MasukMary's POV:Elowen's small hand stayed on my cheek for a long time after I asked the question.The kitchen was quiet around us—the refrigerator humming, the clock ticking, the morning light shifting across the floor in slow golden arcs. I could hear my own breathing, shallow and uneven, and I could hear hers, slower, steadier, like she was the one holding me together instead of the other way around."I don't want to never see Dad," she said finally.The words landed softly, but they landed hard. I felt them in my chest, in my throat, in the places where I had been storing all the hope I hadn't let myself feel for years."Of course not, baby," I said. "You'll always see him. Nothing will ever change that."She pulled back slightly, just enough to look at my face. Her eyes, those dark, serious eyes that saw too much and asked too many questions, searched mine for something I couldn't name."But I'd even more not want to see you sad."The words hit me like a physical blow.I had spent th
MARY'S POV:"You're taking his car," I said. It wasn't a question."He said I could." She slipped the keys into the pocket of her robe and glanced back at me over her shoulder. "I have things to do. Places to be. Don't wait up."The door opened. The morning light spilled in, golden and warm, illuminating every crack in the marble floor, every piece of broken glass, every photograph scattered at my feet.And then she was gone.The door closed behind her. The engine of Alistair's car rumbled to life in the driveway. I stood there in the silence, still holding the broken frame, still wearing my flour-dusted apron, still trying to understand how my life had become this.I walked to the kitchen. My phone was on the counter, exactly where I had left it. The screen was dark. No messages. No missed calls. Nothing from Alistair.I picked it up and dialed his number.It rang once. Twice. Three times."Mary?" His voice was distracted, distant, like he was already thinking about something else. "
MARY'S POV:The man in the leather jacket looked at the hidden photograph in my hands, then at my face, then back at the photograph.His expression shifted.The lazy amusement drained away first, replaced by something that looked almost like confusion. Then the confusion hardened into something else—something that might have been concern, or guilt, or the uncomfortable realization that he had miscalculated."I should go," he said.And then he left.Just like that. No apology. No explanation. No offer to help or stay or even close the door behind him. He turned on his heel and walked out of my house, his expensive shoes clicking against the marble floor until the sound faded into nothing.The front door swung shut with a soft click.I stood there in the middle of the foyer, surrounded by broken glass and scattered photographs, and I didn't even have time to care. Because the second he was gone—the second the silence settled back into the house like dust settling on old furniture—I hear
MARY'S POV:I felt something crack a bit inside my chest."Cancel it," I said."Excuse me?""The party. Whatever he's planning. Cancel it."He stared at me for a long moment. Then his mouth curved into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I don't take orders from delusional women who pretend to be married to my friends.""I'm not pretending.""Then where is he?" He spread his arms wide, gesturing at the empty foyer, the silent staircase, the closed doors. "If you're his wife, where's your husband? Why isn't he here? Why hasn't he mentioned you? Not once. In all the years i have known him. Not a single word."I opened my mouth and then closed it.Because he was right. Alistair wasn't here. I didn't know where he was—upstairs, probably, or already gone, slipped out the back while I was standing in the kitchen pretending to cook for his mistress. And my phone was still in the kitchen, untouched since last night, and I hadn't seen a single message or missed call from the man who was suppo
MARY'S POV:He looked me up and down very slowly. The way you might look at a piece of furniture you were considering buying but weren't sure would fit in your living room."Alistair called me," he said, and his voice was exactly what I expected—low, rough, with an edge of something that might have been amusement or might have been disdain. Hard to tell. "Woke me up in the middle of the night. Three in the morning. On a Wednesday. Do you know what I was doing at three in the morning?"I did not know abd I also did not care."He didn't even ask," the man continued, pushing past me into the foyer without waiting for an invitation. "Just called and said I need you here like I was some kind of errand boy. And why? Why did he drag me out of bed and put me on a plane at an ungodly hour?"He turned to face me, spreading his arms wide as if presenting evidence in a courtroom."For her. For his precious goddess. For the woman he has been pining over since." He laughed—a short, bitter sound. "F
MARY'S POV:The name hit me like a slap."Vesper," I said carefully."An old friend from the university. She's dealing with some things—her lease is up, and there's some construction at her new place, and she doesn't have anywhere else to go. I said she could crash here for a few weeks. Maybe a month." He took a sip of his coffee, watching me over the rim of the mug. "I meant to tell you last night, but it was too late when I got home, and then everything with Elowen happened, and I just… I didn't get the chance."An old friend.The same words he had used before. The same lie, wrapped in slightly different packaging."She's here now?" I asked. Pretending I didn't already know."She arrived late last night. I let her in while you were putting Elowen to bed." He set down his mug and crossed his arms, and his expression shifted into something almost like expectation. Like he was waiting for me to object so he could dismiss it. "I'd appreciate it if you made her feel welcome. Cook a few o
HANNAH’S POV:THE NEXT DAY:We were still at the resort and watching the sunrise was one of the things I thanked myself for being awake to do. I did some work out, took care of my hygiene, replied to a few emails and went to check on the kids.My heart skipped a beat when I got into their rooms and
3RD POV:A FEW DAYS LATER:“Where are you going now?” Janet ignored her mother’s question, picked up the keys and headed out the door.“Janet! Jane—“ Just as she tried to call her the second time, and Janet turned snapping at her, “I’m going to see Mrs Martinez! Why do you keep questioning my every
HANNAH’S POV:I froze. Of all the things to say, that was the last I expected. A flush rose to my face, and I stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “Elijah, you were shot, and that’s what you’re thinking about?”“Can’t help it,” he whispered, his voice raspy but amused. “Your beauty was the first
HANNAH’S POV:He watched me with that unreadable look…the one that always made my stomach flip.“You don’t have to fuss over me,” he murmured.I looked up. “Elijah, you got shot protecting me. You’re lucky I haven’t wrapped you in bubble wrap.”He chuckled, and then winced again, hand flying instin







