Beranda / Urban / The Price of Peace: Book 3 In The No More Regrets Series / Bab 11 - Bab 20

Semua Bab The Price of Peace: Book 3 In The No More Regrets Series: Bab 11 - Bab 20

136 Bab

Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde

Shane’s POVBy the time I pull back into the driveway with the kids, the sun is still up, my head is pounding, and my patience is already on life support.We’d spent a couple of hours at my mother’s house eating food, lots of laughter, unsolicited advice, and her pretending not to notice the tension stitched permanently into my face these days. The kids had a good time. That’s what matters.But now?Now I have to walk back into this house.I let out a slow breath, already bracing myself.Because the second we step through that door, Isla is going to transform.A full fucking costume change. Halo polished. Voice sweetened.She becomes Mother Teresa with a side of Pinterest, and the wild part? Even the kids see it now.They’ve noticed how she flips the switch when they’re around versus when it’s just me catching emotional strays for existing in my own home.There have been times she didn’t realize the kids were back early, times she talked to me like I was dirt under her heel, only to f

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Monday Tension

Crandon’s POVMonday 8:00 a.m.By the time I stroll into Morgan & Michaels, I can feel it.The looks.Not the curious ones. Not the respectful ones. The lingering ones. The ones that skim just long enough to remind you that whatever happened hasn’t fully died yet, it’s just been politely buried under corporate etiquette and bad coffee.I keep my face neutral and my stride steady, but internally? I’m exhausted.It hasn’t even been that long since what they lovingly refer to as “Crandon’s nervous breakdown”..like it was some dramatic office episode instead of a slow, brutal unraveling that happened in front of too many witnesses.I’m tired of it.Really fucking tired.So I don’t stop. I don’t explain. I don’t acknowledge anything except the path to my office.Once inside, I shut the door and exhale like I’ve been holding my breath since Friday.I put my briefcase down and take my jacket off.What I need is coffee.I walk straight to the machine and brew the strongest cup known to mankin

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Akeisha is Too Much

Kole’s POVMonday morning 9:45 a.m.Monday mornings are always deceptive.They pretend to be calm, organized, predictable, but in this building, especially on this floor, nothing ever stays that way for long.I know there’s a meeting happening down the hall. A big one. Crandon’s in there, along with Carmen, Tempest, and a few others. It’s one of those cases that doesn’t just involve paperwork and depositions, but it involves reputations, money, and silence being bought at a premium.This high end restaurant group has a multitude of sexual harassment claims, in multiple locations from multiple women.That kind of case never ends quietly.I stay at my desk, going through my own files, responding to emails, pushing my clients forward, trying to stay focused, but my cell phone keeps on ringing. It's the unknown number, again.I stare at it for a few seconds before answering, already irritated.“Hello, Akeisha," I say evenly. “This is Kole.”She laughs.“Oh, so you already know exactly w

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Life and Insecurities

Keisha’s POVBy the time I finish the last report and shut down my screen, my eyes were burning and my shoulders were aching in that familiar way that tells me I’ve been sitting too long, carrying too much, and pushing myself past what I probably should.Some days, my life feels like one long loop.Wake up.Get the baby ready.Breakfast.Work.Pick up the baby.Come home.More work.Try to be present.Try to be soft.Try to be everything.And somewhere in between all of that, I’m supposed to keep my man content, secure, confident, and untouched by doubt.Except… I don’t know if he is.And that thought has been sitting heavy in my chest all day.Especially with her suddenly popping up again. The random calls and text messages. Energy she gives off feels intrusive and intentional. I haven’t told Kole about the DMs I’ve been getting, and maybe that’s my mistake. Maybe I should just sit him down and say it out loud instead of letting it fester in my head.Because the truth is, I already f

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A Day In The Life of Shane

Shane’s POVMonday Morning 6:30 A.M.I wake up to silence.Not the peaceful kind. The kind that makes you aware of what’s missing.For the first time in a long while, there’s no warm body beside me, and for once, it isn’t my wife that I’m noticing the absence of.That thought settles heavy in my chest as I stare up at the ceiling for a moment longer than I should. Then I push myself out of bed and head to the bathroom, muscle memory taking over. Shower. Toothbrush. Comb. Cologne. The routine I’ve perfected over years of early mornings and responsibility. No running with Dom this morning, but I will tomorrow morning at 5 am. By the time I’m dressed in slacks, a white shirt, undershirt, watch, shoes, I look like I’ve got my life together.Funny how appearances work.I grab my briefcase, wallet, keys, set everything by the front door, and head straight into the kitchen. Breakfast doesn’t make itself, and apparently neither does parenting in this house unless I’m the one doing it.I pl

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Morning Responsibility

Isla’s POVMonday morning. 7:45 a.m.The front door slams hard enough to rattle the picture frames in the hallway, and I sigh into my pillow like I’m annoyed, but truthfully, I’ve been awake for a while.Probably longer than Shane has.He loves mornings. Loves routines. Loves feeling productive before the rest of the world even blinks. That man has been getting up early, making bottles, fixing breakfast, packing lunches, and corralling children since our first kid popped out like, Surprise! Hope you like responsibility.He told me back then, real proud too, “I got mornings. You move too slow.”And he wasn’t wrong.So eventually, I stopped trying. He never asked for help, and when I did help, he acted like I was doing everything wrong, wrong order, wrong timing, wrong damn spoon. So I bowed out. Let him run the house like a well oiled machine while I stayed upstairs pretending to sleep.And maybe just maybe, that’s part of why he’s been acting different lately. Shorter and quieter. A l

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Residual Meetings

Crandon’s POVAs I release everyone from the meeting, I let out a slow breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.Everyone’s got their assignments now. Clear lanes across the board. Clear expectations for everyone.Which means I have to work directly with these people.I rub my hand over my face and force myself to calm down, because whatever attitude Carmen had been serving me all meeting long, yeah, that shit isn’t going to fly forever. I’ll have to address it at some point.Just not today.As the room fills with the sounds of chairs scraping and folders snapping shut, my eyes drift to Tempest. She hasn’t missed a thing. She took notes the entire time. Asked smart questions. She had no filler jargon, and she doesn’t have a crazy ego.She is work focused to the core, and she’s only been here a month. I’m already glad we put her on a case this big. Some people rise when things get complicated. She’s clearly one of them.I finish packing my things and clear my throat.“I’ll see everyon

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Mayor Mr. Creeper

Maya’s POVMonday AfternoonI let out a slow breath as I put the final stroke on the third canvas.Done.Three commissioned paintings for Goldman Sachs for thirty-five thousand dollars once they are completed. I should be floating. I should be buzzing with pride. And I am… a little.But if I’m being honest with myself, my inspiration had been trash lately.That is, until Shane put me on cloud nine with his magical penis.I snort softly to myself. A little hooking up doesn’t even begin to cover it. That man knocked something loose in me, and ever since that night, my creativity has been on fire. Colors make sense again. My hands move without hesitation. My mind feels open.Dangerously open.I told my mom to keep Gabby for a few days. Not because I don’t miss my baby, I do, but because her father has been sniffing around again, and I don’t have the time, patience, or emotional bandwidth for his bullshit.He made it very clear what he wanted years ago. Or rather, what he didn’t want.Me,

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Who's This Woman

Shane’s POVTuesday morning 6:15 amTuesday slid in like it always did... loud, early, and completely uninterested in how tired I was.I wake up. Shower. Dress. Get the kids up. Make breakfast.Survive breakfast.Drop them off.Week day clockwork schedule.Except… today, the universe decided to remix my rmundane routine.Isla was awake.Not half awake. Not wandering around like a ghost, but fully fucking present. Her hair was done. Pajamas was traded in for actual clothes. Standing at the stove like this had never been her role.That alone threw me off.She helped with breakfast by making bacon, eggs, and toast, the whole thing, and hell she even did the girls’ hair in neat parts with barrettes and ribbons that matched. Smiles came from the kids like this was Christmas morning.I watched her quietly, my mind snagging on the moment.This was… very new and extremely unusual. Once everyone was fed, dressed, and mostly cooperative, I grabbed my briefcase and cleared my throat.“Hey. I

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Meeting In My Studio

Warning Explicit Scenes Ahead Maya’s POVI finish the last stretch of the painting with a slow exhale, wrist aching just enough to remind me I’ve been standing here for hours.For a private client who was very wealthy, and from New Jersey.Newark, New Jersey, of all places.I let out a soft laugh at that thought, shaking my head as I step back. The deadline isn’t until Saturday, and it’s only Tuesday. I’ve got time. Plenty of it. But when inspiration hits, I don’t fight it, I ride the wave until it lets me go.And today… today it showed up loud.I dip the brush again, adding soft strokes to the sky. The heartbeat hidden behind the sun starts to glow the way I imagined it would, subtle but undeniable. I smile around the handle of the brush when I slip it between my teeth and step back again.It’s beautiful.The painting is for his sick daughter and I decided to create something gentle, something full of hope. A ballerina stands beneath the sky, chin tilted upward, sunlight pouring thr

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