All Chapters of Only You: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Tiana’s POVThe dream was heavy - a suffocating mist that tasted of copper and old paper. I was running toward a door that kept shrinking, the handle slipping through my fingers every time I reached for it. I could hear a heartbeat, but I wasn't sure if it was mine or the house's. It was a rhythmic, thudding sound that eventually morphed into something sharper, something more mechanical. I turned around and saw a face - Ben’s face - but the eyes were wrong. They weren’t the kind, familiar eyes of the boy I’d shared a sandbox with at Primary school. They were eerie, dark, bottomless pits.Rrrrrimgggggg.The sound didn’t just ring; it vibrated through the springs of the sofa and directly into my skull. I jolted upright, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. For a confused second, I didn't know where I was. The room was bathed in the hazy, dim orange of the streetlights filtering through the blinds, casting long, slatted shadows across the hardwood floor of my Fellsdello a

Mari’s POVI stared intently at the glow of the laptop screen, the blue light making the fine lines around my eyes feel deeper than they were. Being married for the last eight years meant I had never even glimpsed a dating website. The world had changed. Love was now a commodity you could swipe through while waiting for the kettle to boil. For Tia, though, I would do anything.We weren't just friends; we were sisters in every way that mattered. My mind drifted back to the day she came to live with us - the small, wide-eyed girl clutching a tattered teddy bear after her mother’s funeral. My parents had been her godparents, a promise made in a hospital room years before that they never hesitated to keep. Technically, we were legal siblings, but the bond went deeper. She was the calm to my storm, the quiet my chaotic energy. Watching her wall herself off from the world for the last two years had been like watching a vibrant painting fade in the sun."Okay," I recited, my fingers clicking

Chapter 5: Dirty HarryMarissa’s POVWaaaaaahhhhhhh. Waaaaaahhhhh.The sound cut through my dream like a rusty blade. One moment, I was on a yacht off the coast of Amalfi, a waiter named Lorenzo bringing me an Aperol Spritz while the gentle Mediterranean lapped against the hull. The next, I was in a detached house in Fellsdello, staring at the ceiling in the grey pre-dawn light, listening to my youngest son’s lungs operating at full, terrifying capacity."Ben," I whispered, nudging the mountain of duvet beside me. "Ben, Harry’s crying. It’s your turn."The mountain didn't move. A loud, rhythmic snore rumbled through the room, sounding less like a husband and more like a contented walrus."BEN!" I repeated, sharper this time. I drove a bony elbow into his ribs. He just grunted, rolled over, and pulled the covers higher, cocooning himself in a fortress of denial.I glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. 5:30 AM. Fantastic."You owe me big time, Mr. Bardeau," I grumbled, swingin

Chapter 7: The TransformationMarissa’s POVThe shower rained down over me like liquid fire, the heat sinking into my aching muscles and loosening the knots that seemed to have taken permanent residence in my shoulders. I inhaled deeply, the steam opening up my lungs and helping to release the frantic pressures of the morning. The scent of my designer perfume fragranced body wash filled the cubicle - a small, selfish luxury in a house dominated by the smell of baby powder and wet wipes.Every exhale felt like I was breathing out a little bit of the "Mummy" stress - the poonamis, the tantrums, the endless mental checklist - and breathing in a little bit of "Marissa." Not Marissa the COO, not Marissa the mother, just... Marissa. The woman who liked velvet, loud laughter, and margaritas.Cleo had pushed me hard this morning. We’d run three miles along the river, and my legs felt like lead, a dull throb that reminded me I was definitely not twenty-one anymore. But the pain was worth it. I

Chapter 9Tiana’s POVI was just slipping on my black kitten heels - well, mostly hopping around the room on one leg while wrestling the leather strap around my ankle - when my phone buzzed aggressively against the duvet cover.I abandoned the shoe struggle, letting my foot drop to the floor with a thud, and flopped onto the mattress to check the screen. It was the Margarita Señoritas group chat."FANDANGOS BABY!"The caption was typed in all caps, screaming enthusiasm, but the accompanying photo screamed pure, unadulterated glamour. It was a mirror selfie of Marissa, and honestly, it was rude of her to look that good before noon. She was wearing a turquoise velvet dress that hugged her frame in all the right places, finished with matching shoes that looked expensive enough to require their own insurance policy.Her red hair had been fishtailed to the left with surgical precision, leaving just a few strands loose on the other side for that "effortless" balance that actually takes twen