GABRIEL I was so pissed off. Enraged. I had been thinking about this for a while now, and I had concluded that it was finally time to take action. It was time to sue Kira for full custody of my little girl, Maddie. It had been a constant source of frustration for me that Kira had hidden Maddie’s identity from me for so long. I couldn’t help but feel like she’s been intentionally keeping Maddie away from me. It was not right, and it was not fair to Maddie. I tried to be understanding of Kira’s situation. I knew that being a single parent was hard, and I tried to be there for Maddie as much as possible since I met her. But I realized now that Kira was not willing to cooperate. Mostly because of her misplaced reaction to our last meeting. She was not interested in co-parenting or sharing custody. She was not willing to compromise. It was time for me to take matters into my own hands. I couldn’t just sit back and let Kira call all the shots. Maddie deserved to have a relationship wit

KIRA“OK, Mark, I will tell you everything that happened between me and Gabriel,” I said, acknowledging that if I wanted this to work, I would have to be totally honest with him. “Of course, Kira. You can trust me. Tell me all about it!” he said, giving me the exact confidence I needed.“Well, it all started when I first met Gabriel. He was my direct manager, and I was immediately wary of him because of his reputation as a womanizer. But over time, I fell for him.” I started gulping a few times, thinking of how stupid I was.“I see. And what happened next?” “One day, Gabriel made advances on me, and I resisted at first. But eventually, I gave in, and we started a relationship. It was intense, and we even went on Hollow Peak for Christmas five years ago, where Maddie was conceived. But that you already know. It was then that my decline begun” “I know, no need to remember that time again. One question is bothering me. I could tell you loved him, Kira. Why did you decide to leave Gabr

KIRAI couldn’t believe it. After everything that had happened, after all the time and effort and love that I had poured into raising Maddie, the judge ruled that Gabriel would have full custody. I felt like I’d been hit with a ton of bricks. I felt lost, confused, and angry.And that was when I lost it.“No, how can you do that?” I snapped angrily and right when I wanted to leave my seat Mark stopped me.“Kira, behave yourself. We will appeal” “Appeal what? This heartless judge just ruined Maddie’s life and mine. Why? Don’t you have children?” I yelled pounding my fists on the table.“Bailiff, please escort Miss Reed outside,” I heard the judge say and as much as I struggled I was no match for the man kicking me out. Only my little girl’s face remained engraved in my mind, crying helplessly.How could the judge make such a decision? Didn’t he understand how much Maddie meant to me, how much I had sacrificed for her? Didn’t he see how much I loved her, how much I’d tried to provide

KIRA I never thought it would come to this. Losing custody of Maddie to Gabriel was the last thing I expected. I thought I was doing everything right, but the judge saw things differently. Now, my life had taken a turn for the worse, and I couldn’t seem to get back on track. The depression had been deepening since I lost Maddie. I felt like a part of me was missing, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t fill that void. The emptiness in my heart was suffocating, like I was drowning in my own despair. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, and I could barely function. It was so damn hard to imagine a life without Maddie. She was the reason I woke up in the morning and the last thing I thought about before I went to bed. Losing her like that was like losing a piece of my soul, and I didn’t know how to move on. Every day felt like an eternity, and the pain was unbearable. But I knew I had to do something with my time or I was definitely going to lose my mind. So, I filled my days with distra

KIRAIt surprised me when the next day I received an unexpected phone call. The truth was, I was a bit annoyed with him and didn’t want to answer his messages. But this time I did.“Hey Kira, it’s been a while since we last talked. How have you been?” said Mark with joy in his voice.“Hi Mark, I’m doing okay. Just been keeping busy with work and stuff. How about you?” “Same here. But hey, I was thinking, since it’s been so long since we hung out, maybe we could grab a drink or something today? Just for old times’ sake?” he asked, and I suddenly was at a loss for words. Remembering he was a part of my losing Maddie stopped me from answering right away. Eventually I did.“I don’t know Mark. We haven’t talked in a while, and there were some misunderstandings between us before. You know, the trial and stuff” “I know, and that’s exactly why I want to meet up. It’s time to bury the hatchet and move on from the past. I miss our friendship, Kira. We’ve known each other since we were teenag