로그인BETTYIt’s been three whole months since I walked out of Blackwell estate with Grace’s hand in mine and suitcases that felt heavier than they had any right to be.If someone had told me back then that I would be standing here now, breathing easier, thinking clearer, living without that constant weight pressing down on my chest, I would have laughed in their face because nothing about that day felt like the beginning of something good.And yet… here I am.Living in Rhys’s building with Grace has been amazing, in a way that almost feels dangerous to admit out loud.Like if I say it too confidently, the universe might hear me and decide to correct it.Grace struggled more than I allowed myself to fully acknowledge in those first few days because if I had sat with it for too long, I might have broken under the weight of what I had done.There were tears that came out of nowhere, small at first and then louder when she realized they were not going to magically stop the change.Then there w
Hi guys....I’ve been seeing the comments wondering if the story has ended, and I just had to come in here and say, absolutely not. Not even close.We are far from done with this story, I promise you that.I just took a tiny breather to reset, clear my head, and come back stronger because you guys chapters that hit, not rushed ones that don’t do the story justice.I owe you nothing but my best work.I’ll be back very soon, and we’re going right back into consistent updates. No disappearing acts, no leaving you hanging like that again.Thank you for your patience, your loyalty, and your engagement. I'll see you soon, besties!🤍
BETTYThe rest of the way, I go over the plan in my head one more time, repeating each step until it feels real, solid, possible.Accept Rhys’s help. But only until we find our own place. Take on more work to keep Grace in that worldly expensive school because she needs at least one part of her life to be stable.Build a new life. Find peace, and lastly, find a new way to be happy.My fingers loosen slightly around the steering wheel as I repeat it in my mind, until I pull up outside the building with Rhys’s club and convince myself I can do this.The building rises in front of me, sleek and dark against the brightening morning sky, the large sign still dim now that the club has closed for the night.The street is quiet, but is that kind of quiet that comes after chaos, when the city is catching its breath before starting all over again.Rhys is already outside waiting for us, and the mere sight of him makes something in my chest ease.He stands near the curb with his hands entwined b
BETTYAs the estate gates begin to disappear behind me, my chest finally caves in, and my fingers tighten around the steering wheel until my knuckles ache beneath the strain.I try to keep my eyes forward, force them there, but every few seconds they betray me, drifting upward toward the rearview mirror where I can still see it. Everything we are leaving behind.The black iron gates. The winding driveway. The endless stretch of green, and the roof of the only home Grace has ever known.A sharp breath catches in my throat, but I swallow it down. Hard. Because we are not just leaving the walls and rooms behind.I am leaving Harriette’s voice calling for breakfast in the garden. Grace’s laughter bouncing through those endless halls. Movie nights in the guest house. And I had somehow started building without realizing it.I blink hard and drag my eyes back to the road before the tears threatening behind them spill over.This isn’t how I thought the morning would go.I left the guest house
NATHANIELGrace is still in her pajamas, and the sight of her alone nearly brings me to my knees.Her tiny pink shirt is twisted from sleep, one shoulder slipping free beneath the mess of dark curls flattened on one side of her head and springing wildly on the other.Betty guides her carefully down each step.Her eyes are swollen with sleep, her lashes clumped together, her cheeks pink and warm from the bed she has clearly been pulled from too soon.The confusion etched across her little face is so pure, so innocent, that something inside my chest tightens with such brutal force I have to part my lips and force air into lungs that suddenly refuse to work.She rubs at one eye with the back of her hand and blinks blearily into the morning light spilling through the windows, looking around the foyer as though trying to understand why everyone is awake, and why the house feels wrong.Finally, she sees me. Then Harriette. And I watch her little brows pull together, the confusion deepening.
NATHANIELThe silence stretching between us is alive.My mother stands opposite Harriette, one hand still pressed against her cheek, her fingers trembling over the angry red imprint left by Harriette’s palm, her face flushed with outrage and disbelief as she slowly turns toward me, her eyes widening with expectation I know too well.She wants me to intervene. She wants me to say something. She wants me to do what I have always done and take her side.But all I can think, standing here in the middle of this wreckage, is that she should have known better.Everyone in this house knows better than to speak Betty’s name with venom in front of Harriette.And if I am being honest with myself, if I peel back the layers of anger and grief clawing through my chest, there is a part of me that feels something dangerously close to satisfaction.It is twisted. Ugly. Not something I would have recognized as mine a few months ago. But it is there.A bitter, shameful sort of relief that someone, final
BETTYRhys’s mouth moves against mine with an urgency that steals the air from my lungs.His hands are firm on my waist, strong and certain, and before I even understand what’s happening, he lifts me as though I weigh nothing, and sets me on the cool marble counter.The shock of it sends a tremor t
BETTY“Girls’ night out, huh?” Rhys’s voice slips into the air behind me, smooth and amused, with that kind of teasing tone that says he knows what happened here tonight.I turn toward him, or rather, I try to, but the world sways a little too much for me to look graceful doing it.“Yeah, we might’
BETTYI freeze outside the door, my breath caught somewhere between my chest and my throat.I force myself to look in, and the sight steals whatever air was left in my lungs.The room looks like a battlefield, books scattered like fallen soldiers, and papers littering the floor in torn, angry flurri
NATHANIELIt’s finally time to close the Virnkirk deal, a moment that should feel clean and decisive, but for reasons no one has bothered to explain properly, they want Rhys present.The request irritates me more than it should because I don’t need his theatrics or his unpredictable presence muddyin







