เข้าสู่ระบบAudricI found Gabriela in my room after the party wound down, still in the red dress, sitting on the edge of the bed scrolling through her phone like nothing about tonight had happened at all. Like she hadn't stood in front of half my family and told Zuri she was too fat for a dress that fit her perfectly."We need to talk.""About what?" She didn't even look up."I want you gone by morning."That got her attention. She set the phone down slowly, staring at me like I'd spoken a language she didn't understand. "Excuse me?""You heard me." I kept my voice level, even though everything in me had been building toward this exact moment since the garden. "This isn't working. It was never real to begin with, and we both know it.""You're breaking up with me." Her voice climbed, disbelief curdling fast into fury. "At your parents' anniversary. In their house.""I should have ended it before we even got here."She grabbed the nearest thing within reach, a ceramic lamp off the dresser
ZuriBy the time I made it back inside, the party had thinned down to a handful of stragglers and the cleanup crew already folding tables in the dark, and I found my mum out on the upstairs balcony, feet propped on the railing, a blanket draped over her shoulders against the night chill."Sweetheart." She patted the cushion beside her without opening her eyes. "I was starting to wonder if you'd run off entirely.""Needed some air." I settled down next to her, pulling my knees up, the quiet of the balcony a welcome relief after the noise of the evening."I saw what happened. With that girl." My mum's voice stayed gentle, but her eyes opened, sharp and focused on me now. "Gabriela, was it?"Heat crept up my neck. "You saw that.""Enough of it." She reached over, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear the way she'd done since I was small. "I recognized the pattern the second she opened her mouth. I've been there myself, baby. Girls like that always find the softest spot and press."
Zuri"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"He was quiet for a second, jaw working like he was searching for an answer that might actually land. "How do I make it feel better, then? Tell me. I'll do anything."He reached for my hand, and for one weak, traitorous second I let him take it before I pulled back, putting distance between us I didn't fully trust myself to hold otherwise."Go be with your girlfriend." My voice came out flatter than I felt. "Just leave me alone.""Do you ever put my feelings into consideration? Even once?" His voice cracked on it, something raw finally breaking through the careful control he'd kept all night. "Me knowing you're with my brothers. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?""Because you've refused to understand something I've told you a hundred times." I turned to face him fully now, done holding it in. "My heart didn't choose one of you, Audric. I told you I can't just be with only you. I love you. I love your brothers too. Equally. Why ca
ZuriThe backyard didn't look like the same place I'd walked through flower arrangements in that morning. String lights turned the whole lawn gold, round tables draped in white linen, a live band tuning up near a dance floor someone had built out of nothing in a single afternoon. Caterers moved through the crowd with trays of champagne, and the air smelled like roses and citronella and money.Alexander tapped his glass before the appetizers even finished making the rounds."Thirty years ago I married the most patient woman I've ever met." He pulled Diane in against his side, voice thick. "Patient enough to survive three sons who nearly burned this house down twice, and patient enough to still look at me like I hung the moon every morning since. To Diane.""To Diane," the crowd echoed, glasses lifting, and Diane laughed through actual tears before pulling Alexander into a kiss that had Ethan groaning into his drink beside me."Get a room," he muttered."They own the room," Chris said.
ZuriI heard the car pull up before I actually saw it, gravel crunching under tires, and I was off the terrace and halfway across the front lawn before I'd even fully registered moving."There she is!" My mum's voice carried clear across the driveway the second she stepped out, arms already open.I crashed into her hug, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume, and she squeezed me so tight I nearly lost my footing."I missed you so much." I pulled back to look at her properly, and that's when I noticed it, the soft, unmistakable curve beneath her sundress that hadn't been there the last time I'd seen her.My mouth fell open. "Mum."She grinned, one hand resting protectively over the bump, glancing toward my dads, who were both grinning like they'd been waiting weeks for exactly this moment."Surprise, baby." Jackson came around the car, pulling me into a hug of his own. "We're having a baby."I looked between all three of them, tears springing up before I could stop them. "Is th
AudricI found Gabriela pacing the length of the guest room, arms crossed so tight it looked like she was trying to hold herself together by force."What are you whining about now?""You think I'm whining?" She spun to face me, eyes flashing. "I'm telling you what's going on and you think I'm whining?""That's usually what it sounds like when someone paces a room muttering to themselves.""Your mother despises me." Her voice cracked on the word, real hurt bleeding through the anger. "And it's all that stupid, dumb Zuri's fault."Something in my chest went tight and hot at that, faster than I expected."Don't." My voice came out sharper than I meant it to. "Don't talk about her like that.""You're defending her." Gabriela's eyes went wide, something close to disbelief crossing her face. "You're actually defending her right now.""I'm telling you to watch how you talk about people in my house.""You don't even see what she's doing, do you." She threw her hands up. "She's turning everyon
RheaGreg found me near the back of the ballroom, his hand landing gently on my shoulder.“There you are, kiddo. Come, there are some people I would like you to meet.” His smile was warm, genuine. “The Harrisons have been asking about you.”The Harrisons. Old money. The kind of people who smiled to
RHEAPain woke me before anything else.Not just the burning across my chest where they’d carved their initials into my skin. That was there, constant and throbbing. But the ache between my legs was worse—a deep, bone-deep soreness that made even the thought of moving unbearable.They hadn’t given
Rhea“Good.” Brandon’s hands slid down my arms, guiding them behind the chair. “Because you’ve earned it, baby. Choosing him this morning. Walking around with his hands on you all day. Lying to us about Camilla.”He picked up a rope from a table. The rope was soft against my wrists as he worked eff
RHEAI stood in front of my closet, staring at rows of clothes that suddenly seemed impossible to navigate. Every movement sent sharp reminders through my body of what had happened last night.My thighs ached. My back stung where the bark had scraped it raw. And between my legs—God, between my legs







