LOGINMARY'S POV:The soft orange lights from the radio lit up the dark car which showed his handsome face as he climbed into his side.He pulled his door shut and rested both hands on the top of the steering wheel. He didn't turn the key right away. He just sat there in the seat and looked over at me with an expression I couldn't quite read as I shrugged.He pulled the car out of the drive, and we drove away down the dark road without either of us saying a single word about what had just happened to Alistair back in that house.The bright streetlights of the city blurred together outside my window and I love what I was looking at. We were driving down the exact same roads I had used for years, but tonight everything looked completely different. It felt like the streets belonged to a whole different person, someone I used to be a long time ago. The tall buildings passed by one by one, the streetlamps dropping big spots of yellow light onto the wet asphalt ahead of us.Just as the car h
MARY'S POV:She was telling me it was okay to walk away from her son. She was giving me her blessing to leave, assuring me that she would still love me even if I never came back to this house.I didn't even know how long I stood there in that hallway.The minutes seemed to blur into one long moment, the time slipping past without me noticing. I was completely trapped in my own head, playing back every single thing that had just happened, every harsh word and every fucking promise. The sound of Beatrice's soft voice, the warm smell of her jacket, the heavy truth of her words, all of it kept spinning around inside my head like a slow storm.I didn't even notice the room changing until Marl suddenly walked up right in front of me and waved his broad hand back and forth in front of my eyes."Hey, where did you go just now?"I jumped a little and blinked hard, pulling myself back to the present. He was standing right there in the light, looking relaxed, his dark eyes shining with that
MARY'S POV: The words dropped straight into my chest like a heavy stone falling into a quiet pond. Beatrice stepped in and pulled me into a real, tight hug, her arms wrapping around my shoulders and holding me close to her warm body. She tapped her hand against my back in that slow, steady rhythm she always used, the same way she did when I was sick, when I was completely overwhelmed by life, or when I was hurting so bad I couldn't stop crying. The feeling was so warm and familiar that the tears I had been fighting back finally burst through, running hot down my face. "I made a promise to protect every child I could," she whispered, her voice heavy against my shoulder. "But I cannot go around hurting my own daughter just to protect someone else's mistake. Not anymore. I let you get hurt before, didn't I? And I am so very sorry for that. Maybe I really was thinking only about my family back then, God forgive me, but..." I wrapped my arms right back around her neck, holding her
MARY'S POV:Vesper's face twisted up into pure rage. "Don't hit my baby!" She made a huge show of dropping her shoulders, covering her stomach with both hands and pulling her body into a ball like a poor, helpless victim. Her fingers pressed tight against her belly, her eyes wide with fake horror. "I am pregnant! You could have hurt my child!"But Beatrice did not even turn her head to look at her.She turned back to me, and all the sharp anger left her eyes, leaving them soft and warm instead. She reached out and grabbed my cold fingers, her hands feeling warm and familiar against mine. Her grip was tight and solid, the very same hand that had held mine through long nights, through bad sickness, and through some of the hardest days of my life."I believe you, sweetheart," she said softly, her voice catching just a little in her throat. "You don't need to explain a single thing to me. You never have to do that with me."Her words felt like a heavy coat wrapped around my shoulders
MARY'S POV:I looked at Beatrice seriously.The words were forming right in the back of my throat, heavy and urgent, practically demanding to be spoken out loud. I couldn't just stand there and let her believe the dirty lie that Vesper had just thrown at me like a weapon. I couldn't let her walk away thinking that I was the exact same as her son, or that I had broken my promises the way he had broken his. The false claim had landed like a cold blade in my ribs, and I needed to pull it out before the damage became permanent."That is not true," I said, my voice staying surprisingly steady even though my fingers were shaking. "I know I don't owe everyone in this room an explanation, but I really think you deserve to hear it from me. I swear to God, I never cheated on him. Not once. Even after everything Alistair did to me, I would never do that to myself. I am so sorry you had to stand here and watch this. I never wanted to drag you into my messy life. It was just a mistake..."The
MARY'S POV:Marl caught the incoming fist with one palm, his fingers locking around Alistair's hand like an iron grip. With a smooth movement, he twisted Alistair's arm behind his back, bending him over. Alistair let out a sharp grunt, his face going dark with anger as he tried to pull free from Marl's grip."I said, calm down," Marl repeated, his tone dipping a bit lower this time.Beatrice threw her hands up and yelled, "Please, don't do this here!"Marl looked over at her and offered a quick, reassuring nod. He let go of Alistair's hand, then smoothly swung his arm over Alistair's shoulders, locking the bigger man in a tight side-headlock that kept him from swinging. To anyone looking from far away, it almost looked like two buddies laughing at a bar. But I could see how hard Marl was holding him, using his weight to keep Alistair stuck."Nobody is fighting," Marl said, his voice smooth. "We're just going to step inside and have a quiet talk, man to man."Without giving Alist





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