MasukPOV: ForeverThe house had never been this alive before.Voices filled every corner—laughter, footsteps, music playing faintly somewhere in the background. Flowers were everywhere, soft whites and warm blush tones, carefully arranged as if each petal mattered. Because it did.Laila stood in front of the mirror, her hands resting lightly against the fabric of her dress.For a second, she didn’t recognize herself.Not because she looked different…But because she felt different.Peaceful. Whole.“Stop overthinking,” Matilda said from behind her, gently adjusting the veil. “You look exactly how you’re supposed to look.”Laila smiled faintly. “I wasn’t overthinking.”Matilda raised an eyebrow. “You forget I know you.”A soft knock came at the door before it opened slightly. “Is it safe?”Laila turned as Joseph stepped in, pausing the moment he saw her.“…Wow.”She laughed nervously. “That bad?”“Not even close,” he said, shaking his head. “If Nichole cries, I’m not judging him.”Matilda
Chapter 82POV: New BeginningsMorning came softly, like the world itself was careful not to disturb them.Sunlight filtered through the curtains in thin golden lines, resting gently across the bed. Laila stirred first, her eyes fluttering open as she adjusted against the steady rise and fall of Nichole’s chest beneath her.For a moment, she didn’t move.She just listened. His heartbeat. His breathing.The quiet, It felt… safe. A kind of peace she had never known before.Her fingers traced absentminded patterns against his shirt, and that small movement was enough to wake him.“You’re staring,” Nichole murmured, his voice thick with sleep but laced with amusement.She smiled without lifting her head. “Can you blame me?”“One would think I’m not that interesting first thing in the morning.”“Oh, you are,” she said softly. “Especially when you’re not overthinking everything.”He huffed a quiet laugh, his hand coming up to rest over hers. “Give me an hour. I’ll fix that.”She tilted her
POV: Happy EndingLaila walked into the house slowly, Nichole’s hands resting protectively on her shoulders as though he feared letting go of her even for a second. The weight of the day still clung to her, heavy and exhausting, but the warmth of home wrapped around her like a quiet promise that things would be okay.Matilda greeted them at the door, her face soft with concern. “Hello, Laila. I heard you had an eventful day. I made you chocolate cake.”“Thank you, Matilda,” Laila said with a grateful smile, her voice softer than usual but filled with appreciation.At the police station, when Laila had given her statement, the moment had been heavier than she expected. Seeing Lola again—broken, desperate, unraveling—had stirred something deep inside her. Lola had cried out, “Mommy!” like a child, begging to be saved. But Lorraine had not gone to her. Instead, she had walked past her daughter and wrapped Laila in a firm, protective embrace.That moment had said everything.Nichole, Fre
POV: Lola is Unhinged Laila was in the gallery working on a restoration piece when the sound of Lola's voice carried into the back room.“Not again,” she muttered furiously.By the time she got to the front, Joseph and two other guards were already there, and they were forming a barrel between the two sisters. Janka was behind the counter with a customer standing at the end with a startled look on her face.Lola pulled out a gun and held it with trembling hands.“Aw, shit,” Joseph grunted as he put his huge frame directly in front of Laila. “Laila, what are you doing here?”“He took everything from me, so I'm going to take everything from him.”“Who?”“Nichole Fernando. If Laila hadn't met up with him my life would have been perfect! He ruined everything. He loves her so much he can't live without her and feel my pain.”“You're going to kill her?”“Yes!” He is going to die so he knows what it's like.“Lola, Laila tried to peek past Joseph's shoulder on her tiptoe.” You can't kill me.
POV: Keeper Laila, Janka and Rose were laying on the floor of the barn which Nichole had said would be her new studio, staring up at the rafter giggling like teenagers.“I can't believe this.”“You should see him,” she laughed. “He's not only stained with the paint, but the rush is something else.”“No.” Rose gripped her by the side.“We were starting to clean up and I noticed he was shifting a lot and I asked what was wrong and he made a face. He said he didn't want to seem like a party pooper but thought maybe he should take a shower. As he rinsed off, I could see the red welts on his skin.”“I can't believe you had to go to the emergency room,” Janka barely got the words out as she dissolved into a fist of giggles.“The only part we didn't paint on him is his dick so it was the only part not affected.” She knew she should feel bad but was struggling as she considered the way Nichole had behaved once the heat of their passion had simmered down.”“The doctor in the emergency room sa
POV: Paint “You know what I want now?” He asked as he gently kissed her lips.“What?”“To see you wear nothing but that ring.”She laughed at his bold words and the fire in his eyes. “It can be arranged.”“I do also have a picnic basket,” he motioned to the side of the room. “Bread, cheese and meat but not deli meat because you're not supposed to have it according to my mother. Mom cooked a turkey for her and dad today, she gave me a container full. “He smiled at her grin, “I bought non-alcoholic wine too.”“You can have real wine, I know how much you love wine.” She frowned at his words.“I do,” but I love you more and if you have to make sacrifices to bring our child into this world, then I'll make as many of them as I possibly can with you. I might not be able to push a watermelon out my lower half, but I can give up alcohol for the next nine months.”She laughed, “we're going to be grumpy.” “Nah, we'll subsidized it with fucking. “I'll get drunk on the flavor of you.”“Fool, "
POV: Making up Laila smiled as Nichole laid down with her in the middle of the bed and stared into her eyes.“You’re so beautiful. How the hell did a woman as beautiful inside and out come from the same people who created that vile creature I encountered downstairs?”“I don’t know, but I am sorry
POV: DreamsLaila was sitting at the dining room table with her sketch pad, her pencil moving carefully across the page as she worked on her grandmother's painting. The late afternoon light filtered softly through the windows, casting a warm glow over the table and illuminating the charcoal lines
POV: Where are you?Thirty minutes later, her phone was buzzing. She sat in the hotel-provided robe, unpinning her hair from all the bobby pins Meredith had put in it. She unlocked her phone and glanced at the torrent of messages from both Nichole and Merlin.She responded to Merlin with a text to
POV: Dinner with the Fernando’s Later that evening Laila smiled nervously as Apolonia reached for her hands and then tugged her into a tight hug, rocking her back and forth excitedly. “Um, okay wow. Hi.”“Hi” the woman smiled back, “you look gorgeous. I'm so sorry for last night. Everything was a







