Mag-log inLydia pov I didn’t think there was any need for games or elaborate strategies when it came to something like that. If the woman wanted to marry her boyfriend, why couldn’t she just tell him? Plain and simple. She could tell him she wanted him to put a ring on her finger, that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and that she wanted them to build a proper life together. What was the point of all the gimmicks and guessing games? We were all adults. Honestly, I didn’t understand why people made these things more complicated than they needed to be. Dave nodded towards me and said “Yes. You’re right.” His eyebrows lifted slightly. I smiled. “I’m always right.” Then, before I could respond, he leaned into me, wrapping his arms around me and pressing a quick kiss against my cheek. My whole expression softened. “Oh, please,” I muttered when I caught the look on his face. “Dave, are you usually like this?” “Like what?” “Like this.” I waved a hand vaguely between us. “Al
Dave POVI headed downstairs and found the children sitting together, completely absorbed in whatever game they were playing on their iPads. Neither of them noticed me immediately, which gave me the perfect opportunity to walk into the kitchen and start preparing dinner. I wasn’t going to announce what I was making. Not yet. I wanted them to guess. I walked back into the living room and rubbed my hands together dramatically. “Guess whattt!” Both children looked up at me. “Dad, wha—” Eli started. “I’m heading to the kitchen right now,” I announced, “and I’m whipping up my all-time special.” Ava immediately sat up. “Your all-time special?” “Yes.” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Toast.” I stared at her. “Toast?” She shrugged. “You like toast.” “I do, but this is a dinner-appropriate meal.” Eli looked up from his iPad. “A rice dish.” I nodded slowly. “Hmm. Be more specific.” He thought for a moment. “Jollof rice?” “Getting warmer.” “Fried rice?” I shook my hea
Dave POVThe first idea was the one I had initially imagined because it felt like something Lydia would actually appreciate. No crowd. No photographers hiding behind bushes. No restaurant full of strangers pretending not to watch. Just us.I imagined taking her somewhere that mattered to us, somewhere quiet enough that we could actually hear each other. I had thought about a private terrace overlooking the city, but not one of those overly decorated spaces covered in flowers and candles until you couldn’t see the floor anymore. I wanted something understated. Warm lights strung along the edge of the terrace, a small dinner table set for two, her favourite food, soft music playing somewhere in the background, and the city stretching out beyond us. I would let her eat first. We’d talk. I’d make her laugh. Maybe we’d reminisce about some of the ridiculous things that happened between us over the years. Then, when the evening felt natural rather than staged, I’d tell her why I was asking
Dave pov“So?”Anna’s voice pulled me back into the conversation. I looked down at my phone, then at the half-completed counseling form still open on the screen. I had almost forgotten about it.“Yes?”“Where are you?”I glanced around the living room, even though there was absolutely no reason to. “Downstairs.”“Good.”I frowned. “Why?”She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I heard a small breath leave her, the kind people took when they were about to say something they had already decided was funny in their heads.“We need to talk.”I looked toward the staircase leading upstairs, then back at my phone. “About what?”Anna paused dramatically.“Lydia.”I closed my eyes.Of course.Everything always came back to Lydia.I opened my eyes and stared at the phone.“I’m fine.”“How do you feel knowing Lydia picked you over my brother?”I blinked.“Erm…”She continued before I could even answer. “You must feel great to have won over my brother.”I stared at the ceiling.What sort of questi
Dave POVAfter disturbing Lydia sufficiently enough for one morning, I eventually got bundled out of her room with the children like we were three particularly annoying guests who had overstayed our welcome.I didn’t even complain.Mostly because Lydia had that look on her face—the one that said if I argued, she would personally find a way to throw me out of the house. And partly because watching her try to maintain her dignity after everything Anna had heard was far too entertaining to ruin.Eli was still asking questions as we walked down the hallway, and Ava was laughing at him every few seconds. I looked back once before leaving and caught Lydia standing near her bedroom door, arms folded, watching us with an expression that was equal parts exasperation and amusement. She caught me looking and immediately pointed toward the hallway.“Go.”I smiled.“Yes, ma’am.”“Dave.”I laughed and finally turned around.By the time I got downstairs, though, my mind had already moved on to somet
Lydia POVDave came in and cleared his throat.I slowly lowered my hand from my face and turned toward the door. He was standing there, one hand resting against the frame, looking entirely too comfortable for a man who had just walked into a conversation he had absolutely no business hearing. I stared at him for a second before looking at my phone, where Anna was still on the video call, her expression caught somewhere between shock and amusement. Then I looked back at him. “Since when have you been standing there?” I asked. “And don’t I have my right to privacy anymore?” I knew the question was pointless the moment it left my mouth. The door had been open. Technically, I had invited the problem in.Dave pushed himself away from the door and walked toward me with that irritating little smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “Long enough,” he said. I groaned and covered my face again. “Urgh.” I could practically feel Anna trying not to laugh through the phone. Dave stopped in front
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 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







