All Chapters of WHICH MAN STAYS?: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

MAYA'S POVThe bell rang, a bright, cheerful sound that felt out of place in my heavy life. Leo’s new school was a small, private place with a green playground, paid for by Clara’s money. Part of the “stable environment” our deal provided. I stood at the iron gates with the other parents, a group of women in expensive yoga clothes who smiled politely but never asked my name. I was the quiet one from the penthouse on the hill. The one with the… complicated family situation.The doors burst open and a stream of small children in blue uniforms poured out. Leo saw me and his face lit up. He ran, his backpack bouncing, and crashed into my legs. “Mommy! We painted frogs today!”I hugged him, breathing in the smell of tempera paint and little boy. This moment, this pickup, was the purest part of my day. It belonged to us.“Frogs sound awesome,” I said, taking his hand. “Let’s go home and you can tell me all about them.”We turned to walk to where the driver Clara insisted on waited at the cu

CLARA'S POV The silence in my study is not empty. It is a cultivated medium, like the gel in a petri dish, perfect for fostering cold, clear thought. I stare at the image on my tablet—Maya, caught in a laugh that is too free, and him. James Miller. A name provided, for a considerable f*e, within the hour. Childhood friend. Architect. Single. I feel no hot surge of jealousy. I dissect that emotion, as I have all others. Jealousy implies a fear of loss, a recognition that another’s claim might supersede your own. I do not fear. I assess. This man is not a threat to my possession; he is a new variable in my equation. The question is one of application. How best to utilize him? Liam’s brittle silence over the past day has been its own confession. He moves through our home like a ghost expecting an exorcism. If I confronted him, it would grant him a battle—a messy, emotional war I have no interest in fighting. Let him simmer in his own dread. Let him wonder what I know, when I will stri

MAYA'S POV The weight of Liam’s gaze was a physical touch, a hand clenched around my throat. I stared at my seared scallop, unable to lift my fork. James’s easy chatter about sustainable urban design had become a distant hum, drowned out by the roaring silence from the small table for one, three yards to my left.“You’re not listening to a word I’m saying, are you?” James’s voice, gentle but edged with amusement, cut through.I flinched. “I’m sorry. It’s just… a lot.”“The menu or the company?” he asked, his smile fading as he followed the fractured line of my attention. He turned in his chair, his eyes landing on Liam. I saw the moment of simple recognition, then the slower, deeper click of understanding.He turned back to me, his face carefully neutral. “Liam Thorne.”It wasn’t a question. The way he said the name—a flat statement, devoid of the warmth he’d used all evening—told me everything. He remembered. The high school halls, the unspoken divisions. The golden boy and the rest

MAYA'S POV The silence in the west wing was a roar in my ears. Leo slept, a small, peaceful mound under his dinosaur comforter, his breathing deep and even. Clara’s lie—her threat—had been just that. He was fine. He was always fine. She’d just needed the right lever to pry me away from the restaurant, from James, from the faint, fleeting echo of a normal life.The emerald blouse felt like a lie against my skin. I peeled it off, letting it pool on the floor like a shed serpent skin, and pulled on a soft, worn sweatshirt. The familiarity of the cotton was a small comfort. But I was cold, a deep chill that had settled in my bones the moment Liam had said Leo’s name in that desperate, broken voice.I’d left Leo’s favorite stuffed rabbit, Mr. Hops, in the downstairs sitting room earlier. He’d ask for it in the morning. It was a flimsy excuse, but it was enough. I couldn’t stay in this room with just my thoughts for company. I needed to move. To prove to myself I could still walk through t

JAMES POVThe text from Maya was a lifeline. After the silent car ride from hell, after watching her walk back into that museum of a house looking shattered, I’d assumed that was it. Door closed. History. The sight of Liam Thorne looming over our table, a storm of possessive agony, had painted a clear, ugly picture I thought I understood.But then: Can we do a do-over of the dinner again?I stared at the words for a full minute, a hopeful warmth cutting through my own frustration. She wanted a redo. She wanted to erase the poisoned night. She was choosing me. It felt like a victory.Then, the miracle. The next morning, an email confirmation from The Grove. For Saturday at eight. Chef’s counter. I laughed aloud in my quiet apartment. I’d been on the waitlist for months. It had to be a sign. Fate, or karma, or just dumb, beautiful luck was aligning. I wrote back to her immediately, the excitement in my words genuine. You read my mind. The Grove, Saturday at 8. A real do-over. No spectat