LOGINMy eyes move around the room one last time, lingering on the crib, the tiny details I had so carefully put together, and I realize that I’ll have to change it. When she comes back, this room won’t work anymore. I’ll prepare something that fits a loved little girl and I will wait however long it take
After a while, I push myself up from the couch, restless and unsettled. Sitting there isn’t helping. If anything, it’s only making the thoughts louder. Making it harder to ignore them. I need to move, so I push myself up from the couch and start heading toward my room, but I don’t make it far befo
Lilly keeps glancing at me from the corner of her eye, like she’s trying to figure out if I’m okay without actually asking. Eventually, she gives in. “You good?” she asks, her voice softer than usual. I let out a slow breath, staring out the window as the city passes by in a blur. “It’s a lot
I don’t need Aunt Harper to tell me who the baby is. I already know. “He looks just like me,” I say without thinking. Lilly leans in. “Fuck, you two are practically twins.” “Language, Lilly,” Aunt Harper smiles softly. “But you’re right, and if I’d just opened this years back, we would have kno
“Obviously,” I reply, trying and failing not to smile. “I’m the wise one, period.” She rolls her eyes and continues driving. I glance back at her. “Do you have any idea what Aunt Harper wants to talk about?” “Nope,” she says easily. “But I have pretty good idea.” “Mind sharing?” “Can’t do,”
Just as I’m about to leave, my phone buzzes in my hand. I glance down, expecting it to be Aunt Harper, but instead, Lilly’s name flashes across the screen, followed by a text message. [I’m outside.] I frown slightly, surprised because I wasn’t expecting her to come all the way here. I thought we
Ava.I watch silently as Noah storms out of the living room. His shoulders are rigid, his jaw set, and his temper practically radiating off him. Forcing him to apologize to Sierra must feel like pulling out his own teeth, and by the look on his face, he’d rather endure the pain.Honestly, I’ve never
My heart beats so frantically it feels like it’s trying to claw its way out of my chest. The air in the Wood family dining room suddenly feels thinner, heavier. My fingers tighten against my dress as if that will steady me.And then it happens.Noah’s eyes sweep the room, sharp and cold, and when th
Anonymous.The room is quiet except for the faint tick of the clock on the wall. I lean back in my chair, stretching my legs out, while the two people across from me shift impatiently.“You’re taking too long,” she mutters in frustration. “We’ve been planning this for years, yet you’re sitting here
NoahThe bar feels empty the moment they step out, leaving the stale hum of conversation and the clink of glasses behind.Gunner leans against the bar. “What was that, Noah? You were an asshole.”“I wasn’t,” I reply coolly. “I was being honest.”“That wasn’t honesty… that was a tactical aim to cause







