LOGINNATHANIELThe tension between us now is sharp enough to cut glass, and she stands abruptly, noticing the shift.Her breathing is no longer steady, no longer controlled, her chest rising a little faster than before as something beneath her carefully built composure begins to crack.“Wait.”My jaw tightens at the word, my patience already worn thin as she walks past me to the other side of the room, creating distance like she needs space to think, to calculate, to rearrange whatever version of the truth she is about to feed me.“You caught me, okay,” she mutters, her voice steadier than her body betrays. “Yes, I once owned a car under that name, but it doesn’t mean it’s the one in that photo.” She points toward the image still in my hand.My grip tightens around it.“Like I said,” I reply, my tone flat, stripped of anything resembling warmth, “we can let the FBI decide that. If it’s not yours, then you have nothing to worry about.” I hold her gaze. “Right?”She hesitates. It is brief. B
NATHANIELI am on my feet, pacing across the study, trying to wrap my head around what I have just found out, but it refuses to settle.Every time I think I have a grip on it, it slips, shifts, rearranging itself into something that makes even less sense than before.My hands fly to my head, and I fist a section of my hair so tightly that a sharp jolt of pain shoots down my spine, but even that does nothing to ground me, nothing to slow the relentless storm building inside my chest.My heart begins to pound harder, heavier, as if it is trying to force clarity where there is none, because nothing adds up. Nothing. Until the door flies open.I stop mid-step, and there she is. The woman of the hour.She steps into the room like she owns it, like nothing has shifted, like the ground beneath my feet hasn’t just cracked open, her smile wide and effortless as she closes the door behind her.“Did you see what happened out there?” she asks, her voice light, excited as she moves further in, her
NATHANIELThe estate is finally quiet. The kids finally burned themselves out from all the screaming and running, and one by one, their parents gathered them up and took them home.Grace didn’t last much longer either. She passed out as soon as all the kids left, and I watched from a distance as Betty carried her upstairs to her room before she left with him.She didn’t spare me a single glance, even though they walked right past me. Couldn’t say it didn’t sting.Now I am in the study, sleeves rolled up, a drink in hand, the events of the day replaying in slow, deliberate loops as I stare at the laptop resting on the desk in front of me.I let the silence stretch before placing the glass down at the small bar beside me and stepping forward.I pull the chair back and sink into it, the leather creaking softly under my weight as I open the laptop.The screen lights up instantly, too bright against the dim room, forcing my eyes to adjust as I navigate to one of my personal email accounts,
BETTYHis presence fills the space entirely, and I grip the edge of the counter behind me, grounding myself, forcing my body to stay where it is instead of reacting blindly to his suddenness.Our chests nearly touch. Close enough that I can feel his heartbeat. Which is beating Fast. Faster than mine.“Like I’ve stated,” he growls, his voice controlled but strained. “I didn’t have anything to do with what is happening outside.”His head dips slightly, his focus narrowing, and every instinct tells me to push him away, to create distance, and end whatever this is before it becomes something I cannot control, but I don’t move.I can’t.My neck tilts up instead, my eyes locking onto his as something shifts in the space between us, something sharp and unfamiliar, something that has nothing to do with anger anymore.I feel my heart stumble, then match his, before a cold sensation runs down my spine, grounding and unsettling at the same time.This isn’t the tension from before. The one we had
BETTYI am so angry I can barely see straight.The entire party has unraveled in a matter of minutes, shifting from something carefully planned into something I no longer recognize.And the worst part, is that I can feel it slipping out of my control, no matter how hard I try to hold it together.Kids are now everywhere, high on sugar and adrenaline, their laughter louder, sharper, almost hysterical as they run from one end of the compound to the other, chasing each other with melting ice cream dripping down their hands.Water splashes from the artificial pools as a few of them ignore every rule that had been set, their shrieks of excitement rising above everything else as they slip, fall, get back up, and do it all over again.Some moms are running after their children, voices strained as they try to force sweaters over squirming bodies, their concern barely cutting through the noise.The rest don’t even notice.They are gathered at the bar, drinks in hand, their laughter spilling fr
NATHANIELSilence stretches between us, not uncomfortable, but heavy enough to settle into the space and sit there like something waiting to be acknowledged.Children scream somewhere behind me, the sound high and wild with excitement as water splashes from one of the shallow pools, droplets catching the light before disappearing into the sand.The parents burst into laughter around the bar, glasses clinking as someone says something just inappropriate enough to make the others lean in closer.At some point, I even think they are laughing at me because of how miserable and pathetic I must look. And right in the middle of that thought, I feel a hand brush over mine, light and careful.Harriette’s fingers settle over my clenched fist like they know exactly how much pressure to apply without forcing anything open.I don’t move. I let it sit there. Let the warmth of it settle just enough to remind me that I am not entirely alone in this space, even if it feels like I am exposed as a tee
NATHANIELI’m still on a high as I drop Amanda off and head back home with Grace in the backseat.The ice-cream date went better than I could’ve hoped and I cannot get over how much Grace bonded with her.Amanda, of course, was perfect—charming, patient, and knew exactly how to make a six-year-old a
NATHANIELThe air in the gazebo is thick with tension and the scent of roses.Harriette sits at the head of the round table, her back impossibly straight, the evening sunlight reflecting the silver in her hair.A maid comes and sets down a tray of tea and cookies before slipping away in silence, le
BETTYAfter knocking several times, the door finally opens, and Lucy stands on the other side, her hair half curled, a hot iron still clutched in one hand.Her brows shoot up when she sees me, and without saying a word, she places the curler on the console table beside her and opens her arms wide.T
BETTYThe first thing I feel when I wake up is pain, and not the dull kind. It’s a sharp, pounding one that makes me feel like my brain is trying to claw its way out of my skull.I groan, opening my eyes slowly, and I lean back against the headboard, pressing my fingers to my temple, rubbing in slo







