LOGINIVYSomething felt wrong with Noah lately. He had been quiet, distant, checking his phone too often and forcing smiles when he thought I wasn’t looking. I tried to ignore it at first. I told myself he was just tired from work or worried about money. But the longer it went on, the heavier the feeling became in my chest. Instead of asking him directly, I decided to do something different. I wanted to surprise him. I wanted to remind him that I was here, that we were okay, that I missed him when he worked the night shift.So that evening, I dressed in the simple blue dress he liked, put on a little makeup, and walked toward the bar. The streets were still busy with people enjoying the warm Hawaiian night. Lights from shops and restaurants glowed along the sidewalk. I smiled to myself, imagining his face when he saw me. Maybe we could walk home together after his shift. Maybe we could stop for ice cream like we used to. The thought made my steps lighter.But as I got closer to the ba
NOAH The bar smelled like spilled beer and tired wood after a long night. I wiped down the counter for the third time, my arms aching from hours of serving drinks and cleaning up messes. Leo moved beside me, straightening chairs and stacking glasses. The place had been packed last night, full of loud tourists and locals who didn’t want to go home. We had closed later than usual, and the early morning light was already creeping through the windows.“Go home, man,” Leo said, taking the cloth from my hand. “I’ll finish the rest. Ivy must be waiting for you. You look like you haven’t slept in days.”I gave him a tired smile and nodded. “Thanks, Leo. I owe you one.”He waved me off with a grin. “Just get some rest. And tell Ivy I said hi.”I grabbed my keys and stepped out into the fresh morning air. It was already 7 a.m. The sky was turning soft blue, and the ocean breeze felt cool against my skin. I stopped at the small bakery down the street and bought Ivy’s favorite breakfast — wa
IVYThe scissors made a soft snipping sound as the stylist worked through my hair. I sat in the salon chair, the warm afternoon light coming through the big window, feeling more relaxed than I had in months. The smell of shampoo and fresh coffee from the corner filled the air. For the first time since everything happened, I felt like a normal girl again — just getting a simple haircut, chatting with someone who didn’t know my complicated past.“You have such nice hair,” the stylist, a friendly woman named Mia, said with a smile. “What made you want to change it a little?”I smiled back at her in the mirror. “I just wanted something fresh. A new start, you know? Something lighter.”She nodded as she trimmed the ends. “I get that. Life gets heavy sometimes. A good haircut can make you feel like you can face anything again.”We talked easily about small things — the weather, the best places to eat in town, how the beach looked especially beautiful this week. I laughed when she told me
NOAHI woke up in the middle of the night to the soft glow of my phone screen lighting up the dark room. Ivy was asleep beside me, her breathing steady and peaceful, her head resting on my chest. For a second I just watched her, feeling that familiar warmth in my heart. She looked so calm, so safe. I wanted to keep her that way forever. I reached for the phone quietly, not wanting to wake her.The message made my blood run cold.“You have until the end of the week to bring Ivy back. If you don’t, I will come and take her myself. And I will make you watch every second of it. She belongs to me. Not you.”The sender was listed as unknown, but I knew who it was. Cassian. Or someone doing his dirty work. The words felt like a knife pressed against my throat. I stared at the screen, my hand starting to shake. My chest tightened so hard I could barely breathe. This wasn’t just a threat. It was a promise. He wanted her back. And he was willing to hurt her — and make me watch — to get what
IVY A year later…The sound of waves gently rolling onto the shore mixed with Noah’s soft humming from the kitchen. I opened my eyes slowly, warm sunlight touching my face through the open window. For a moment I just lay there, breathing in the fresh ocean air, feeling the soft sheets against my skin. This was real. I was here, in our small beach house in Hawaii, far from everything that had hurt me before. No more waking up confused in a hospital bed. No more living with secrets and fear. Just this — peace, warmth, and the man I loved moving around in the next room.I smiled to myself and got up, slipping on one of Noah’s old t-shirts that reached my thighs. The wooden floor felt cool under my feet as I walked toward the kitchen. Noah stood by the counter, his back to me, humming a quiet tune while flipping eggs in the pan. The smell of breakfast filled the air — coffee, toast, and something sweet. My heart swelled looking at him. He looked relaxed, his hair messy from sleep, we
CASSIANI stood at the front door of the house I used to call home, my suitcase heavy in my hand and my heart even heavier. The familiar wooden door looked the same as always — dark brown with a small brass handle I had turned thousands of times. But everything else felt different now. I had driven for hours through the night, my mind racing with every possible way this could go. Maybe Claire would see how sorry I was. Maybe she would open the door and let me in. Maybe she would forgive me and we could try again — for the baby, for the family we were supposed to have. I needed this. I needed something to hold onto after Ivy left me. After everything fell apart.My hand shook as I pressed the doorbell. The sound echoed inside the house. I waited, my breath caught in my throat, hope and fear twisting together so tightly I could barely stand still. I looked down at my wrinkled clothes and dirty shoes. I knew I looked terrible. But I didn’t care. I just wanted to come home.The door
I woke to the soft brush of fingertips tracing my cheekbone, slow and gentle, like someone afraid of startling me. My eyelids fluttered open, heavy with sleep and the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that comes after crying and coming and crying again. The first thing I saw was Noah’s face hovering abo
IVY I was sitting on the terrace with my knees pulled to my chest, staring at the ocean without really seeing it, when my phone buzzed against the glass tabletop. The screen lit up with Sarah’s name. I almost let it go to voicemail—my head was too full of noise—but something in the way the phone v
I opened my eyes to the unfamiliar weight of an arm slung across my waist, warm and heavy, pinning me gently to the mattress. For a heartbeat everything was soft confusion—the cotton sheets tangled around my bare legs, the faint smell of salt and sunscreen clinging to my skin, the slow rise and fal
The bar had emptied out slowly, like the tide pulling back. One by one the tourists drifted away—some stumbling toward the resort paths, others pairing off into the dark with laughter trailing behind them. The music had been turned down to a low, pulsing hum, the kind that still vibrated in your







