MasukMia's POVThe call had barely ended when a knock sounded on my bedroom door... three soft knocks.I groaned."Dave, if that's you, please go bother someone else for five minutes."The knocking stopped. I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off the bed, but the second I opened the door, my words died in my throat.It wasn't Dave, it was the woman from the front porch earlier. The same woman who had looked at me with shock and disgust before disappearing into the house."Oh." I immediately straightened. "Hello."She offered a small smile."Hello, Mia."I awkwardly tucked a strand of hair behind my ear."I'm sorry if my arrival caused any inconvenience. You left so quickly earlier, and I thought maybe I made you uncomfortable."The woman's expression softened. "Can I come in?""Of course."I stepped aside as she entered slowly and quietly, taking in the room before walking toward the chair beside the bed. I closed the door behind her, and for a few moments, neither of us spoke.Then she fol
Mia's POVThe entire drive was silent as I sat beside Eric with my arms folded tightly across my chest while the city lights blurred past the window. My mind was still replaying everything that happened at the party over and over again, like some terrible movie I couldn’t pause.I swallowed hard and turned my face away from the window. I should have cared more. But maybe I did care, I just... couldn’t stop myself from leaving, not after finding out my whole life had basically been one gigantic lie.The car slowly turned through enormous black gates, and I blinked softly when I saw the massive estate ahead of us. The driveway curved around a fountain before Eric finally parked in front of the mansion, and for a second, I just stared at it.This was his home, my real father’s home. Of course, the thought still felt strange in my head, and before I could process it further, movement on the front porch caught my attention.Dave... of course. The annoying boy from my— now former — universi
Cole's POVI knew something terrible was going to happen the second Mia walked away from me. The look in her eyes, I had never seen it before. I had not seen it towards Bella, not toward anyone, and not even towards me.It was the look of betrayal. Raw, devastating betrayal, and by the time I finally pushed through the crowd to reach the front driveway, I was already too late.Eric Damon’s car was pulling out of the estate gates with Mia inside.I froze.And for what felt like forever, I just stood there watching the taillights disappear into the night. My daughter was leaving with another man, her biological father, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.Behind me, guests were already gathering their belongings awkwardly, whispering among themselves after the disaster Bella had unintentionally broadcast to the entire party.The graduation celebration was over. It was ruined, destroyed in less than ten minutes.I inhaled slowly and turned around. Some guests avoided my
Mia's POVI hadn't gone far before Nikolas rushed over to me and grabbed my wrist.“Nikolas, move," I said.“Mia, wait," he sighed.“I said move.”“Please,” he urged quietly. “Let them sort it out themselves.”I stared at him in disbelief.“My mother is out there with Eric.”“Yes, I know that. And I also know that they're adults, and are both capable of handling their issues themselves.”I scoffed.“You think this is going to end well if I let my mum be there alone with that monster?”Nikolas sighed softly.“I just don’t think you should involve yourself in whatever history they have.”I pulled my hand away from him.“I’m already involved,” I snapped. “I became involved the second my mother revealed to me about him.”Nikolas opened his mouth to respond but another voice interrupted us.“Mia?”I turned and saw my Dad walking toward us through the crowd. He looked confused, concerned, and slightly out of breath.“There you are,” he said. “Have you seen your mother? There’s something I n
Mia's POVA few hours later, I was still in Nikolas’s room, completely unaware of time. We had somehow gone from just resting for a little while to lying tangled together on his bed while he absentmindedly played with my fingers and kissed my shoulder every few minutes.The room was dim, and honestly... I could’ve stayed there the entire night.Then suddenly—“Mia!”My mother’s voice echoed from outside, and I jumped slightly, then another knock followed.“Mia, open the door!”Nikolas burst out laughing immediately.“She sounds serious.”“Oh my God.”I quickly got off the bed while trying to smooth down my wrinkled clothes as another knock came.“Mia!”“I’m coming!” I shouted back.Nikolas looked entirely too amused watching me panic. I glared at him before opening the door, but the second the door swung open, my Mom froze because she wasn’t standing in front of my room, she was standing in front of Nikolas’s guest room.And there I was... inside it.For a solid three seconds, neither
Mia's POVI headed straight for my father’s office after separating from Nikolas. The deeper I walked into the mansion, the more obvious it became that my mother had practically declared war on event planning as the staff moved around nonstop. There were flowers everywhere.I even spotted people carrying what looked like an entire ice sculpture through one of the hallways.I laughed quietly to myself. Mom had definitely lost her mind.By the time I reached Dad’s office door, I could already hear his voice from inside.He was on a call.I knocked lightly before pushing the door open. Dad looked up immediately, and the second he saw me, his expression softened instantly.“Alright,” he said quickly into the phone. “We’ll continue this later.”He didn’t even wait for a response before ending the call.“Hey, sweetheart.”I smiled automatically. “Hey, Dad.”He got up immediately and walked around the desk toward me, then he hugged me.“I missed you,” he murmured softly.I smiled against his
Mia's POVThe call with Daddy began as any normal call with your parent would, and ended with him pretending not to be worried about me because I would remind him I wasn't a little girl anymore“All right,” Cole said. “Don’t forget to eat something that isn’t junk food or some unhealthy fast food t
Bella's POVI hadn’t realized how much I missed being at work and doing what I love until the glass doors of Belle’s Beauty came into view. The building rose in front of me. For days, I had been playing the role of a woman with severe memory loss, reduced to fragility and pity. Now, stepping out of
Bella's POVThe next day...I sat on the rug with Miles propped against my thigh, while Rose stood a few steps away from us, her small fingers twisting the hem of her dress as she stared at him with open curiosity.“This is Miles,” I told her gently, smiling. “He’s your little brother.”"Brother?"
Cole's POVI returned to my office with my jaw locked so tight it hurt.I tried to work. God knows I tried.Emails went unanswered. Documents sat half-read. My assistant came in twice to ask if I was feeling all right, and twice I waved her away with clipped words and a fake smile. I signed where s







