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
Taylor’s POVThe hum of the athlete camp fills the air rubber soles squeaking against the polished court the echo of bouncing football syncing with bursts of laughter.it is so alive loud and everything i should feel connected to but my focus keeps slipping.i sit at my desk near the window the glow
But my eyes still find him.He doesn’t notice me.or maybe he does and chooses not to show it.thats the thing about Aiden— hes impossible to read unless he wants to be.he stands there cool and untouchable the calm in every storm, and for some reason that calm feels cruel right now.i glance down
my stomach churns as i cross to the window yanking the curtains open.outside the city hums.Normal.completely oblivious to the fact that somewhere online my life is spiraling into headlines and hashtags.I pull open the door and to walk in the hall, Aiden steps inside from his room casual as if he
Taylor’s POVThe locker room hums with the sound of running showers and the faint hiss of steam rising from the tiled floor.the air hangs thick with the smell of lavender soap sweat and disinfectant— the strange blend of comfort and exhaustion that lingers after a long day.my towel slips off one s







