Aiden’s POVSome days, I still wake up in disbelief. Not because of the guilt that used to sit on my chest like a brick, but because I can’t believe how much joy fits into something as small as a morning.Like today.The sound of soft giggles filters into the bedroom, sunlight sneaking through the curtains and dancing across the sheets. I crack one eye open and see Cheryl’s side of the bed is empty. Again. And just like clockwork, the next sound is tiny feet pattering down the hallway, followed by—“Daddyyy!”Marissa.I smile, just as she climbs up the side of the bed like a determined little warrior in a pink pajama set.“Hey, Rissy Bear,” I mumble, pulling her into the covers with me. “What time is it?”“Mama said no clocks on Saturdays!” she declares, face serious like it’s some universal law. “We make pancakes now!”She was the smartest little thing with eyes like her mother, in fact she was a splitting image of her and it filled me with so much joy every time I looked at her - a
Cheryl’s POV – Two Years LaterIt’s strange how life finds a way to settle into something resembling peace after chaos. Two years ago, I didn’t think I’d ever know happiness again—not after the betrayal, the heartbreak, the distance between Aiden and me that felt like an entire galaxy. But here I was now, standing on the balcony of our home, barefoot with a cup of warm chamomile tea in my hand, listening to the laughter of my daughter echoing from the garden below.Marissa.She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever created. A tiny bundle of sass and joy with my curls and Aiden’s mischievous grin. She was the light of our home—the heartbeat of our family.“Aiden, don’t let her eat the dirt!” I called out, trying not to laugh as I watched my husband and our daughter outside, kneeling in the flower beds together.Aiden turned, looking up at me with mock exasperation. “You said let her explore! I’m just letting her explore her inner gardener-slash-dirt connoisseur!”Marissa squealed in de
AIDEN'S POVI woke up in the guest room, my body stiff from the awful mattress and my heart heavier than the day before. But for the first time in weeks, maybe months, I had a sense of clarity. I needed to fix this. Not just for Cheryl—but for myself. I couldn’t keep running from the mess I’d made, and I was done letting my past dictate the future.I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and dragged myself out of bed. The house was quiet—eerily so—but I didn’t check if Cheryl was awake. I had a routine, and I wasn’t going to break it now.The early morning air was crisp as I hit the pavement. The city was slowly coming to life—cars rolling by, joggers nodding in passing acknowledgment. But my mind was miles away. Each footfall on the concrete was a reminder of how badly I’d messed up, of how I had someone amazing—someone loyal, beautiful, and mine—and I let ghosts of the past threaten it all.Bianca. The name alone made my jaw clench. Not because I hated her. I didn’t. I hated the part of mys
CHERYL'S POVI didn’t speak as I walked through the front door.The silence in the house greeted me like an old enemy — cold, familiar, and waiting. Everything still looked the same. The same polished floors, the same stupid bowl of fake fruit on the dining table, the same scent of his cologne woven into the air like it owned the walls.But it didn’t feel like my home anymore.Not really.Not after everything.I walked in ahead of him, ignoring the way he lingered at the door like he half-expected me to bolt. I didn’t give him that satisfaction. I was too tired to run. Too tired to argue. Too tired to feel anything but numb.“You can sleep in the guest room,” he said, voice low but not unkind.I didn’t answer. I just kept walking.The stairs felt heavier than I remembered. Maybe it was the weight of everything I was dragging behind me — the baby, the memories, the months of silence and shame. Or maybe it was just him. His presence. His eyes on my back like he was trying to read my tho
AIDEN'S POVOf course we were still married.How the hell did I not think of that before?I gripped the steering wheel tighter, the sound of Bianca’s voice still rattling around in my skull like a ticking bomb. We’re still married, Aiden. You never filed the papers. The look in her eyes when she said it—like she knew it would cut deeper than anything else—hit me right in the gut. And the worst part was, she was right.I never did file the damn papers.I told myself I moved on. I built a new life. I told Cheryl I was hers and hers alone. But underneath it all… I had never cleaned up the mess I left behind.I didn’t even say goodbye when I left Bianca. Didn’t sit down to do things properly. Just packed up my shit and vanished like a coward. And now? Now it was all catching up to me like karma on a warpath. I thought running away meant everything was going to disappear but no, my problems remained, waiting for me to return to consume me whole.I drove around the city, not even knowing wh
AIDEN'S POVI stood in front of Bianca’s house for a full five minutes before I knocked.It wasn’t fear exactly. It was something worse. A kind of dread that seeped into my chest and made everything feel heavier. My feet. My breath. The air.I wasn’t here for her.I was here for him.My son.Felix.The word felt foreign on my tongue, even though it had been lingering in my mind since the first time I saw the photo Bianca sent. The boy in the picture was grinning with a missing tooth and wearing a superhero cape, his eyes so bright it hurt to look at.And those eyes... they were mine. They looked exactly like mine I couldn't deny it, same round blue orbs that seemet stare deep into your soul searching for something hidden in the crevices of ones soulShe opened the door like she’d been expecting me. No smile. No emotion. Just that same unreadable stare she always gave me when she was close to exploding but hadn’t decided which direction to erupt.“Hey,” I said.Bianca raised a brow. “Y