ė”ź·øģøScarlette. Liam paused mid-unpack, one hand still clutching a half-folded throw blanket, the other braced on the edge of an open box. The late-afternoon sun slanted through the tall windows of our new houseāreally new this time, the one he built years agoāand caught the silver band on his left hand. My matching one glinted back at him from where I sat cross-legged on the rug, sorting Hopeās books.āShould we go on a date?ā he asked out loud, like the question had just strolled into his head and decided to camp there.I looked up, eyebrow lifting. āRight now?āHe grinnedāthat slow, crooked one that still made my stomach flip after all this time. āWhy not? Boxes can wait. Theyāre not going anywhere.āThere were so many of them scattered across the living room floor. Cardboard towers labeled in my handwriting; Hopeās winter clothes, Liamās vinyls, Kitchen misc. Our shit we swore weād never move again. Weād come here on weekends for yearsālong before the final fallout with the Ne
Scarlette.āStay the fuck away, Mother!ā Liamās shout stopped her cold.āI trusted you,ā he said to Julie, quieter now, but no less deadly. āI believed in you. Scarlette treated you like a mother. She loved you. She talked about making you Hopeās godmother. And you did this?āāSir⦠Liam⦠Iām so sorry⦠I didnāt do it on purpose,ā Julie sobbed.āI know. What I want to know is who fucking made you do it.āāThatās enough, Liam.ā Motherās voice shook. āShe did it. She admitted it. She poisoned Scarlette and almost killed her and the child through the black soup.āLiam froze. āBlack soup?ā He turned slowly. āI never mentioned black soup since we walked in. So how do you know?āMotherās mouth opened, closed.āUnless you gave her the substance,ā Liam continued, stepping closer. āAnd made Julie add it to the black soup. Because you knew Scarlette would never refuse anything from Julie. Am I fucking correct?āāAnswer me!ā He grabbed Motherās arms, fingers digging in.āWhat are you saying?ā sh
Scarlette.āLiam! Calm down! Take it easy!ā My scream ripped through the car as he swerved hard, tires screeching, missing the other vehicle by inches.He was beyond furiousāface flushed, knuckles white on the wheel, eyes wild. The news from Rayne had shattered something in him. Julie. The woman whoād bandaged his scraped knees as a boy, whoād slipped him extra cookies when Mother wasnāt looking. The same woman whoād stirred that black soup I hadnāt wanted to drink that day. The one heād practically begged me to finish because āJulie made it special for you, Brownie.ā Now the guilt was eating him alive, and he was taking it out on the road.āYouāre fucking going to get us killed!ā I snapped again, heart slamming against my ribs.I twisted in the seat, glancing back at Hope. Her eyes were open now, wide. Her little legs rubbing together where the nurse had given her the injection. She whimpered softly, and the sound twisted my insides worse than any near-miss.āI canāt fucking t
Scarlette. āAre you nervous?ā Liamās voice sliced through the fog in my head, pulling me back to the car.A slow R&B track hummed from the speakers, the kind that makes you sway even when youāre sitting still. Liam had been nodding along, lips moving to the lyrics, one hand loose on the wheel. In the backseat, Hope slept like she owned the quiet, tiny chest rising and falling under her blanket.āNo. Iām not.ā I pressed my temple against the cool window glass. āIf anything, Iād be glad to have good newsāsomething solid I can use to send your mother straight to prison.āHe let out a short breath through his nose. āYou know thatās not what Iām asking about.āāSo what?ā I turned my head just enough to meet his side-eye.āItās your first check-up as a mother. Doesnāt that feel⦠real? Youāre finally here with Hope, and we still donāt even know exactly what Rayne wants to show us. I just donāt want you spiraling right now. Stop overthinking.āThe song dipped into a softer bridge and I rea
Scarlette.āFuck⦠this place is a mess, Scarlette! Can you not destroy the whole house when we havenāt even moved in completely?ā Liam groaned from the floor as he picked up wipes, diapers, and piles of clothes scattered everywhere.His hand was wrapped in a makeshift bandageāthe result of him beating Kayden until his face had been unrecognizable.I was lying on the bed beside Hope, feeding her, completely unbothered by how he had been nagging nonstop about how I had been messing the whole place up for the past four days since we got here. The new house he had built in my name. I had insisted on coming here right after that day we left Kaydenās houseāafter he had almost kidnapped me and Hope. It had been four days already, and Kayden had been sitting in police cells since then.āI donāt think you understand the job description of a mother, Liam. Maybe we should switch roles, and you can make sure you breastfeed her,ā I said.He raised his head from the floor where he had knelt to
Scarlette. Iām standing on an unknown street where there are no cars, no busesānothing with lights at all. A taxi had dropped me at the exact location Kayden sent to me while Liam was still speaking to Kai.I couldnāt bring myself to tell Liam. He would have stopped me or tried to follow me. Kayden had made it clearāif the police were involved, or if Liam came with me, I would never see my child again. He even threatened to give my baby to another woman who, according to him, wanted a child more than I did.Now Iām waiting in this lonely place. Then I see a car coming toward me, and I canāt help the panic rising in my chest. Fear creeps into my bones. As the car gets closer, his face becomes a little clearerābut not entirely.He just needs to drive a bit closer for me to see him properly. And when he does, I canāt stop myself from yelling at him.āYou bastard! What do you think you are, huh? Why have you done this!ā I shouted, kicking against the car that had just stopped in fr







