All Chapters of Until You: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

Author's Note:I hope you enjoy my latest novel. This is a story of love and betrayal. I warn you now, it doesn't contain explicit sex scenes. My spelling is NZ spelling, so you will find words spelt differently (s instead of z, u in words like colour).🌿 Layla's Point of ViewHappiness, I thought, was what stayed when the noise left. Not fireworks, but settling. Not applause, but the hum that follows when the dishes are done. The kind of quiet that keeps a house stitched together.I used to think happiness was quiet.Not the loud, champagne-popping kind that filled engagement parties or milestone anniversaries, but the still sort, the hum of the dishwasher after dinner, the soft weight of my husband's arm draped over me in sleep, the rhythm of two people who had built a life together brick by brick.That morning was one of those quiet ones. The sun had barely crept over the treeline when I stepped barefoot into the kitchen, the cool tile biting gently at my soles. My phone rested on

🌿 Rider's Point of ViewApproximately six months agoCrowds have a sound all their own. Not laughter, not applause, just a static that grates like sand between gears. I'd learned long ago that noise was camouflage. Betrayal, ambition, and desperation all hide best in ballrooms.The fundraiser had been my assistant Rhea's idea."Brand visibility," she'd said, sliding the folder across my desk with that sharp, efficient smile. "A chance to put a face to the name. You can't hide behind spreadsheets forever, Rider."I hadn't bothered explaining that I preferred spreadsheets to small talk, or that shaking hands with half the city didn't interest me. Public events were noisy, shallow, draining. But the foundation we were backing did good work. It was a cause worth supporting, and that had been enough to make me show up.So I traded spreadsheets for chandeliers. The ballroom reeked of roses and money; floral arrangements towered over most guests, and the perfume was sharp enough to sting. C