~Dante~I was left speechless and frozen in one place as I stood there, unable to contain the wrath that was building within me. “What exactly did you say?” I watched her as she spun around and, with a gasp, dropped her phone on the floor.“Dante.”“What did you just say, mother?” She began to bite her nails, then clutched her gown as if her life depended on it. She was striving for some equilibrium as she trembled backward.“What is going on here?” My father entered the room. His eyes moved from my trembling mother to mine. “Care to explain what is happening here?” I waited for my mom to open her mouth and explain why she had done what she had done.“I—I can explain.” I sneered at what she had said.“You can explain? Listen, I don’t want to see you ever again, and you will never see your grandchildren ever again. Do you understand?”“Dante, please allow me to explain. You’re to blame for everything!” She screamed.“And I deserve to be kept in the dark? I am their father! Stay away fr

~Lola~I’m not supposed to be here. I should be in New York, explaining myself or fighting for my children. I don’t feel good about this hike, yet I am here. Two guys joined us, and I now know that Logan is the tall one, who is about the same height as Mason, and Matteo is the one who is one foot shorter than them. Everyone else was a little faster than I was. My body was with them, but my thoughts were in New York, with my children. Mason came to a halt and grinned down at me before taking my hand in his and interlocking our fingers as we followed the well-worn trail through the tall pines. For a while, we walked in quietly. The only sound was our feet crunching through the logs and leaves being thrown across the walkway, punctuated by the caw of a crow overhead. Mason came to a halt and stared at me again."Something the matter?" I wanted to tell him everything, but I couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth and say, "I came here because this might be our last day together." I am here

~Dante~I sat at the table with my three children and their grandmother for dinner. It’s a relief that the kids haven’t started asking for their mother yet. I don’t want any woman to come into my home and raise my children. Their mother has done an outstanding job raising them. If she can do it alone without any help, I can do it too. I watched as Lola’s mother eyed me. She hasn’t said a word."How was your trip, mother?""Not too shabby. I couldn’t let you fly out of the country since you told me you had children. However, who is their mother?" So it is true that none of them resemble Lola. I thought my angel looked just like her mother."Meet Kai, Tyler, and Mia, Mother. Your grandchildren." She didn’t push the conversation; we continued eating till Mia spoke."Daddy, I don’t like this. It doesn’t taste good." She remarked on this while picking out the peas. Realization dawns on Lola’s mother as she looks at Mia and how she was selecting the peas. Lola doesn’t like peas either. She

~Lola~This is the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life. One of them, at least. It’s been four years and eight months since I left home. I’ve completely forgotten what it’s like. But here I am, in the center of Ozark Regional Airport, awaiting my flight back to New York. I’m surrounded by individuals who are excited about a voyage to who knows where, but all I see is dread. I neglected my children and went on that hike with Mason and June. That could have been planned for all I know. June did a wonderful job of sending those pictures to my husband, Dante. I had a moment with Mason. I don’t regret it, but at the same time, I can’t jump into a relationship with him while I still have unresolved issues with Dante. Dante wasn’t meant to find out about Mason and me in this way. Not that I’m dating him or anything, but I am still Dante’s wife, and now I have given him yet another reason to take my children away. I am not sure if I like Mason, but I sure did enjoy the kiss. Will Dante c

~Lola~I expected Dante to respond to my outburst, but he didn’t. He just looked at me, speechless, at least, as I assumed. But one thing was clear: he was furious. After he had left my room so suddenly and silently, I sprinted to slam it shut and braced myself against it as I did so. I clutched my chest tightly. What was that?I don’t understand why my heart is beating so fast. What is this strange sensation spreading across my chest? Wait, do I still have feelings for Dante? Naa, he wants to take my children. I can’t possibly still care about him, can I? But if that’s the case, then why am I sweltering from the inside out? It’s as if a fire was started all around me, which is making me extremely hot and causing a lot of sweat to come out of my pores. Why am I even thinking about this? It’s not like we have dealt with all this before; we ran from how we felt. My feelings for him wouldn’t just vanish. At the end of the day, he is still my husband, despite the fact that he hates me so