All Chapters of Only You: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Chapter 31: The Sparkly JellyfishCleo’s POVThe journey into town was a chaotic, brilliant blur. Kyle’s red sports car was undeniably sleek and sexy, though wedging a five-year-old’s booster seat into the cramped leather back was a logistical nightmare that involved a lot of undignified grunting and cursing under his breath.We drove straight from the sprawling, Tuscan-inspired villa down the winding hills and into the bustling heart of Galencia Bay.The drive itself was surprisingly domestic. Rosie sat in the back, happily kicking her little light-up trainers against the back of Kyle’s leather seat, enthusiastically singing along to some relentlessly upbeat pop song playing on the radio. Every so often, Kyle would catch my eye in the centre console mirror, a totally besotted, relaxed grin spreading across his handsome face.I looked out of the passenger window, watching the glittering expanse of the bay flash by, feeling a strange, conflicting cocktail of emotions. On one hand, sitt

Chapter 33: The LedgerCleo’s POVI leaned my forehead against the cool, stained glass of the DeLuca’s foyer, the muffled roar of Nonnino’s restaurant behind me feeling worlds away. My heart was still hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs from the suffocating tension back at the table."Mari? Hey, it's Cleo," I said into the phone, pressing a finger to my other ear to block out the clattering of plates and bursts of loud Italian laughter. "Are you and Ben around this afternoon? Kyle and I were wondering if we could pop over after lunch. And... well, we actually have a surprise guest with us who would absolutely love a playdate with Henry.""A surprise guest? Ooh, very mysterious! Yes, absolutely bring them over," Mari’s warm, grounding voice was an instant lifeline. "Henry’s been bouncing off the walls all morning, so a playdate sounds absolutely perfect. Is everything okay, though? You sound a little... frayed.""I'm fine," I lied smoothly, catching Kikka’s sharp, dark eyes trac

Chapter 35 BryceThirteen years ago...The echoing corridors of Galencia Comprehensive were a chaotic, deafening symphony of secondary school life. The air was thick with the smell of cheap body spray and floor polish. Lockers slammed shut like metallic gunfire, trainers squeaked sharply against the scuffed vinyl floors, and scattered groups of teenagers sat huddled against the radiators, wasting time before the piercing shrill of the next bell.Tucked away in a gloomy corner, entirely deliberately, stood a boy leaning heavily against the breezeblock wall. He was deeply engrossed in a thick, battered paperback. He was tall for a thirteen-year-old, his frame gangly and uncoordinated, with a mop of messy blonde hair falling over his forehead. Thick, black-framed glasses slid down his nose, hiding a pair of strikingly bright, icy blue eyes."Hey, loser!"A heavy hand swiped out, violently slapping the book from the boy's grasp. It hit the floor with a loud, humiliating thud, its pages cr

Chapter 37: Twenty-Six Years AgoIt was a bitterly cold and thoroughly miserable February morning. It was the kind of bleak, unforgiving winter day where the sun never truly seemed to rise, trapped behind a thick ceiling of oppressive clouds. Outside the station windows, the freezing rain pounded against the concrete ground forcefully, streaming angrily from a dark, bruised, and violently grey sky. The wind howled through the empty streets, rattling the single-glazed panes of the precinct. Brilliant forks of lightning flashed in the distance, casting stark, momentary shadows across the room, followed swiftly by the low, rumbling roar of thunder that shook the floorboards and intermittently lit up the darkness of the early morning.Inside the briefing room of the Galencia Bay police station, the air was thick with the smell of damp wool uniforms, stale tobacco, and cheap, bitter coffee. The captain stood at the front of the room, looking thoroughly exhausted but entirely focused. He ha

Chapter 39: The HospitalJohnson’s POVThe journey to Galencia Bay Hospital was a blur of wailing sirens, flashing blue lights, and the relentless drumming of the February rain against the roof of the ambulance. I sat rigidly in the cramped, swaying back of the rig, my eyes completely locked onto the tiny, silver-wrapped bundle resting on the stretcher. The older paramedic worked with a terrifying, silent urgency, constantly monitoring the erratic blips on the portable heart monitor. Bryce was so unimaginably small, his fragile chest fighting for every single, shallow breath.When we finally slammed to a halt in the ambulance bay, the transition from the freezing, chaotic morning into the stark, clinical environment of the hospital was jarring. The heavy double doors of the Accident and Emergency department burst open, and we moved in a rapid, coordinated swarm. We bypassed the crowded waiting room entirely, the squeaking wheels of the trolley echoing sharply against the pristine lino