MADISON'S POV:I bit down on my fear, then let the words spill. "Speaking of not waiting—" I took a shaky breath. "I want to get married soon. Really soon. Maybe this weekend, or even tomorrow night."His eyebrows shot up. "Tomorrow? Madison, that's—why so fast?" "Because I love you. Because every day we're not married feels like wasted time. We know what we want, so why wait?"Something in my tone must have convinced him because he nodded slowly, that brilliant smile returning to his lips. "You're right. When you know, you know." He pulled me closer, his thumb tracing circles on my shoulder. "Actually, there's a family gathering this weekend. I was going to ask if you'd come with me anyway, but now... I want to introduce you as my fiancée. I want everyone to know you're mine and I'm yours."I hated myself more. His intentions were pure, honest, born from love, while mine festered with deception. He didn't even know I'd been fired, that I was no longer his medical support, that this
MADISON'S POV:If I just reached Dr. Hall’s office, I’d be safe. She’d fix it, the way she always had.A sharp breath. Then another. Run. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but my legs refused to cooperate.Then, miraculously, his attention shifted to someone emerging from the law firm, a middle-aged man in an expensive suit, hands raised, face pale with terror.I exhaled in a rush, almost falling with relief. While the agents focused on their actual target, I forced myself to walk away calmly, casually, making sure I seemed normal without bringing attention to myself.But the remaining two blocks to Dr. Hall's office felt like a marathon. Every person who looked at me twice, every uniformed officer, every government vehicle sent fresh waves of panic through my system. By the time I reached the medical building, I was barely holding it together.I took the elevator to the fourth floor, legs shaking with each ascending number. The hallway seemed endlessly to reach before me, fluores
MADISON'S POV:The wind stung my cheeks, my bare feet sinking into cool sand as I wandered around, phone held high like some desperate prayer to the digital gods.The waterfront's spotty internet connection here was a joke, a game of patience, of stepping into just the right pocket of air as though the sky itself decided who got to stay connected and who didn’t. Finally, two shaky bars blinked to life. The autumn wind cut through my sundress, raising goosebumps along my arms as I exhaled sharply, thumb flying across the screen, searching for the news.The headline blazed across in bold black letters:"IMMIGRANT PARDONED AFTER TEN-YEAR SENTENCE BEHEADS DOCTOR IN SUBWAY STATION."The words blurred, but I kept reading anyway. The article painted a horrifying picture, Dr. Louisiana Kelvin, a respected cardiologist, brutally murdered during his morning commute by someone who'd been released from prison just weeks ago. An immigrant who'd served ten years for numerous crimes, recently pard
MADISON'S POV:I couldn’t sleep anymore. Couldn’t eat. Couldn’t exist without feeling Owen’s presence slithering under my skin.Some nights, I swore I felt his breath against my neck—the phantom weight so real I startled awake, drenched in sweat, shaking like he stood right there.The memories replayed on a cruel loop. His fist in my hair. His smirk, carved deep like cruelty was an art form. His voice at seventeen, hot against my ear: "I love watching you cry, Madison. There’s something satisfying about breaking pretty things.”Then the shove. My ribs slamming into cold marble. The bruises healed. The fear never did.And now, years later, that same fear crawled up my throat every morning. Owen wouldn’t wait until Friday—he was too hungry to see me shatter. His deadlines were just games to him, my tears the prize.By Wednesday, I’d made up my mind. No more lies poisoning what Thane and I had built. I would tell him everything, even if it meant watching his love sour into disgust. Even
THANE'S POV:She’d left with Joe right after the game, saying she couldn’t wait around for me—a first. Usually, she insisted we leave together.Her response came immediately: "That's amazing! So proud of you. Have fun with the team."But something in the quick reply felt off, too eager. Like she was relieved I wouldn't be home. She would've protested before now.***Famous last words about "one drink."By midnight, Tony's had become our personal headquarters. Stories flowed as freely as the whiskey, each tale getting more embellished with every round. Marcus regaled us with his first NHL goal while Jake demonstrated his "victory dance" that looked more like a seizure.The alcohol hit differently when you were celebrating dreams coming true. Every sip tasted like proof that the universe occasionally got things right.By the time I stumbled through my front door at two AM, the world had taken on that soft, golden quality that meant I was thoroughly wasted.Madison was curled on the couc
THANE'S POV:I wasn't born yesterday, and I sure as hell wasn't stupid.There was no world in which I believed a cat had torn her apartment apart like someone having a complete breakdown and left bruises blooming on her skin. Still, I didn’t press. She wasn’t ready to talk, and the last thing I wanted was to push her away.If she needed to carry her silence, I would carry it with her until she could put it down. I’d wait for her. Always.The week crawled and sped at the same time. Every day, I noticed little things, how she jumped at small noises, how her eyes flicked toward shadows that weren’t there, how she smiled but her lips trembled after and how dark circles had taken over those beautiful eyes probably from sleeping poorly. It was stress, I told myself. The job, my family, maybe even us. Whatever it was, I’d make it better. A vacation, maybe. Somewhere warm. Somewhere where she could breathe.In the meantime, I had hockey. And damn, I was killing it.I channeled this restless e