เข้าสู่ระบบAnna POV“I’m coming.”Eli sniffed.“Are you going to call Mum?”I paused.“I’m going to fix all of this now.”He wiped his nose with the back of his hand.“Better.”I almost laughed.That cocky little boy.Under any other circumstance, I would have burst out laughing.Instead, I turned toward the staircase.My legs felt heavier with every step.I needed help.Real help.Not the kind where I stood in front of two children and pretended everything was fine.I needed another adult.Someone who belonged in this situation.Someone who could answer the questions I couldn’t.I reached the children’s room and closed the door behind me.My hand hovered over my phone.Dave.I stared at his name.Did I really need to call him?My thumb moved over the screen and stopped.Should I tell him?Should I tell him everything before he came over?Would that be betraying Lydia somehow?I paced across the room.Lydia had spoken about Dave before.Not much.Mostly about the children.About how he was an in
Anna POVThe moment I stepped through the front door, I heard little feet pounding against the floor upstairs.“Auntie Anna!”I barely had time to put my bag down before Eli came running toward me, his hair sticking up on one side and his shirt half-tucked into his shorts. Ava followed close behind, but unlike her brother, she wasn’t smiling.“When is Mum getting back?”The question stopped me.I forced a smile.“Good morning to you too, troublemakers.”“Auntie Anna,” Ava repeated, coming closer. “When is Mum coming back?”“And why weren’t you at home throughout the night?” Eli added.I looked between them.Two little faces.Two pairs of eyes searching mine.Two children who had absolutely no idea that their entire world was currently sitting behind a glass door in an intensive-care unit.I swallowed.“I had somewhere important to be.”“Where?”“A hospital.”Ava’s eyes widened.“Were you sick?”“No.”“Then why were you there?”I opened my mouth, but nothing sensible came out.Before I
Anna POVMy voice collapsed. He pulled me into his chest. I grabbed his shirt with both hands and sobbed. “Poor Lydia.” His arms tightened around me. “I know.” “I don’t know what to tell the kids.” My words came between uneven breaths. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I don’t know what to say to them.” “You don’t have to figure that out tonight.” “She doesn’t deserve this.” “I know.” “She was just—” I shook my head violently. “She was just talking to me yesterday. She was fine.” Theo rubbed a slow hand over my back. “I know.” “What if she—” “Don’t.” I looked up at him. His eyes were red. “She hasn’t lost yet,” he said quietly. “Lydia is a fighter.” I swallowed. “You don’t know that.” “I know her.” He looked toward the emergency theatre. “And I’m not ready to believe otherwise.” We sat there. Minutes turned into hours. The hospital seemed to have its own strange rhythm. Nurses hurried past us. Trolleys squeaked over the tiled floor. Someone cried quietly
Anna POV After my fifth cup of coffee, my phone vibrated against the floor. I nearly jumped. At this point, every vibration had started feeling like a warning. I glanced down, expecting to see one of the twins calling me, or maybe the nanny asking another question about whether they should eat something or go to bed. Instead, a familiar name flashed across my screen. Kiddo. Theo. I stared at the video-call notification. For half a second, my thumb hovered over the answer button. Then I looked down at myself. My hair was a disaster. My boubou was wrinkled from sitting in the same position for hours. My face probably looked like I hadn’t slept in three years, and my eyes were swollen enough to make me look like I’d been crying—which, technically, I had. I couldn’t do Theo right now. I declined the call. Almost immediately, a message appeared. Theo: What’s up? I swallowed. My fingers felt strangely heavy as I typed. Me: I’m busy rn. Call me back later. The typing bubble
Anna POV The driver nodded. We pulled away. I leaned back against the seat. And then the thoughts started. What if she was unconscious? What if she had internal bleeding? What if— No. I shook my head. Stop. She was Lydia. She was stubborn. Infuriating. Impossible. The woman could survive anything. She had survived heartbreak. A divorce. Two children. A career. My terrible cooking. She was going to survive this too. She had to. I looked out the window. Traffic crawled. “Please, God.” I wasn’t even sure I’d said it aloud. The driver glanced at me through the mirror. I looked away. My fingers wouldn’t stop moving. I twisted my ring. Untwisted it. Checked my phone. Put it down. Picked it up again. No message. Every minute stretched into something unbearable. I imagined her alone. I imagined her calling for the children. I imagined her opening her eyes and wondering where everyone was. Then my brain supplied worse images, and I squeezed my eyes shut
Anna POV “Sorry… are you sure?” The words barely came out. I heard myself stammer. Actually stammer. I had never stammered in my entire existence. Not during arguments, not during presentations, not even when I was caught doing something I had absolutely no business doing. But now my tongue wouldn’t cooperate. “G-Greadow Hospital?” “Yes, ma’am.” I gripped the phone tighter. “I’m so sorry, but… are you sure you have the right number?” The person on the other end paused. “The vehicle involved was registered under the plate number GX-1009SH.” Everything inside me went still. That was her car. There was no mistaking it. “Please…” My voice cracked. “Please get here as soon as you can.” The call ended. I stared at the phone. For several seconds, I couldn’t move. Then my body finally caught up with my brain. I jumped off the bed. I was halfway out of my bedroom in my bathrobe before the nanny called again. I answered immediately. “Bring the children to my house.” “Ma
Lydia POVAfter what seems like forever, a black Rolls-Royce pulled into the court compound, I had already imagined three different ways to murder my husband.Future husband.Potential husband.Missing husband.Whatever.At that point, I wasn’t being picky.The sleek black car glided through the ga
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
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?”







