Semua Bab Once Upon a Marriage : Bab 31 - Bab 35

Ava The message came at 2:13 a.m. My phone vibrated so violently on my nightstand that it startled me out of my half-sleep. I blinked into the darkness, the soft glow of the screen the only light in my apartment. My thumb hesitated over the screen, heart already thudding in that way it did when I knew, when instinct screamed that whatever waited was going to shatter me. I unlocked it. There was no text. Just an image. And then another. And another. I felt my throat close up. There we were. Me and Mike. From three years ago. The hazy, neon-lit club in Prague. His arm slung around my waist, my head tilted back in laughter, his mouth on my throat in the next frame. And then the final photo, which my hand was grabbing him into that hotel. My fingers laced with his like we couldn’t wait to tear each other apart. I felt the blood drain from my face. A notification pinged. Finally, the text came. “Thought you’d appreciate a little memory lane. We’ll keep this between us… if you’re co

Mike I didn’t sleep the night Eloise called. Her voice echoed in my head, raw, broken, full of a pain I’d never wanted to cause. The worst part wasn’t that she suspected me. The worst part was knowing I couldn’t even blame her. From the outside, I was the obvious choice. The only one besides Ava who had seen the children’s designs. The only one who’d been close enough to every sketch, every idea. And I hated it. The apartment was silent. I stood by the window, staring out at the city, watching the distant lights flicker like dying stars. My reflection stared back, dark circles, clenched jaw, fists pressed against the glass. Someone was doing this to her. And I was going to find out who. … The next morning, I started where I always did, quietly, carefully. I reached out to a friend of mine, Noah, who worked digital security for one of the fashion conglomerates. Discreet and trusted. I called him from a burner. No traces. “Noah. It’s Mike.” A pause. “Damn, been a while. What’s

Eloise The email came at 7:03 a.m. I was at the kitchen counter, the kettle just starting to boil, Max was still asleep down the hall, everywhere quiet, the way I liked it before the day began. But that email shattered the peace. Subject: Custody Petition, Lucian True. My hands went cold. The mug slipped from my fingers, clattering to the floor, but I didn’t even hear it. My pulse roared in my ears as I read the first lines, then again, as if the words might change. Lucian was filing for shared custody. Shared custody! The man who hadn’t done the least like send a birthday card, who hadn’t asked about fevers, nightmares, school, scraped knees, now he wanted shared custody now? The kettle whistled sharply, like a scream. I turned it off, my hands shaking. Max’s voice carried down the hall, small and sleepy. “Mama?” I inhaled, steadying myself, smoothing the edges of my voice before I called back, “In the kitchen, sweetheart.” He padded in, hair a mess, dragging his favorit