LOGINScarlette. 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 houseâreally new this time, the one he built years agoâand 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 Hopeâs books.âShould we go on a date?â he asked out loud, like the question had just strolled into his head and decided to camp there.I looked up, eyebrow lifting. âRight now?âHe grinnedâthat slow, crooked one that still made my stomach flip after all this time. âWhy not? Boxes can wait. Theyâre not going anywhere.âThere were so many of them scattered across the living room floor. Cardboard towers labeled in my handwriting; Hopeâs winter clothes, Liamâs vinyls, Kitchen misc. Our shit we swore weâd never move again. Weâd come here on weekends for yearsâlong before the final fallout with the Ne
Scarlette.âStay the fuck away, Mother!â Liamâs shout stopped her cold.âI trusted you,â he said to Julie, quieter now, but no less deadly. âI believed in you. Scarlette treated you like a mother. She loved you. She talked about making you Hopeâs godmother. And you did this?ââSir⊠Liam⊠Iâm so sorry⊠I didnât do it on purpose,â Julie sobbed.âI know. What I want to know is who fucking made you do it.ââThatâs enough, Liam.â Motherâs voice shook. âShe did it. She admitted it. She poisoned Scarlette and almost killed her and the child through the black soup.âLiam froze. âBlack soup?â He turned slowly. âI never mentioned black soup since we walked in. So how do you know?âMotherâs mouth opened, closed.âUnless you gave her the substance,â Liam continued, stepping closer. âAnd made Julie add it to the black soup. Because you knew Scarlette would never refuse anything from Julie. Am I fucking correct?ââAnswer me!â He grabbed Motherâs arms, fingers digging in.âWhat are you saying?â sh
Scarlette.âLiam! Calm down! Take it easy!â My scream ripped through the car as he swerved hard, tires screeching, missing the other vehicle by inches.He was beyond furiousâface flushed, knuckles white on the wheel, eyes wild. The news from Rayne had shattered something in him. Julie. The woman whoâd bandaged his scraped knees as a boy, whoâd slipped him extra cookies when Mother wasnât looking. The same woman whoâd stirred that black soup I hadnât wanted to drink that day. The one heâd practically begged me to finish because âJulie made it special for you, Brownie.â Now the guilt was eating him alive, and he was taking it out on the road.âYouâre fucking going to get us killed!â 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.âI canât fucking t
Scarlette. âAre you nervous?â Liamâs 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 youâre 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.âNo. Iâm not.â I pressed my temple against the cool window glass. âIf anything, Iâd be glad to have good newsâsomething solid I can use to send your mother straight to prison.âHe let out a short breath through his nose. âYou know thatâs not what Iâm asking about.ââSo what?â I turned my head just enough to meet his side-eye.âItâs your first check-up as a mother. Doesnât that feel⊠real? Youâre finally here with Hope, and we still donât even know exactly what Rayne wants to show us. I just donât want you spiraling right now. Stop overthinking.âThe song dipped into a softer bridge and I rea
Scarlette.âFuck⊠this place is a mess, Scarlette! Can you not destroy the whole house when we havenât even moved in completely?â Liam groaned from the floor as he picked up wipes, diapers, and piles of clothes scattered everywhere.His hand was wrapped in a makeshift bandageâthe 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 Kaydenâs houseâafter he had almost kidnapped me and Hope. It had been four days already, and Kayden had been sitting in police cells since then.âI donât think you understand the job description of a mother, Liam. Maybe we should switch roles, and you can make sure you breastfeed her,â I said.He raised his head from the floor where he had knelt to
Scarlette. Iâm standing on an unknown street where there are no cars, no busesânothing 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 couldnât bring myself to tell Liam. He would have stopped me or tried to follow me. Kayden had made it clearâif 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 Iâm waiting in this lonely place. Then I see a car coming toward me, and I canât help the panic rising in my chest. Fear creeps into my bones. As the car gets closer, his face becomes a little clearerâbut not entirely.He just needs to drive a bit closer for me to see him properly. And when he does, I canât stop myself from yelling at him.âYou bastard! What do you think you are, huh? Why have you done this!â I shouted, kicking against the car that had just stopped in fr
~~Scarlette~~The morning sunlight slipped through the window, hitting my face. I mustâve forgotten to pull the curtains last night. Or maybe not. Maybe it was intentional. After all⊠me and Liam? What happened wasnât just sex. It was chaos. A psychological meltdown disguised as pleasure.I let mys
~~Scarlette~~"Kai? Sorryâwho're you?" he asked, raising a brow, casually tossing a white towel over his shoulder.I froze.Did I just hear that right?Sorryâwho?My lips parted in disbelief. âYouâre joking.âHe tilted his head, eyes scanning me like I was just some random chick off the street. âDo
~~Scarlette~~Minutes deep into the celebration, with the room filled with music, loud laughter, drinks passed around, games being played across the hallâKaydenâs eyes never left me.Even when people joked. Even when they shouted. Even when Liam leaned over to whisper something into my ear.Kayden
~~Scarlette~~The heavy sigh Emelia gave was too strong. Like something deep inside her still hadn't been set free.But what was she even thinking? Since when did she know Liam enough to believe heâd fall for her silly talks? She had to be stupid if she thought Liam was the same leftover husband I







