LOGINKATHRYN POVI shift my weight a little trying to steady myself because what I am about to say is not just saying no.It is leaving."I want to leave," I said.These words seem easy. Too easy for how much they mean.I do not want to talk about it or make deals I say.I do not want another version of my life where I am standing in kitchens like this trying to live with decisions that other people made.My throat gets tight. I keep talking."I want to be with Celine.” Saying her name makes me feel a little better even as it makes me more sure about what I want.No connection to the Mayer name no connection to the people they know no past following us we go.I stop for a moment letting it all sink in."I want a life that does not feel like I am always paying for something I did not choose."This last thing I say is quieter than the rest. It means more than everything else I said.For a moment I think he might say something.He does not.This is harder to deal with than if he were arguing.
KATHRYN POVThe realization hit me harder than I expected.Iris had chased opportunities. Iris had chased ambition.Somewhere I had spent years trying not to revisit.I could see flowers. I could hear music. I could feel the weight of hundreds of eyes watching me.Waiting.My fingers curled against the edge of the counter.The memory arrived with clarity.The dress. The veil.The shaking hands I had hidden beneath bouquets and smiles.The certainty that my entire future was moments away.Then.Nothing.No groom. No explanation.Just whispers, confusion, and humiliation.A space where Iris was supposed to be standing.I sucked in a breath.The memory vanished. The damage remained.Outside the city continued exactly as it always did.Cars moved through the streets.People hurried toward jobs and meetings.The world hadn’t stopped.Yet it felt like mine had.“Iris."My voice barely rose above a whisper.The glass reflected my face to me.I looked composed.Behind me, I heard Iris shift s
KATHRYN POVIris showed up at my place twenty minutes after I called him. The fact that he got here fast told me a lot.He did not seem to be in a hurry when he opened the penthouse door and walked in. He was not out of breath. The way he got here so quickly made me think that something was going on. I did not ask him where he was before I called because I already had an idea.He was not away.He did not seem to be in a hurry when he opened the penthouse door and walked in.This thought should have made me feel weird.Instead, it made me feel better.I was still sitting at the kitchen counter when Iris walked in. The cup of coffee next to me was cold. The city outside was grey and quiet. The silence in the penthouse felt like it could break if we spoke loudly.Iris did not waste time with hello.He pulled out a chair. Sat down across from me. He looked at me with a gaze that made me sit up straight.Then he spoke."Katherine, I need you to listen to me carefully."His voice was not so
JACOB POVTwo days after Iris walked out of the Mayer building I stopped feeling sorry for myself. Started doing something.The city had spent forty-eight hours talking about my mistakes, looking into my life, and making my family into a big show and while everyone else was trying to get attention I was trying to change the story.A scandal can stay alive when people control what's being said.It starts to fade when someone else takes control of it.My legal team got that.So did I.That was why I was in my office before the sun came up looking at the version of the statement on my desk while the city outside had no idea what was coming.The document looked simple and professional.Lawyers had checked every sentence, people who deal with the public, and experts in crises, and every word was chosen for a reason.There was no language, no arguing, and no accusations.Just the clean facts.The kind that sounds responsible even when they are changing people's lives.I sat back in my chair
IRIS POVMrs. Mayers stepped between us, her breath shaking, her hands partly raised, as if she could keep two men apart if she really tried. Her voice was full of a love that had been tested too many times."Both of you please, stop all of this madness," she said. Her eyes moved between Jacob and me like she was still looking for us. "This is not who you are supposed to be to each other."Jacob did not even look at her properly. That told me everything about where his mind was. He was already past emotion, with everything reduced to calculation and survival. I watched him adjust his stance his shoulders getting tighter like her voice was an interruption he did not have space for."Mom step aside," Jacob said sharply. His tone was. Cold. The way he said it did not sound angry. Like he was dismissing her, as if she had become background noise. "This is not your conversation."Mrs. Mayer's face changed instantly not to anger but to something like she could not believe it and that slowl
IRIS POVI woke up in the hotel with my mind racing. It felt like sleep had only touched me lightly during the night.My phone had been buzzing for a while before I sat up. The buzzing didn't stop. It kept going. Vibration after vibration. Notification after notification.Until ignoring it started to feel like it's kind of noise.The drive to the empire building was faster than it should have been. Red lights seemed unnecessary. Traffic felt like it was directed at me.Time felt like it was working against me.When I arrived the building looked the same. It seemed like nothing outside had changed it.I knew better.The lobby had a kind of silence. It was a silence that wasn't calm. More like everyone was holding their breath.Then I saw her.My mother. Mrs Mayers.She was standing near the reception area. Her posture was stiff. Her eyes were fixed on me as soon as she saw me."Iris,” she said, stepping forward before I could even get used to the space. Her voice had a mix of relief an







