FAZER LOGINDave POVMy entire body stiffened.I blinked.What?Eli’s eyes were already glistening with tears, but he wasn’t crying yet. “Maybe it was his stress that caused all these. Maybe he was always the problem. Mom actually never really wanted him back if it weren’t for us.”The words landed harder than I expected.I looked away.For a horrible second, they found a place in my mind where I didn’t want them to be. Was I really the problem? Had I brought too much stress into her life? Had I somehow made everything worse?“Aren’t you going to say something?” Eli asked.Before I could respond, Ava stood up.“Eli, that’s enough.”“But—”“No.” She shook her head firmly, tears still clinging to her lashes. “You know Mom is a fighter. She’d definitely bounce back and come back how we left her.”I looked at her, and somehow that tiny bit of certainty from my daughter gave me something to hold on to.“She will,” I said quietly.Eli looked at me. “You don’t know that.”“No,” I admitted. “I don’t.”Th
Dave POV“Is Mom fine?”Ava’s question almost undid all the emotional stability I had managed to build.For a second, I just stared at her, completely caught off guard by how much those three words could hurt. I had been sitting there trying to hold myself together, trying to remember that I was their father and that whatever happened, I had to be the strong one. I couldn’t afford to fall apart in front of them, not when they were already scared and confused and looking to me for answers I wasn’t even sure I had.But hearing Ava ask about her mom like that made me want to pull both of my kids into my arms and give them a reassuring hug, even though I knew there was no reassurance I could honestly give them anymore.I was almost certain they already had an idea of what I was about to say.Or rather, what we were about to say.I glanced at Anna, and she seemed to understand immediately. She shifted in her seat and tried to force a smile before saying, “So, kids, I’d have loved to crack
Ava and Eli POV “Obviously.” Ten minutes later, our nanny was preparing to leave. She called Auntie Anna and explained that she needed to go home but Mom still wasn’t back. She asked whether Anna had been able to reach her. We couldn’t hear everything Anna said, but we watched our nanny’s face change while she listened. Then she nodded. “Okay. I’ll bring them over.” She hung up. “Bring us where?” Eli asked. “Auntie Anna’s house.” I frowned. “Why?” “She said you two should come over.” “But Mom didn’t tell us we’re having a sleepover.” “I know.” That made everything feel slightly strange. Our nanny asked if we were hungry. We both looked at each other. “Hmm.” “We’ll eat with Mom when she comes back,” Ava said. Our nanny suggested oats and milk instead. “Just something light.” We agreed. While she prepared it, I watched the clock. Mom should have been home by now. Eventually, the phone rang. Our nanny answered. It was Auntie Anna. She listened, nodded and then
Ava and Eli POV Omdss, I really loved the office days with Mom. There was something about being around her at work that made everything feel different. Mom was always so serious whenever she was dealing with clients or talking to people on the phone, but the second it was just us, she became… Mom again. Funny. Dramatic. A little ridiculous. Especially when it came to the car-engine discussion. She had barely known what she was talking about, yet she had somehow managed to defend herself with the confidence of someone who had personally designed three different engines. “I did my research,” she had insisted, lifting her chin. “You Googled it,” I reminded her. “That is research.” Eli had laughed so hard he nearly fell off his chair. Now we were back home, and before we knew it, it was almost time for our nanny to leave and almost time for Mom to be back. At least, that was what we thought. Our nanny was sitting across from us, telling us about an encounter she had apparently
Dave povShe reached for her phone.“I know someone.”“Who?”“A therapist named Dr Sana, she’s someone familiar with us.”Anna unlocked her phone and searched for the number.Her thumb hovered over the call button for a second.Then she pressed it.One ring.Two.Three.“Hi, Dr. Sana.”Her voice changed instantly.Softer.More vulnerable.“This is Anna.”She paused.“Lydia was involved in a very serious car accident yesterday. She’s currently unconscious and in critical condition.”I watched her face as she listened.Whatever Dr. Sana said made Anna’s lips tremble.She looked down.Her shoulders rose with a shaky breath.She blinked rapidly.Then she wiped beneath one eye with the side of her finger.I looked away.I didn’t know what to say.What exactly did you tell someone whose best friend was fighting for her life?It’ll be okay?I couldn’t guarantee that.Don’t cry?I was barely holding myself together.The only thing keeping me upright was the knowledge that two children were do
Dave POVBy the time I reached the apex of the stairs, I saw Anna waiting for me.She stood near the entrance to a room I hadn’t noticed properly when I arrived. She looked different from the woman I knew—or, more accurately, the woman I had heard about through Lydia and the children. The polished, effortlessly composed Anna wasn’t there tonight. Her eyes were swollen around the edges, her face drawn with exhaustion, and there was something unusually serious about the way she held herself.“Welcome,” she said quietly. “Come into the library.”I followed her.The library was enormous, lined with dark wooden shelves and warm recessed lighting. A massive mahogany desk occupied the center of the room, its polished surface reflecting the light from the chandelier overhead.Anna walked behind it and sat down.Then she gestured toward the chair opposite her.I sat.Neither of us spoke.She reached for a sheet of paper and slid it across the desk toward me.I looked at it.“What’s this?”“Che
Bernard stepped in, hands clasped neatly in front of him.“I apologize for disturbing you, ma’am. I came by earlier, but there was no response.”I rubbed my eyes. “I was asleep.”“Yes, ma’am.”He said it so respectfully that I almost felt bad for sounding irritated.Almost.“Would you like dinner?”
Lydia’s POVThe inside of the house was even worse than the outside.Worse, because now I had to physically stand inside it and accept that this was where I was expected to live.The space swallowed me the second I stepped in.The entrance opened into a massive living area with floors so polished I
Lydia POVOh.That was… unfortunate.Because he was beautiful.In a sharp, expensive, dangerous kind of way.Dark suit.Sharper jaw.Dark eyes that looked almost black under certain lighting.Everything about him looked controlled.I clicked another picture.Still no smile.Another.Same expression
Lydia POV“You’re getting married to Dave Ashton tomorrow by eight a.m.”Those were the words that ended my life as I knew it.One sentence.One Tuesday evening.One announcement delivered with the same emotional weight my father would have used to ask someone to pass the salt.For a moment, I hone







