LOGINHe lowered himself to one knee, right there on the gala stage, in front of five hundred people and a live stream audience of thousands."Taylor Jones," he said. "Will you let me stay?"The tears I'd been holding back broke free. I looked down at this man—this impossible, stubborn, fiercely loving ma
"Then what do we do?"I thought of Leanne on my doorstep, hollow-eyed and armorless. I thought of the envelope still sitting on our counter, her silent offering. I thought of every headline that had called me fraud, gold-digger, social climber, liar."Trust me," I said.The gallery ballroom was a se
Taylor's POVMy mother stood on the doorstep and told me she'd told Eleanor Sterling to go to hell.I didn't invite her in.Not because I was cruel. Because I was frozen—twenty-two years of abandonment, resentment, and carefully buried longing crashing together in the space between one heartbeat and
"No," I agreed. "But she's fighting on our terms now. That's all we needed."The next morning, the call came from a different hospital.Not Dylan's. I'd almost forgotten there was another battlefield.It was his mother's lawyer. Formal, brief, stripped of emotion: "Mr. Kade's medical team has determ
Taylor's POVFor three weeks, Eleanor Sterling circled its edges—making calls, probing weaknesses, testing the weight of her restraints. But she didn't step over the line. The agreement held. The silence stretched.And in that silence, something unexpected grew.Peace.It wasn't announced or celebra
He leaned forward slightly."The decision about Mr. Kade's care rests with his doctors and his legal next of kin. Taylor Jones has no role in that process—and it is a testament to her character that she has never sought one. She has not spoken, because there is nothing she can say that would not be
“What?” she demands, stepping closer. The harsh edge in her voice cracks under the weight of curiosity. “Knew what?”I sigh like someone forced to betray a secret. “Taylor wasn’t exactly thinking about you that day.”Her eyes sharpen. “Dylan, what are you trying to say?”I meet her gaze, steady, gen
“It slipped.”“You didn’t even move your hands.”“I panicked.”he shakes his head laughing as he goes to retrieve the ball. “Hopeless.” “ i would like a second opinion.”“No you don’t.”We move into sprints next. Short distances. He claims they’re simple. They are not simple. My lungs don’t understa
One of the physios leans forward squinting. “Doesn’t that necklace look like the one Aiden bought his girlfriend? The fancy one from the community event?”Laughter bubbles from the back corner.Short. Curious. Almost hungry.I swallow. “It’s not—”Vanessa cuts me off with a laugh—sharp, not amused.Mor
Dylan POVThe silence hits harder than the firing ever did.,i stand in the middle of my apartment staring at the mess like its a crime scene i accidentally woke up in.clothes thrown over the back of the couch. takeout boxes stacked on the counter.a cracked trophy on the floor lying there like it g







