LOGINMARY'S POV: Even though I no longer had Hotch standing beside me to guide my legal steps, I refused to drag him into any more of my family disasters. The poor man was currently lying in a hospital room with severe injuries entirely because he had tried to help me escape my husband's driveway. His ribs were cracked, his head had suffered a terrible concussion, and his whole body was bruised and broken. I already carried far too much heavy guilt in my heart over what had happened to him tonight, and the mere thought of placing his life in danger a second time was something I could not bear to live with. I simply could not bring myself to ask him to risk his safety for my problems ever again. It was finally time for me to grow up, stand on my own two feet, and resolve this entire nightmare all by myself. Alistair must have sensed the sudden change in my posture, because he pulled his phone away from his ear and narrowed his dark eyes at me. His sharp eyes studied every single det
MARY'S POV:The furious words booming through the phone speaker echoed loudly in my mind, sharp, terrifying, and completely damning."What the hell have you done now? You need to publicly strip that foolish woman away from our corporate name this very second!"I stood there in the cold corridor, watching Alistair's face go completely pale in an instant. His strong jaw tightened up so hard that I could see the muscles twitching under his skin, his trembling fingers clenching around his mobile phone until his knuckles turned ghost white. He opened his mouth to offer some kind of explanation to the angry board member, but not a single sound managed to come out of his throat. He looked exactly like a powerful man who had just been struck by a bolt of lightning, completely frozen right in his tracks and totally unable to process the terrible news he had just received. All the healthy color drained out of his cheeks, leaving his face looking gray, sick, and deeply shaken.Sitting right
MARY'S POV: The new trending headline sitting at the very top of the screen read: "Vesper, the Desperate Mistress Who Tried to Run Over the Legal Wife of the Billionaire She Wants to Marry." The refusal of her crazy fanbase to accept defeat had only served to push the entire scandal to an even higher level of public attention. Thousands of people were flooding the comment sections, viciously attacking anyone who dared to speak out against Vesper, defending her bad behavior with a level of anger that looked like complete madness. They were calling me a dirty liar, a cold manipulator, and a bitter, jealous woman who was trying to ruin another person's happiness. "Beatrice needs to post official proof showing she is really Alistair's birth mother. Otherwise, she is just another online hater trying to destroy Vesper." The entire internet had exploded into absolute biggi mess. There were hundreds of thousands of angry comments dropping every minute. Millions of people were watc
MARY'S POV:His large palm pressed gently against my upper shoulder. "You need to stay out here and take good care of yourself," he said softly, his deep voice sounding private and quiet. "I will go inside and check on Hotch by myself. If you walk in there right now while the female nurses are helping him change out of his messy clothes, it is going to be far too awkward for him, and that certainly will not help his body recover any faster."Then Marl deliberately turned his head and raised his voice, making sure every single word was crystal clear for Alistair to hear."And make sure you pass a message along to the crazy person who ran Hotch down with his car. If you are planning to go inside that room to visit him, remember that you are there for a quick checkup, not a romantic date. Otherwise, he might get so furious that he decides to hit Hotch again... or maybe even try to run over the two of us at the same time."Alistair looked completely furious. His face went bright red,
MARY'S POV:His mouth opened wide, then snapped shut, then opened up again. Not a single sound came out of his throat. He looked just like a fish washed up on the grass gasping for air, his pale face cycling through a whole series of different emotions, total confusion, deep anger, and complete disbelief. The bright red handprint from where I had slapped his cheek back in the driveway was still clearly visible on his skin, serving as a loud reminder of what had just happened. He looked as though he desperately wanted to argue back, but the right words simply would not come to his mind.Marl just stood there staring down at him with a mocking look, raising one dark eyebrow while his lips curved up into a faint, quiet smile. He looked as though he were patiently waiting to see what kind of foolish excuse Alistair would try to invent next, clearly enjoying the entire pathetic spectacle unfolding in front of us. The heavy silence stretched out between the two men, thick, awkward, and ex
MARY'S POV:The sudden shout echoed loudly through the quiet hospital corridor, sharp, furious, and full of total rage."What the hell do you two think you are doing?"I turned my head around instantly.Alistair was standing right at the far end of the hallway, his face flushed bright red with pure anger and his dark eyes blazing with fury. He was carrying Vesper tightly in his arms, holding her body cradled against his chest as if she were some kind of fragile, precious treasure that needed to be protected from the world. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, her face buried deep into his shoulder, completely hiding her expression from view. She looked small and helpless in his arms, the perfect picture of a weak, vulnerable woman in distress.Right behind them, a young hospital nurse was walking fast to keep up, her face completely flushed with frustration. Her blue uniform scrubs were rumpled, her messy hair was falling out of its tight bun, and her breath was coming
HANNAH’S POV: Thankfully. the traffic was merciful that evening. I arrived at Elijah’s office building earlier than expected, the sky painted in soft hues of gold as the sun began to set. I pulled into the parking lot, stepping out with excitement already fluttering in my chest. My phone rang ins
HANNAH'S POV:I sat with that."The name Mirada," Maya said carefully, "is in four languages on the trending lists right now and it's not the brand or the collection but the name itself. Mirada.”The name itself.I pressed the paper a little tighter in my hand."She is everywhere," I said quietly.
HANNAH'S POV: Elijah found me in the greenroom about twenty minutes after the show ended. He came through the door and looked at me across the room and there was a proud look on his face. "The twins?" I said into his shoulder. "With my parents. Safe and asleep and apparently Amelia had been tell
HANNAH'S POV:He was quiet for a moment. "I was angry," he said, with the calm specificity he always brought to his own feelings. "I did not say anything because I thought if I said something it was going to be something too big for school and I would get in trouble. So I did not say anything." A p







