LOGINBy late afternoon, the beach had become quieter. Most of the guests had moved toward the resort, leaving only a few people near the water. I sat beneath an umbrella, watching the waves while the children played nearby. I heard footsteps behind me. “Serena.” I turned and saw Nathan. He stopped a few steps away. “Can I sit?” I nodded. He took the chair beside mine. “I’m sorry about earlier,” he said. “I shouldn’t have allowed things between Adrian and me to become tense.” “You both were acting like children.” “I know.” I looked at him. “You said you wanted to tell me something before Adrian interrupted you. What was it?” Nathan became quiet. “I didn’t know how to say it.” “Just say it.” He looked at the ocean before turning back to me. “I came because I missed you.” I said nothing. “I know what happened between us changed everything. I know I crossed a line, and I know you asked me for space. I’m not here to ignore that.” “Then why are you here?” “Because I wanted ano
Nathan slowly stood. The smile disappeared from his face. Adrian looked at him. Neither man spoke. I stood as well, my heart suddenly beating faster. Whatever this was, I knew it wasn’t going to be a friendly conversation. And we still had to spend four more days like this together on this trip. I don't think it's going to work. Nathan followed Adrian until he stopped near a group of palm trees and turned to him. “I know why you came here.” Nathan crossed his arms. “You do?” “You want to talk to Serena.” “Yes.” “And you think coming here will give you another chance to get close to her.” Nathan stared at him. “I came because I wanted to see her. I didn’t come here to fight with you.” Adrian’s expression remained hard. “Then don’t make things difficult for her.” Nathan frowned. “What do you mean by that?” “I've seen how she behaves around you. I know something is wrong.” “I know she’s still angry with me.” “Then you should understand that she needs space.” Nathan looked
I stared at Adrian and Nathan. “I’m sorry, what did you both just say?”“I’m coming with you,” Nathan said.“And I am too,” Adrian added.I looked at Emma. She was trying not to smile.“This was supposed to be a quiet vacation.”Adrian shrugged. “It still can be.”I looked toward the cars. “There’s only one car prepared for us. My car.”Emma nodded. “Yes. With the luggage and the children, there isn’t enough space for everyone.”Adrian pointed toward the driveway. “I came with my car.”I looked at his car, then at Nathan. Nathan stepped forward.“Serena can ride with me. I'm also here with my car.”I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”He smiled. “I can drive you and Clara comfortably. Emma and the children can go with Adrian.”Before I could answer, Lila grabbed Adrian’s hand. “We’re going with Daddy!”Elias immediately ran to his other side. “Me too! I want to go with Daddy!”I looked at them. “You two already decided?”Lila nodded happily. “Yes.”Adrian glanced at Nathan with a small s
“What is this?” I asked. Nathan was the first to step forward. He looked at me with a small smile, still holding the large bouquet of roses in his hands. “It’s been a long time since I heard from you,” he said. “I wanted to surprise you. I didn’t know you would be having company.” I looked at the flowers, then at him. “You should have called.” He smiled. “Then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” I sighed. “You always have an answer.” “I'm sorry if I was disturbing something.” Before I could say anything else, Adrian stepped forward. I turned toward him. For a moment, he simply looked at me. Then I heard a loud voice from behind me. “Daddy!” I looked back. Lila and Elias had ignored Emma completely. The moment they saw Adrian through the window, they had rushed outside. “Wait!” Emma called after them. But it was already too late. Adrian immediately bent down on one knee as the children ran toward him. Elias reached him first and threw his arms around his neck. Lila followed, wra
The next few weeks were peaceful. For the first time in a long while, my life stopped feeling like a storm that could break again at any moment. There were no sudden calls from anyone about anything, no hospital visits, no threats waiting around every corner. I almost forgot what normal felt like. Every morning, I woke up to the sound of Lila and Elias arguing over something small. Some days it was a toy. Other days, it was who would sit beside me at breakfast. “Mommy, Elias took my spoon,” Lila complained one morning. “I didn’t take it,” Elias argued. “You dropped it.” I looked at both of them and smiled. “Then use another spoon.” They looked at each other. “Okay,” they said together. Those little moments meant more to me than they knew. When it was time for school, everything had changed slightly. My children still went to school, but they were never alone. Extra security followed them every day. I didn’t like having to make them live that way, but after everything that had
“What are they doing here?” I whispered. “What do they want this time?”I opened the door and stepped out.“Mom. Dad. What are you doing outside in this rain?”My mother looked at me, her eyes already red. “We needed to see you.”“You could have called.”“I know.”I sighed and looked at their wet clothes.“Come inside.”We entered the mansion together. Clara quickly took Lila and Elias from the car.“Come on,” she told them. “Let’s get you upstairs.”“Mommy is coming?” Elias asked.“I’ll be there soon,” I promised.Lila hugged me tightly.“Goodnight, Mommy.”I kissed her forehead.“Goodnight, my baby.”Clara took both of them upstairs. Emma followed us inside and looked between me and my parents. She understood the tension immediately.“I’ll go check on the children again,” she said quietly.I nodded. “Thank you.”We changed out of our wet clothes. A few minutes later, Emma came back downstairs. She looked at me and then at my parents.“I think you should have some time with them.”I
I spent the morning trying to make myself useful. Anything to feel less like a shadow in this house. One of the younger maids was struggling with heavy flower vases in the main hall, so I stepped in to help carry one. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she gave me a small, grateful smile.We were ha
I avoided everyone for the rest of the day. It wasn’t hard.Nobody came looking for me anyway.The mansion was too large, too cold, filled with people who work as maids. Every hallway felt unfamiliar. Every room reminded me that this wasn’t my home.I spent most of the afternoon sitting near the wi
I stayed slumped against the wall for a long time, his release still sliding down my thighs. The house was quiet now. Too quiet. Later that night, I couldn’t sleep. I wandered the halls, trying to find water, when I heard voices from the guest wing, low, intimate. I froze outside the slightly aj
Where is Lia?” He asked again. His voice cut through the room like something sharp. I didn’t answer. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t know where to start.He swung his legs off the bed and stood up, running a hand through his hair. The calm from last night was gone. What stood in







