LOGINLydiaAnna looked at me.I looked at her.“Honestly,” I said, “we’re open to suggestions. I want something that tastes as beautiful as it looks.”She smiled. “Perfect. Then I think you’ll enjoy today’s selection.”The first cake was a classic vanilla sponge with Madagascar vanilla buttercream.I took a small bite.“Okay.”Anna looked at me. “What?”“It’s good.”“That’s all?”I took another bite. “It’s very good. The vanilla isn’t overpowering, and the buttercream is smooth.”Anna nodded, taking her own bite. “I like this one, but I don’t know if it’s wedding-cake special enough.”“Let’s not start rejecting cakes after one bite.”She laughed.The next was a red velvet cake with cream cheese filling. It was soft, slightly tangy and had that familiar richness that made it an easy crowd-pleaser.Anna immediately approved.“This is nice.”“Very nice,” I agreed. “But I feel like we’ve had red velvet at almost every wedding we’ve attended.”“So?”“So, I want something a little different.”“H
Lydia POVI finished getting dressed exactly in time, which, considering my usual relationship with time whenever I had somewhere to be, was a small personal achievement.I wore a sleeveless top paired with a very oversized pair of casual joggers. Nothing complicated, nothing that required too much thought, but the combination came together so nicely that I kept admiring myself in the mirror.I loved the output, frr.I gathered my things, styled my hair into a high updo and booked a ride. Less than five minutes later, my driver arrived.The moment I got into the car, I recognised the song playing.Enchanted.Taylor Swift.Oh, what a babe.I settled into my seat, smiling as the familiar melody filled the car. Honestly, that song could put me in a good mood on almost any day. There was just something about it that made ordinary moments feel a little more magical. I found myself quietly singing along, occasionally looking out the window and enjoying the ride.By the time we arrived at An
Lydia“Anna, are you frrr?”“Sorry, babes. I miscalculated.”I stared at the phone, momentarily speechless.Beside me, Dave had his lips pressed together, his shoulders shaking ever so slightly. He was doing an absolutely terrible job of holding back his laughter.I pointed at him. “Don’t.”He immediately looked away, pretending to be interested in something on the bedside table.Traitor.I turned my attention back to Anna. “Listen, I actually want to have breakfast with the children today. I promised them, and I’m not changing that because you miscalculated.”“Lydia, it’s just cake tasting.”“And it’s just breakfast with my children.”“Okay, but the baker—”“Anna, I can’t do eight. I don’t know how we’re going to figure it out, but nine is the only plausible time available to me.”There was a brief silence.“Plausible time?” she repeated.“Yes. Would you prefer I say reasonable?”“Don’t start with me.”I smiled. “You’re the one who woke up and decided to rearrange my morning.”“I’m a
Lydia For a moment, I considered keeping the conversation to myself. Not because I wanted to hide anything from him, but because I was still sorting through my own feelings about it.Then I remembered something rather important.They were his children too. He was their father, just as I was their mother. I couldn’t decide that he was somehow responsible for Ava’s feelings simply because his return had coincided with the changes in our home.Besides, I had chosen this man as my life partner. I wanted to build a life with him, and that meant being honest about the difficult things too. It was only fair that we faced them together.“Ava’s teacher called me yesterday,” I began.Dave’s expression changed. “Why? Is something wrong?”“Nothing happened at school exactly. They were asked to write an essay about something going on in their lives. Apparently, Ava wrote two entire booklets.”“Two?”I nodded. “Her teacher called because of some of the things she wrote.”I took a breath and told h
Lydia It was sometime in the middle of the night when Dave came into the room.“Babe, stand up. Let’s go to our room.”I barely opened my eyes. “Hmm?”He stood beside the bed, looking between me and Ava. “You’re cramping our little princess. With all these pillows and everything taking up space, I’m sure she’s not even comfortable.”I tightened my arms around Ava and snuggled closer to her.“No. We are comfortable.”Dave stared at me for a moment. “You two are something else.”I had no intention of moving. Unfortunately, he seemed to have other plans. He bent down, slipped his arms beneath me and carried me out of the room before I could put up a proper fight.“Dave,” I mumbled, resting my head against his chest.“Go to sleep, babe.”And that was precisely what I did.By the time I opened my eyes again, it was five in the morning. Dave was still fast asleep beside me, one arm stretched across my side of the bed.I carefully moved it and got out of bed. Before starting my day, I wante
LydiaI nodded. “Yes, sweetheart.”“Well, she has a new friend now.”I waited.“And I feel left out. I don’t know how to explain it, but sometimes I feel like she doesn’t want me around anymore. Like she doesn’t need me in their friendship. Whenever I see them together, I feel like an outsider.”My heart tightened.She continued, occasionally glancing at me.“I know she’s allowed to have other friends. I know that. But sometimes, when I try to join them, I feel like I’m disturbing them. They have their own jokes, and they talk about things I don’t know anything about. I don’t want to keep following her around when she clearly has someone else she’d rather spend time with.”“Oh, sweetheart.”“And there’s something else.”Her voice became quieter.I squeezed her hand.“I’m listening.”“I overheard some girls talking about me in the bathroom.”I frowned.“What did they say?”She hesitated.“They said my best friend was settling for less by being friends with me.”I felt my jaw tighten.“
Lydia I turned.He was standing a few feet away now, hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable.There was no softness in his face.Just cool detachment.The kind that made the evening breeze feel warmer by comparison.For the first time since he arrived, he looked directly at me and held the
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
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







