The canvas in front of Layla was only half-finished, streaks of cobalt dragging into pale yellow, an abstract city skyline blurring beneath her brush. The smell of turpentine clung to the air, earthy and biting, mingling with the faint sweetness of the jasmine candle flickering on the windowsill. Afternoon light streamed through the blinds, striping her hardwood floor in gold and shadow. Her hair was knotted in a messy bun, a few rebellious strands streaked with paint where she’d tucked them behind her ear absentmindedly.She leaned closer, adding a thin stroke of silver against the horizon line. Her paintings were never neat, never perfect — she called them “emotional maps,” bursts of color that felt closer to truth than photographs ever could. The act of painting steadied her, pulled her away from the world of cameras, scripts, and family drama.Her phone buzzed on the side table.Sienna: When are we back to filming? I need confirmation. Alina and Leo won’t stop fighting about Adri
Alina’s voice was the to cut through the quiet—off-key singing as she stood on a stool by the sink, toothbrush clutched like a microphone.“Brush, brush, brush your teeth, make them shiny bright…” she crooned, bubbles spilling down her chin.Leo sat on the floor nearby, lacing his sneakers with surprising precision. He barely looked up, though the corner of his mouth twitched. When Alina wobbled on her stool, he reached out without thinking, steadying her ankle before she could topple over.“Don’t fall,” he muttered.“I wasn’t going to!” Alina said, spraying toothpaste foam as she grinned.“You were,” Leo countered, wiping his hand on his shorts.Their nanny appeared in the doorway, already armed with a comb and a patience that only came from years of wrangling children. “Alina, you’ve got your socks mixed again—one pink, one blue.”“They’re friends,” Alina said proudly, hopping down from the stool with wet chin and mismatched feet. “They like each other.”Leo rolled his eyes but didn
The schoolyard buzzed with chatter, car doors slamming, and the shrill laughter of children pouring out of classrooms. Sienna tugged the brim of her cap lower, adjusting the sunglasses perched on her nose. The disguise wasn’t flawless, but it was enough. Parents were too busy corralling their kids to look too closely at her face.She leaned against the side of her SUV, waiting. Her heart did the usual uneven beat it always did when she spotted Alina’s bouncing curls first, her daughter dragging her backpack along the pavement as though it weighed three times her size. Leo followed a step behind, his strides sharper, his mouth set in the same stubborn line that never seemed to leave him these days.“Mummy!” Alina bolted the second she saw her, throwing herself into Sienna’s arms. The force of her hug almost knocked Sienna back, and Sienna laughed, breathing in the familiar scent of crayons and strawberry shampoo.“You would not believe what happened today,” Alina declared, pulling back
The office lights were too bright. Adrian had left Sienna’s house with the weight of her words carved deep into his chest, but no amount of steel and glass could strip them from him. Her voice—breaking, fierce—still clung to him like smoke, and the memory of Alina’s stick-figure family drawing gave him a feeling he could not explain.Life was so unfair. All he had wanted from the moment he knew Alina and Leo existed was to be in their lives, to be their dad and yet everythung he seemed to be doing was barely working. Did he really make a mistake by taking them out for ice cream?He had tried to kiss their heads last night, the soft curls of Alina’s hair, she smelt so good. Leo hadn’t let him though. The kid really had it out for him and then Sienna, He hated leaving her. Hated that she had asked him to go back to his own house. But the note—the photos—weren’t empty threats. She had been right. The closer he drew them into his world, the more danger pressed in.So he drowned in the on
The drive back was suffocating. The city outside shimmered with late lights, headlights weaving through traffic, neon signs blinking against glass storefronts. But inside the car, the silence pressed down, broken only by Alina’s occasional humming as she licked her cone. Sienna sat rigid in the passenger seat, arms crossed tightly, her sunglasses still shielding her eyes even though night had fallen. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Adrian—not after what had happened. Not after she had told him they should leave and he refused and he didn’t listen. Her pulse hadn’t slowed since the flashes of cameras outside the parlor. The whispers. The strangers staring. She’d kept her head down, but the fear had clawed at her chest all the way here, settling in her bones. Behind her, Alina swung her legs happily, oblivious. “This was the best day ever!” she chirped, sticky fingers wrapped around the cone.At the house, she ushered the children in quickly, desperate for the safety of l
The drive was quiet, save for the hum of the engine and the occasional chirp from Alina in the backseat. Sienna sat in the passenger seat, her cap pulled low, oversized sunglasses shielding most of her face. She couldn’t stop scanning the streets as they passed, watching every corner, every shadow as though paparazzi might leap out at any second.Adrian’s hands rested steady on the wheel, one arm stretched comfortably while the other guided them through the late afternoon traffic. His composure irritated her, mostly because she lacked it.“Relax,” he murmured without looking at her.“I am relaxed,” she snapped back automatically, though her rigid shoulders betrayed her.Alina leaned forward from the backseat, her excitement bubbling over. “Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream!” she sang, kicking her legs.They pulled up in front of the parlor, a pastel-painted corner shop with wide glass windows. The kind of place families flocked to after school. Sienna’s chest constricted. It looked so…