selene, who are you?
Zara’s POV***Sylvia had dropped several messages on my phone, one after the other, each longer and more desperate than the last. I didn’t reply to a single one.Her words meant nothing to me now. Let her write, let her bark, those children were mine, and they were exactly where they belonged. Nothing she could do would change that.Still, as I scrolled through my phone in the quiet of my living room, I found Selene’s text.Her message was short, almost fragile, How’s Aria and Leo doing? I’m sorry, Zee. Give me a chance to explain myself.I stared at those words for what felt like hours, my thumb hovering above the screen, unsure whether to reply. My chest tightened at the thought.Did she truly want to explain, or was this another carefully crafted ploy? I couldn’t deny that a part of me wanted answers.I wanted to know how much she had known all along, and how deep Sylvia’s manipulations ran. Maybe, just maybe, Selene was finally ready to come clean.But the pain she had caused me wa
Roman’s POV***The morning dragged me out of bed, but my mind refused to rest. Every turn of the wheel as I drove toward the office was weighed down by one piece of a puzzle I couldn’t yet force into place, Sera’s children.I wanted her. God, I wanted a life with her. But the children… that was a different matter entirely.Where did they fit? Where did I fit? I had never dreamed of being a father, never imagined myself in that role, and if I had, it was certainly not as the kind of man who lurked in the background like some absentee ghost.The question Sylvia had asked me the other night flashed back at me. Did I really want kids?But I knew the truth, if I wanted something real with Sera, if I wanted her heart completely, then I had to take her as she was. Children included. No conditions. No escape clauses.And that was the hard choice that clawed at me.The next day came, and she didn’t show up for work. Selene had traveled, and she had no nanny for the children.I tried to accept
Zara’s POV*** If the world could end in that very moment, I think I would have begged for it. If time could have rolled backward, if I could have bargained with fate just to return things to the way they were an hour ago, I would have given anything, everything.My chest tightened with an ache that words could not hold, and my legs trembled as though the ground beneath me had betrayed me.I couldn’t breathe. My ears rang. My heart pounded against my ribs like it was desperate to escape my body.Selene’s voice still echoed in my head, sharp and cruel, dragging Sylvia’s name into the middle of my world, right alongside my children.She had said it, she had spoken Sylvia’s name with such familiarity that there was no mistaking it.There was no way I had misheard.“Sera… Zee…” her voice quivered now, softer, more fragile than I had ever heard it before. “Let me explain.”She took a step toward me, and my skin crawled.“No,” I whispered, my throat thick. Then louder, steadier, though my kn
Roman’s POV***I couldn’t believe what Selene was telling me. Why would Sera want to take her children away from Miss Sylvia?What history lay buried between them? What was truly at play here?Questions thundered in my mind, but I knew I couldn’t ask them now. Answers would come later, if they ever came at all. Right now, all I had to do was help her.“About the contract I was proposing,” I began smoothly as I walked alongside Miss Sylvia, drawing her further away from the children.I kept my tone calm, professional, but my eyes flicked past her shoulder, watching every subtle movement, every turn of her head just to be sure she didn’t notice anything.“You should really consider it,” I continued, stepping lightly into my practiced businessman’s mask. “I’ll have my assistant send it to you in writing.”She nodded, distracted, her attention on me, exactly where I needed it to be. But every time she shifted, every time her body angled even slightly toward the direction of the children,
Selene’s POV***I knew I should never have come back here. The second my feet touched the hallway tiles, my chest tightened, every instinct screaming at me to turn back. But instead, I forced a small, shaky smile as my eyes landed on the housekeeper.The visible shock that spread across her face made my stomach twist.“What are you…” she began, her voice trembling.“Shush, please. Not right now.” My words tumbled out in a whisper, desperate and urgent. I raised a finger to my lips, silently begging her not to make this harder than it already was.I stepped closer, taking her hands in mine. My palms were damp with sweat, but I forced my best expression of trust into my face. I needed her silence more than anything.“Please… just let it go,” I begged, my voice raw. “Do this for me, and I’ll owe you. I swear.”She stared at me for a long, painful moment. Her eyes flickered with hesitation, torn between duty and compassion.Finally, she gave a small nod and turned to leave. Relief flooded
Zara’s POV***“Zee, let’s start going, we don’t want to be late,” I heard Selene’s voice drift in from the living room.Her tone was calm but laced with an energy I could recognize anywhere, anticipation.Today wasn’t just any day.Today, I was going to take back that which belonged to me.Aria and Leo.My babies.My heart and breath.My joy that had been caged in Sylvia’s icy hands.Just the thought of seeing them again, touching them, holding them close, was enough to send shivers of happiness down my spine.I pressed a hand against my stomach, steadying the wave of emotions that threatened to crash through me.I picked up my purse and caught sight of myself in the mirror by the hallway. For a moment, I stood still, gazing at the woman staring back at me.My reflection smiled, but beneath that curve of lips was the heavy weight of everything I had endured. This smile wasn’t born out of vanity, it was armor.I whispered softly to my reflection, “You’re taking a great milestone today.