Daniel POVThe city was unusually quiet for a Saturday night. Or maybe it was just me, standing alone by my car, on the opposite corner of the street, watching people slowly filter out of the event hall like ghosts slipping through fog. The lights inside the venue were dim now, glowing softly against the backdrop of a celebration that had gone sideways. My mind felt at peace that Wendy was occupied on the set of her new movie role and couldn’t come with me. If she were here it would be so much worse.Liam’s birthday party had started out like something out of a picture book. Kids dressed like mini astronauts and dinosaur rangers, squealing with joy as confetti rained down and music played. But as the hours passed, tension slowly crept in like a storm front.I stepped out for a moment to receive a business call. While I was inside, I stood from a distance and saw everything I needed to. Edward arriving, placing a kiss on Vanessa’s cheek, her smile just a bit too tight, like she was tr
Edward’s POVMay 10th – Liam’s BirthdayFrom across the room, I watched Vanessa’s body stiffen the moment Daniel touched her arm.I’d just gotten Liam to open his gift from Gwen and James, a glow-in-the-dark astronaut helmet he instantly shoved onto his head, and everything felt… settled. Happy. Vanessa had even let herself laugh earlier, a full-body kind of laugh I hadn’t heard in too long. For only a moment, I allowed my mind to wonder, going back to few nights ago, the way I made Vanessa restless underneath my touch. And now she stood dress in a stunning blue dress and a radiant smile, being the best mom our son could ever ask for. My thoughts shifted,And then he walked in.Daniel fucking West.Of course he waited until the room was packed with kids and balloons to show up. The man had timing. I’ll give him that.Vanessa didn’t pull away from him. But she didn’t lean into him either. Her lips were slightly parted, like she didn’t know whether to speak or breathe. That told me e
May 10th - Liam’s BirthdayVanessa POVThe house had been a whirlwind the last few days—balloons, custom cake sketches, guest lists, back-and-forth texts between Bella, Mandi, and myself. I’d barely slept more than four hours a night leading up to today. But when I looked at Liam that morning, his sleepy eyes lighting up as I whispered “Happy Birthday,” it felt like all of it was worth it.My baby was five. Five years of joy, chaos, love, and pain bundled into the small, bright-eyed boy who was now jumping on his bed shouting, “I’m five, I’m five!”I should have been over the moon. And I was. Mostly. But a piece of me still floated, weighed down by feelings I didn’t know how to control.The high from my night with Edward hadn’t worn off. If anything, it had made me crave him more. The way he’d touched me, spoken to me, worshiped me, it was different than before. Deeper. More intense. And yet, every time I closed my eyes, I could still see Daniel’s face when he smiled at me, the softne
Edward POV Vanessa lay beside me, her breath still warm against my chest, her thigh draped possessively over mine. Her skin glowed in the faint light spilling through the sheer curtains, and my fingers moved slowly along the curve of her spine like I was drawing a memory I didn’t want to fade.I couldn’t stop looking at her.Every little rise and fall of her chest, every blink of those sleepy eyes as they tried to stay open, it was all undoing me. She looked like she belonged here, tangled in my sheets, flushed from our night, marked by my mouth and my hands. And for the first time in what felt like years, something inside me had gone quiet.That noise, that ache I carried around from the pressure, the secrets, the war zone my life had become, it was gone.All because of her.She stretched slightly, a lazy, sensual arch of her back that brought her even closer to me. Her fingers traced circles on my abs, and then she looked up at me with a crooked smile. “You’re staring.”“Can you b
Vanessa POVIt was 4:03 a.m. when I heard the front door open.I hadn’t slept.Not after that text. Not after the way my body still burned from Edward’s touch in his office, the way he whispered filth and reverence in the same breath. My mind kept replaying every second of it, his fingers inside me, his mouth against my skin, the ache he left behind when he walked away.Now he was here.I heard the muffled voices. Donovan checking in, Edward’s low reply, and then the soft thud of his shoes moving through the house like he belonged to it.To me.I sat up in bed, my heartbeat thudding in my chest, every nerve on edge. The short silk night dress I wore clung to my skin, too thin, too teasing. My thighs pressed together instinctively, still sensitive, still wanting.The bedroom door creaked open.And there he was.Edward stepped into the moonlit room like something out of a fever dream, his shirt rumpled, his sleeves rolled to the elbows, his hair tousled like he’d run his hands through i
Edward POVI watched the city lights blur past me, sights of light and shadow mixed together as the car sped through Manhattan. Every time I blinked, I saw Vanessa, pressed against my desk, flushed and breathless, the taste of her still on my lips. The ache she left behind hadn’t dulled. But I’d buried it beneath a harder truth:Someone had stolen from me.Not just from my company—but from the people I trusted, the people I protected. And now Jonathan said they had the bastard.The blacked-out SUV pulled up outside an old shipping warehouse by the Hudson. Abandoned on paper—but the NYPD and Jonathan had taken it over tonight like it was a war front.A uniformed officer met me at the door and nodded, radio clipped to his shoulder. “Mr. Silver, right this way.”I followed him down a narrow hallway that reeked of mildew and metal. Every footstep echoed, hollow and sharp. At the end, two detectives flanked Jonathan, who stood outside a room with one-way glass. His usual calm demeanor was
Vanessa POVThe city lights moved past me like a blur through the tinted windows of my car, but my mind was stuck. Somewhere between Edward’s mouth on mine and the rough whisper of his voice still echoing in my ear.“You’re my peace."I hadn’t said anything back. I Couldn’t.Not because I didn’t feel something. I did. God, I did.But because when a man like Edward says something like that, it demands more than a casual response. It demanded the kind of answer that changed everything.I pressed my fingers to my lips, still swollen from his kiss, as the car eased past the bridge. Donovan drove with soft r&b music filling the environment, giving me space, as always. I was grateful for it. My body guard Harris, sat beside him to accompany me too.Because right now, I was shaking inside.The feel of Edward’s hot body on mine… the way his fingers moved with both hunger and reverence… how his lips had claimed my skin like he was afraid I’d vanish if he didn’t taste me deep enough.It hadn’t
Edward POV I hadn’t left the penthouse in days. The world outside kept spinning. Meetings, board calls, messages piling up — but I was stuck. Drowning. The theft at the company had gutted a chunk of our reserve accounts. Tens of millions wired out before anyone noticed. No trace of the thief yet. Kaz was still out there, lurking like a phantom in the dark. And then… the attack at Liam’s school. Still a goddamn blur. The footage was too grainy, too fast. No clear shot of who orchestrated it, but I knew, deep down, Kaz’s stink was all over it. I ran a hand through my hair and stared at the pile of contracts and financial reports scattered across my desk. My tie was loose around my neck, sleeves rolled up, head pounding. I didn’t go back to the mansion. I couldn’t face Vanessa. Couldn’t face Mandi, Liam… the life I promised to protect but was failing miserably to. And her. Vanessa. God, her name haunted every breath I took. I missed her. I missed her laugh, the way
Vanessa’s POV May 1st A new month. Four more months to go before my fate with Edward would be decided. Four more months before the contract that bound us together — and quietly unraveled everything inside me — would end. Nine more days before Liam’s birthday. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring blankly at my phone. The soft morning light filtered through the large windows of the mansion, painting everything in pale gold. Spring was in full bloom outside, but inside me, a quiet storm raged. I was supposed to be excited. Planning a birthday party for my son should’ve filled me with happiness and energy. It was his first real celebration since we moved here, and for the first time, I had the chance to give him something magical. But the question gnawed at me: Should it be big, or intimate and simple? Did Liam need balloons, crowds, clowns, and photographers? Or did he just need a backyard, a cake, and the people who loved him? I pulled my knees up to my chest, thinking