take her once all morning. He just handled it.I pulled the cover off the machine and ran my fingers over the familiar metal. The hum of it used to be the only thing that quieted my head. Designing clothes had always been mine. Not Simon’s. Not the Hale family’s. Mine.I sat down with a fresh sketchbook and started drawing. Loose lines at first. Then sharper. A soft wrap dress that would work for nursing. Wide-legged trousers that felt like armor. A leather jacket cut close to the body, something that looked
Ciara’s POV The stroller wheels clicked over the sidewalk and every sound felt too loud. I kept my sunglasses on even though the day was only partly cloudy. People could still see us. That was the problem.Cain walked beside me with one hand on the stroller handle and the other resting at the small of my back. Rose slept under the shade canopy, one tiny fist curled near her cheek. She looked peaceful. I felt anything but.“You’re gripping that handle like it owes you money,” Cain said, voice low.I loosened my fingers. “I know. I just… it feels like everyone is looking.”“They’re not. And if they are, fuck ’em.” He squeezed my side. “We’re allowed to be out here. You and me and our girl. No one’s taking that away.”I nodded, but my pulse still jumped every time someone passed. Old habits. Old scars. The last time I’d walked in public with a man who was supposed to be mine, it had been a performance. Perfect wife. Perfect smile. Perfect silence. This felt different and somehow more da
Ciara’s POV The baby monitor glowed green in the dark. Three fourteen a.m. Rose’s soft cry cut through the quiet like it always did, that thin, insistent sound that somehow managed to wake every cell in my body even when I felt half-dead.I sat up before Cain could, but his hand was already on my arm. “I got her. Go back to sleep.”“You took the last two,” I whispered, voice rough.“And I’ll take this one too.” He was already out of bed, pulling on a shirt, moving with that same quiet confidence he used on the road. “Stay. Please.”I listened to his footsteps down the hall, the low murmur of his voice as he lifted her. The crying stopped almost immediately. He always managed that. I lay there staring at the ceiling, guilt curling tight in my stomach. The kind that whispered I should be the one who never slept. That real mothers didn’t need this much help.Flashbacks came without warning. Simon’s voice. The cold way he used to look at me when I cried. The nights I spent alone in that
Cain POVThe city lights glittered below like scattered diamonds, but up here on the rooftop terrace it felt like the whole fucking world belonged to just us. I leaned against the railing, beer in hand, watching Ciara move around the small table she’d set up with wine and those little snacks she liked. Rose was sound asleep downstairs with the monitor on full blast and Seraphine on speed dial. For once, the night felt wide open.Ciara had been quieter since the park. Not bad quiet. The kind that meant something big was shifting inside her. I knew better than to push. I’d learned that the hard way in the early days.She came over and slipped her arms around my waist from behind, pressing her cheek to my back. “It’s beautiful up here.”“Yeah.” I set the beer down and turned, pulling her against my chest. “You’re beautiful. Always have been.”She looked up at me, those eyes that used to carry the weight of the whole damn world. Tonight they were softer. Clearer. “I had a moment today. Wh
Cain's POV. Boris’s tensed voice crackles through the speakerphone. "Hyde family’s circling closer. They’re sniffing around the old accounts. If they find the file, we’re fucked." I pace the cafeteria inside the Bridge Hotel with my set jaw tightly. "How close?" "Close enough that someone ins
Ciara's POV I gulp. My legs are trembling. I'm breathing too fast. I can't look at him and not remember last night how I shamelessly came alive and gosh... My panties are sticky to my inner thighs. He puts his hands around my waist to settle me as he lowers his face to my chin, trailing his
Ciara's POV "Baby, must you go to work today?" I pout at Simon as we stood facing each other in the center of the room. "Of course I have to, darling, and you know that," he says impatiently. "It wouldn't tell well of me to sit at home a day after my dad's birthday celebration." I bit my l
CAIN'S POV I walked toward Ciara, but Simon quickly intercepted, running his hands all over her body and inquiring if she'd be okay. I step back. I had greeted my dad earlier and my mother wasn't even there. I think I'm done with this party too. I head downstairs to the first floor—still crowd







