جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 110

I woke up earlier than usual, not because I had to, but because my mind refused to rest. I lay in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, listening to the quiet hum of the house, trying to convince myself that today would go well; it had to. Last night was already a step forward. Mason came back home. That alone felt like something I shouldn’t take for granted.But today was different; everything would be tested. Zanders suggested he join us for breakfast this morning to get familiar with the kids, and I agreed. Yeah, I did. I don't know what I was thinking, but I did it anyway.I exhaled slowly and pushed the covers off, sitting up. “Okay… one step at a time.”I repeated it softly, like saying it out loud would make it real: it's just breakfast, and all I have to do is to inform them before he arrives, and that's all. I exhaled slowly and pushed through to the back of my head.Because if I thought too far ahead, I’d lose my nerve before the day even started.So instead I focused on

I didn’t trust easy people, and Zanders was… easy. He is not easy in a careless way or in a fake way either. And that was the problem. He was genuinely easy to trust. He is calm, measured, and comfortable in a space that wasn’t welcoming. Like he had already accepted the tension before walking in. And that made it harder to read him.I leaned back in my chair slightly, my gaze fixed on my plate even though I hadn’t taken another bite in minutes. The conversation at the table had moved on. The tension and awkward moments are now starting to ease off. My gaze moved to Ava, who was talking about something, and then to Lila, who added a comment.Mum looked like she could finally breathe again as my gaze lingered on her. The smile on her face as she listened to whatever Ava was saying was a genuine one, and I felt a load lifted off my chest as I watched her. My eyes moved to Zander as he listened to Ava quietly. That’s what stood out the most about him. He didn’t interrupt. Didn’t dominate

I tried not to think about him during the breakfast. I tried to push the thought to the back of my head. But regardless of what I did, my mind kept circling back to the way he looked at me. Or didn’t. To the way he spoke. Short and distant. To the way he made it seem like whatever was between us was something he could just shut off.I sat cross-legged on my bed, laptop open in front of me, a blank document staring back like it was waiting for something meaningful. Something I didn’t have.I tapped the keyboard once, then again, but nothing popped up, not even a single word.I sighed and leaned back, dragging a hand through my hair. “Okay… this is useless.”Writing was supposed to help; it always did. Whenever things got too loud in my head, I wrote down whatever it was, but today? Nothing was coming out; everywhere was just blank, or because every thought in my head somehow led back to him.I closed the laptop with a soft snap and let myself fall back onto the bed, staring up at the c

I didn’t plan to come to the beach, at least that’s what I told myself. The truth?I just needed to get out. The house felt crowded and choking. Not physically, but mentally and emotionally. Too many thoughts in my head at once. Too many things shifting at once. Mason, Zanders,Aunt, and then her. Lila. I just wanted a place without them.I exhaled slowly as I walked along the shoreline, the sand uneven beneath my feet, the sound of the waves steady but not enough to quiet my head. I thought this would help, because it usually did. The space it gives. My mind went back to what happened earlier.___“Do you want to have fun?” Ava asked.I raised an eyebrow. “ Fun?” “Yeah, I was thinking maybe we can all go out and do something fun, or what do you think?” She grinned. “I'm not interested." I muttered and walked away.___I exhaled as my mind drifted back to the present. I would have agreed to go with them, but I knew Lila would definitely be there, so I avoided it. But now that I thin

I stopped mid-step and turned slowly, my body reacting before my mind could even catch up. For a second, I considered ignoring it, just keeping walking, pretending I didn’t hear, and pretending it wasn’t her. But something in the way she called my name, like she was certain, like she knew I would stop, that alone made my jaw tighten. Slowly, I turned around. And there she was, exactly as I remembered, bitchy, with that stupid grin on her face. She looked as if she had stepped out of one of those glossy posters advertising thongs and bras, where everything looked effortless and unreal at the same time.Her blonde hair fell neatly over her shoulders, barely touched by the wind. Her posture was straight and proud, like she owned whatever space she stepped into.And her eyes locked on me, amused.Of course.“Didn’t think you’d actually stop,” she said, her lips curling slightly with a mockery smirk.I crossed my arms instinctively. “What do you want?”She tilted her head, like she was stu