MasukThe most exhausting, therapeutic day ever? The girls' day out had felt exactly that way.The moment Anna had mentioned a day out, Leah had called it quits with the breakfast but made sure Anna finished hers in the car. “All tabs on me!” Elena had hollered in the car with a Dua Lipa playlist blasting through the speakers. And spent the entire drive to The Domain arguing with Leah about whose tab the bills were on. When Anna had tried to suggest they split it amongst themselves, they had both snapped, “Stay out of it!” Eventually, Leah had won, leaving Elena sulking until they strode into The Domain. They spent the next hour trying on clothes and critiquing each other. Anna couldn't remember the last time she laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. As they exited The Domain, arms loaded with more shopping bags than they could comfortably carry, they dumped everything into the car before Leah dragged Anna into Kendra Scott next. Then a lingerie store where Anna threatened to scream blo
Jason groaned low in his throat, pressing his face further into the pillow beneath him. He could barely move. Every muscle ached like he'd been hit by a truck, and when he tried, a low sound escaped his throat. His skull was splitting in two from a pounding headache, and it took great effort before he managed to roll onto his side, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. “Fuck me,” he grumbled, his mouth disgustingly dry. “No, thank you. I don't roll that way,” a low voice interjected casually. Jason's head snapped off the pillow, his eyes flying open. A sharp pain ripped through his skull at the sudden movement, his vision blurring at the edges. “Fuck!” He lay his head back down, gave the pain a few seconds to subside and his vision to clear, before slowly turning his head toward the voice. Cole sat on the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. The curtains were still drawn, shutting out what would've been an impressive view of Zürich. He sat cross-legged, cup of coffee in one h
‘I believe in your vision, Mr. Knight. I see your works. I just don’t believe in your current state of mind.’The words had followed Jason out of the private meeting, into the elevator, into the suffocating quiet of his hotel suite, and now, the hotel bar three floors below.He raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Instantly, a server appeared before him, bearing another bottle of whiskey. It was the third bottle for the night. And still, he felt numb. The server replaced his ice, uncorked the new bottle, poured a generous amount into his glass, and grabbed the empty bottle before scurrying away. Jason dragged a hand through his hair as he brought the glass to his lips. The expensive low-lit hotel bar overlooked the city. Jazz played softly in the background beneath muted conversations and the clink of half-melted ice against whiskey glasses. Jason sat in a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled once, his tie gone and the top buttons undone. Exhaustion sitting on him like bruises.His
Anna woke to the smell of butter and something burning slightly. For a second, disorientation held her still against the couch cushions. Then her lower back protested as she pushed herself upright and everything from yesterday came rushing back at once.The exchange with Maya, passing out, Elena finding out about the baby, and drifting off to sleep on her shoulder right there on the couch. God.Anna dragged a hand over her face with a groan.“You’re alive.” Leah’s voice floated in from the kitchen.Anna blinked toward it to find Leah standing by the stove in one of Anna's oversized shirts while Elena sat at the island scrolling through something on her phone.Both women looked up immediately, and Anna instantly regretted waking up.“You should still be sleeping,” Elena said carefully, like she wasn’t sure where they stood yet.“I’m fine.”Leah snorted loudly. “Drink every time Anna says she’s fine and suddenly everyone dies of alcohol poisoning.”Anna glared weakly, her gaze flicking
Anna had barely slept last night. She barely remembered Leah helping her to the couch, or Helen knocking softly at some point during the night. Olivia had come too, hovering awkwardly behind her mother with worry written all over her face while Anna sat there emotionally flayed open, and exhausted.“Do you need anything, sweetheart?” Helen had asked gently.Anna had wanted to say yes; instead, she'd shaken her head. Olivia looked like she wanted to hug her, and Anna pretended not to notice. Elena never came back.That hurt more than Anna wanted to admit, especially after the raw words they’d exchanged. Everything had gone quiet sometime after three in the morning, but sleep still eluded her. Every time Anna closed her eyes, she saw Elena again. Heard her own voice cracking in the hallway. Felt the humiliation of falling apart in front of everyone.The sun had barely risen by the time she drifted off into sleep. By the time Anna dragged herself off the couch and toward the shower in
Zürich didn’t breathe down your neck. It didn’t demand anything from you. It didn’t hold onto things longer than it should. It moved forward… just like him.Or at least, just like Jason had trained himself to be.The floor-to-ceiling windows in his hotel suite overlooked the Limmat, its water cutting clean through the city. Evening had settled in, lights flickering on one by one along the banks, their reflections stretching across the darkening water. He stood there for a moment longer than necessary, a glass of Macallan in hand, untouched.He was supposed to have met the board yesterday morning—secure the first position before competitors closed in—but he hadn't been able to get his head in the right space. His insomnia had worsened over the past few days, and when he did sleep, he was tormented by different versions of that night everything changed—each one worse than the last. It left him irritatingly shaken and hollow when he snapped awake. It didn’t help either that during his w
Anna had never told anyone the full, ugly version of what happened in high school. Only a few people knew the watered-down version—her therapist back in college and Leah. Elena knew only… bits. As always, she'd chosen to protect her little sister from the mess—her mess. She couldn't say the same f
By the time Anna got to her apartment, she'd ignored calls from Dr. Pierce, the four musketeers—Sierra, Brooke, Madison and Jack—respectively, and several from Elena. As she stepped out of the elevator, her phone buzzed again. Without even looking, she silenced it. Jason's words drowned everything
The silence that stretched after Jason and Elodie disappeared through the double door was loud and judging. Anna stood rooted to the ground, staring at the door. “Well, it was nice catching up,” Cole said, already sounding done. And with that, he made his exit, following his friend. Anna stood, u
Jason stiffened as his gaze locked onto Anna standing in the middle of his office. Her scent already hung in the air—the sterile bite of antiseptic softened by jasmine and a faint trace of lavender he knew too well. Dark glossy tendrils framed her delicate face, and the hand that rose to tuck them







