MasukI lean into him. "We really did start with a contract.""We did.""And now we have this.""Yeah. Now we have this."Maya cries out upstairs. Not scared. Just a dream. We both listen, waiting to see if she'll settle. She does. Back to sleep in seconds."I love you," Aiden says."I love you too.""I m
Taylor's POVThree years after the contract. Two years after the wedding. Eighteen months after Maya was born.It's a Tuesday night in October. Nothing special. Just a regular evening in the life we built.I'm in the kitchen making dinner. Maya is on the floor with her blocks, building something tha
The woman closed her notebook. "That's beautiful.""It's not beautiful. It's work. Really hard work. We still fight. We still build walls sometimes. We still have moments where we want to run because running is easier than staying. But we don't run. We stay. And we figure it out. That's the whole jo
Taylor's POVWe were at a foundation event two years after Maya was born when someone asked the question."How did you two make it work?" The woman was young, sharp-eyed, holding a notebook. A journalist, probably. Or a grad student writing a thesis. "You started with so much against you. The family
"Did it?" Kiera asked."No. We fell in love anyway. Threw out the contract after three months. Got married. Had her." He gestured to the baby monitor. "And now we're here.""That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard," Kiera said."It's not romantic. It's messy. We spent a year knocking down wal
Taylor's POVMaya's first birthday fell on a Saturday in October, eighteen months after the contract, fourteen months after the wedding, one year after she'd arrived and changed everything.We threw a party. Small. Just the people who'd earned their way to the table.My father arrived early, carryin
I do. i have seen it happen before to others but never to me.the way stories spread like smoke changing shape as they go around until you cant tell where they even started.the rest of the day passes in a blur.Every conversation sounds like its about me.every laugh feels sharper.When i walk into the
Taylor’s POVThe room feels smaller this afternoon.Maybe its the way the blinds are half closed letting strips of late sunlight crawl across the floor.or maybe its because Aiden’s sitting on the massage table with his knee exposed and im kneeling in front of him close enough to feel the heat from h
Taylor’s POVThe gym smells faintly of rubber and chalk the scent sharp and clean almost antiseptic.Sunlight slants through the tall windows painting long stripes across the floor where dust motes float like tiny sparks.i tell myself im here to monitor him.That’s it. Professional. Just a physical
And I know it’s true.Aiden stood up for me. Publicly.The thought knocks the breath out of me. Gratitude hits first, warm and unexpected. Then confusion follows right after. Why would he risk that? He hates attention. He knows how this place feeds on drama.Why defend me like that?the question sit







