MasukHe 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
Taylor’s POV The room buzzes like a bee hive. My siblings crowd around Aiden shouting over one another tripping over excitement and each other. i half expect him to call for silence to shut it down with one sharp command the way he does in boardrooms press conferences or when he is commanding his
Taylor’s POV Aiden ends his call with a single, clipped word. A moment later, my own phone vibrates. Aiden: Memorize this. You’ll need it for the press conference. Attached is a document — a speech, long and perfectly polished, written in that calculated tone he’s mastered. Every sentenc
When they are done, i hardly recognize the reflection staring back at me. my eyes look brighter and my skin looks like it glowing. “you’ve got great bone structure,”the artist says smiling softly. “You didn’t even need much.” I blink, almost shy. “Thank you.” Aiden stands nearby, silent.
When we pull up to the apartment complex my breath catches.The place looks like something out of a magazine. with features of modern marble surfaces and reflective glass balconies and a black-suited doorman who welcomes us with a nod.Inside everything glows. The floors are polished reflect soft go







