登入PAUL’S P.O.V.Seeing her in my large shirt next to me made me feel different, like who I was before the military. I wanted to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible, but even if I couldn’t be the old me again, at least I could have her again for a little while longer. After the kiss last night, she had shut down. I could see the moment the light left her eyes, and I held her close. When I tried to let her go, she didn’t do the same. She kept her arms around me, holding on even tighter. Eventually, I felt her start to doze off, and I carried her to my room, where she pulled on one of my shirts and crawled in without me having to invite her or ask her to. She just curled into my side and fell asleep, as if the emotions of the day had drained her, and I wouldn’t blame her if that had been the case. I stayed awake for as long as I could, staring at her. I knew that when I woke up, she would probably be gone, but she surprised me by staying. She was still in my arms when I w
CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V.It took me several minutes before I was able to put space between us. I hadn’t been able to talk to my mother in so long, and now she was here. “Charlotte,” My mother said, and I looked up to see her staring over my shoulder to the doorway where Derek stood. “Who’s that?” I froze, my entire body tensing as I tried to get the courage up to lie to my mother. It was for her health, but it also just felt so wrong. We didn’t lie to each other… ever. Even if I did tell her the truth, I didn’t even know how to explain who Derek was to me. The title I had given myself of his girlfriend hadn’t really been something we talked about, but he also hadn’t corrected me. Plus, everything we had talked about this weekend made it sound like he wanted us to be together… I still just needed to hear it from him, so I would know I wasn’t pushing this on him too fast. Before I could answer, my dad cleared his throat and smiled, waving Derek into the room. “This is Derek. He has help
CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V.My heart dropped, and my hand tightened around the phone as my other reached for the counter, needing to steady myself. Derek rushed to my side, looking like he wanted to reach for me, but he held himself back, giving me space. I was grateful for it because for a moment, the room began to spin around me, and holding onto the counter was the only thing grounding me. It felt like minutes had passed before the nurse spoke again, when I knew it hadn’t been.“Your mother regained consciousness about twenty minutes ago.” She said, and my breath caught in my throat. “She, what?” I asked, choking on a sob, completely frozen. It felt like if I moved, the illusion would shatter and she would tell me I had misheard her. The nurse repeated herself, but it still hadn’t sunk in.“Charlotte, what happened?” Derek asked softly from next to me, but as I turned to him, everything was blurry. It took me a moment to realize that it was because of the tears filling my eyes.“Ms. V
CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V. I loved the giddy feeling I had as I snuck downstairs, wearing Derek’s shirt. I probably should have grabbed a clean one, but dear God, that man smelled incredible, and I loved pulling on his button-up shirt and smelling his cologne. Plus, I left the front halfway unbuttoned to make sure he got a show with his breakfast. Being with him was so empowering that, as I stepped onto the cold kitchen tile with my bare feet, it sent a thrill through me. I wanted him to wake up and find me. We hadn’t explored anything in the kitchen yet, even though I did drag him into his office last night to use his desk. I wanted to make sure that the next time he was pulling an all-nighter, he had something pleasant to remember, and it had been pleasant. As I walked around the kitchen and began to cook, I found myself humming, wiggling my hips and twisting as I danced to the tune in my head. “Hm,” a low hum sounded from the doorway as I finished whisking the eggs, and
PAUL’S P.O.V.Setting my fork down beside my plate on the patio table, I sat back in my chair, looking over my barren backyard. I knew I would need to tackle that project next now that I finished repairing the inside, but I wasn’t ready. Once I finished that, the house would be ready to sell. Flipping a house had always been on my bucket list, but I hadn’t expected it to take this long. Work had kept me incredibly busy, and I was only able to work on the house for a few hours each week. Once the backyard was done… there would be nothing keeping me here. This was a house, but it wasn’t my home.Maybe it was because I had never bothered to decorate it, but it had always felt like it was missing something. It was just four walls and a roof over my head for me to sleep in each night, nothing more. I could sell it, take the profit, and move back home to be closer to my family, but just thinking that made the idea of working on the backyard unbearable. They had all been violently oppos
LYDIA’S P.O.V.Family birthday parties had never been my favorite events to go to, but there were only so many I could miss before I got yelled at for 'not acting like a part of the family.' I had never been close with any of them, but gave in and showed up with a present and food anyway.Yet, as I helped clean up at the end, I was ready to snap. I couldn’t take another comment or joke about being the spinster of the family. All of my cousins had at least four kids each, and I had four restaurants. They had husbands, wives, and planned annual family vacations, and I had an empty home and a to-do list longer than their grocery receipt. As I looked up at the kids running around while the adults cleaned up, it all felt so normal. Like it was what I should have been doing at my age, but none of it had felt right for me until recently.I had been so focused on my career that I hadn’t been interested in the idea of settling down and popping out a few crotch-goblins. Even if the thoug
CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V. The drive to the hospital was a blur of red lights and panic. I barely remembered the car coming to a stop or my driver opening the door, though it was probably going to be one of the last times he drove me anywhere. By the time I sprinted through the main entrance and reached
CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V. Justin didn’t come home that night… or the next, or the one after that. At first, I told myself I didn’t care and that I was happy that he was gone. I packed boxes in silence, folded clothes, put them into my suitcases, and sorted through years of our lives together piece by pi
CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V.My heart dropped to my stomach as if I had just been caught doing something wrong, and I tore myself away quickly. Justin’s face was red with fury as he stormed toward us, but his anger dropped instantly as recognition flashed in his eyes along with something close to fear. I g
CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V. I didn’t think it would be possible for my heart to break any more than it already had, but it felt like it stopped this time. I stood there staring in shock until the fog lifted and I could think again. My footsteps were quiet as I followed after them, watching from a distance







