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
his shoulders arent knotted.his jaw isnt clenched.his movements arent sharp and tactical they are fluid unguarded free.he isnt watching the cameras. He isn’t thinking about reputation or headlines.he is just… here.Present.Human.I don't realize I'm smiling until he glances my way mid pass.his g
Taylor — POVHeat clings to me long after the chaos ends like the day itself refuses to let go.even a day later i swear i can still hear the sharp snap of voices the shuffle of feet the way my brother’s fingers shook when they curled around my wrist.lt sits under my ribs like a bruise that hasnt de
Taylor — POVHeat hits me the second my shoes touch the field.it rolls over my skin like the air itself is exhaling against me warm heavy, settling into every inch of exposed flesh.the morning sun is already high burning through a cloudless sky.whistles slice through the noise sharp and repetitive.
the drink sits untouched in my hand the condensation dripping down the sides and leaving thin rings of water on my fingers.i watch one slide all the way down the glass before it falls onto my knee.The penthouse is quiet.Too quiet.the only sound is the low hum of the refrigerator — steady almost r







