MasukLydia POVThe word came out before I could stop it.Every child went silent.Even the adults.Miranda looked at me.I could feel my heartbeat pounding against my ribs, each beat pushing another layer of restraint out of the way.“You can talk about me,” I said, my voice low. “You can make assumptions about my marriage. You can make whatever judgments you want about the way I live my life. But you do not get to stand in front of me and question how I raise my children.”“I wasn’t—”“You were.”My voice cracked through the room.“You have known me for less than a day, and somehow you’ve decided you understand my children better than I do.”Miranda opened her mouth.I lifted my hand.“No. Let me finish.”Theo stood.“Lydia—”I shook my head without looking at him.“I would take anything from you, Miranda. I would take every passive-aggressive comment you’ve made since you walked through that door. I would take the comments about the temperature. The air freshener. The food. The sugar. Th
Lydia POV He walked into the hallway carrying a little girl in his arms. Miriam. Her small arms were wrapped loosely around his neck, her cheek resting against his shoulder. She was dressed in a little yellow sundress with white sneakers, her dark curls gathered into two tiny puffs. Theo looked completely at ease with her. One hand supported her back while the other carried a small overnight bag. My eyes moved from him… To Anna. Anna smiled. Too innocently. My eyes narrowed. Of course. Of course she did this. I should have known. This was Anna. If there was an opportunity to manufacture an unnecessarily complicated social situation, she would find it, polish it and serve it with brunch. “Hi, Lydia.” Theo smiled. “Hi.” I returned the smile, trying very hard not to look at Anna. She suddenly became extremely interested in her coffee. “You invited them?” I asked. Anna shrugged. “I invited everyone.” “Everyone?” “Yes.” Theo stepped forward. “Sorry.” He adjuste
Lydia POV“Mom.”I had barely turned toward the door before Eli’s head appeared from underneath his blanket, his hair pointing in approximately seventeen different directions and his eyes suddenly wide with betrayal.“Don’t call Auntie Anna.”I paused.“You just told me you weren’t going.”“I changed my mind.”“That quickly?”He nodded with the seriousness of a man negotiating an international treaty.“We’re ready.”I folded my arms.“Five seconds ago, you were retired.”“I came out of retirement.”Ava’s voice floated from the bathroom.“He’s lying. He was never retired.”Eli whipped around.“Nobody asked you.”“I heard you.”“That’s not the same thing.”I laughed under my breath as I watched him scramble out of bed and begin searching for the clothes we’d picked out the night before. The sudden transformation was almost impressive. One minute he had been buried beneath his duvet, threatening to resign from childhood because six in the morning was apparently an unreasonable hour for h
Lydia POV I shook my head. “Whatever you’ve heard…” I reached for my laptop again. “…is probably correct.” Her mouth fell open. “You admitted it?” “I don’t have the energy to argue with you today.” She clapped excitedly. “I knew it!” “I knew something happened.” “Anna.” “Hm?” “I said you were probably right.” “I didn’t say what you were right about.” She blinked. “…Oh.” Then she frowned. “Wait.” “…You’re clever.” “I’ve been trying to tell you that for years.” She pointed at the bouquet still occupying half my desk. “By the way.” I looked down at it. “What?” “You’re welcome.” I smiled softly. “They’re beautiful.” “I know.” “I picked every flower myself.” “You absolutely paid someone to.” “…Details.” I laughed before looking back at the enormous bouquet. “Anna…” “What?” “Are you trying to court me?” She didn’t even hesitate. “I mean…” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “…I’m still deeply in love with my husband.” “Thankfully.” “But…” she grinned
Lydia’s POVThree days.That was exactly how long Anna allowed me to enjoy my peace before she came to collect the debt I apparently owed her.I had barely settled into my office that morning when my assistant knocked twice before peeking her head through the door with the kind of expression that immediately made me suspicious.“Ma’am…”I looked up from the quarterly reports spread across my desk.“Yes?”She hesitated.“You have… a visitor.”I frowned slightly.“I don’t remember scheduling one.”“You didn’t.”That earned her my full attention.“So why do you look like you’re about to laugh?”She bit the inside of her cheek, failing miserably to hide her smile.“…You’ll see.”Before I could ask another question, she stepped aside.And in walked Anna.Or rather…A walking flower shop.She was carrying the largest bouquet of flowers I had ever seen in my entire life. It was overflowing with white lilies, blush roses, peonies, hydrangeas and eucalyptus leaves wrapped in elegant cream pape
Lydia POV“I’ve been waiting!”I walked over, smiling despite myself.“I heard.”I sat beside her and brushed a loose curl away from her forehead.“So…”I lowered my voice dramatically.“…what happened?”She looked around as though checking whether someone might overhear.Then leaned closer.“Mom…”“Yes?”“A girl talked to me today.”I blinked.“…Okay?”“Not just talked.”She shook her head vigorously.“She came all the way to my desk.”“Oh?”“And then…”She paused for dramatic effect.“…she said I was cool.”I stared at her.She stared back.That…That was the emergency?She nodded enthusiastically.“She said she liked how I answered questions in class.”I couldn’t help smiling.“That’s wonderful, sweetheart.”“I know!”“And then she asked if we could sit together during lunch tomorrow.”My smile grew softer.“That’s really sweet.”“And…”Ava’s voice became quieter.“…she asked if we could be friends.”For a moment I simply looked at her.There was something so incredibly pure about
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?”
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







