Home Again A Novel Novels & Stories

At the very least, not now. Two days after I was discharged, Aiden finally came home. Chloe was sent to her grandmother's house. I was sitting alone at the dining table, eating a bowl of plain noodles. He walked in, took off his coat, changed his shoes, and glanced at me. His voice was indifferent as he said he was out of town for a conference the past two days. I kept my head down, focusing on my noodles, and didn't bother responding.

Fate often guides two soul mates in the right direction to find each other. Upon Your Return by Marie Lavender Book one of the Heiresses in Love Series Prologue November 8, 1853 Fara Bellamont stepped away from the bay window overlooking the harbor. She didn't want to move; she would miss her home too much. The view of the waves rocking against the hulls of the ships in the harbor had calmed her restless soul on many sleepless nights. There was something about the greenish hue of the ocean and its gentle sway which drew her to it. It was a sight she welcomed but was not exactly in her blood. Her parents' home was but a carriage ride away from port. Her father was a businessman who had acquir

I sit up and take a deep breath. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sleep so long, where are we?” I ask rubbing my eyes and stretching “We are in Mobile Alabama ” he says keeping his eyes on the road “It’s fine it was nice to just think to myself for a while. You were right Ro; it does suck not having anyone else but our family. I wish I could grow relationships with people and know they will be in my future, but that’s just not the life we were given, and I hate to say this, but we just have to deal with it.”

The next day, I booked a flight home. Samantha was reluctant to see me go and insisted on taking me all the way to the airport. I hugged her tightly. Over these past days, I truly had drawn a great deal of strength from her. When I returned home, the first thing I saw in the living room was our wedding photo. The wedding ring Sean had taken off still lay alone on the table, making that portrait feel all the more ironic. Marriage can’t hold down an unfaithful man, but it can trap a woman still struggling in love.

She drove around the city aimlessly, unsure where she should go. The Sherwood residence? That was out of the question. She figured Elijah had probably married Juliette by now. Maybe they even had a child together, making Coby's wish come true. The family portrait that helped her make up her mind most likely featured a family of four now. As for the Graham residence, Maya had enough self-awareness to know that Jerry and Bertha wouldn't acknowledge her as part of the family. Thus, when Lawrence suggested restoring her identity as Julia Graham, she said, "Forget it. I quite like the name Maya Jamison. Let's leave Julia in the past."

She was nothing more than a thief who had stolen someone else's destiny. Then, a month ago, Alyssa suddenly returned. The news was like a stone dropped into still water, shattering the fragile dream Yuliana had lived in for three years. Since Alyssa's return, Charlie had been spending less and less time at home. Deep down, Yuliana knew it was time to return the title of Mrs. Zimmer—a title she held in name only—to its rightful owner. By letting go, she gave them a chance at happiness and found her own peace.

I glanced sideways and saw Isabella desperately trying to hide her face behind my shoulder, yet her hand clung to mine with a strength that surprised me. Amid the deafening cheers, I looked at my family in the front row. Their faces were almost ashen. In that moment, I felt no vindication or even hatred. Because at last, in this reckoning 20 years overdue, I'd taken that scarred little girl by the hand and led her home. I finally understood that home wasn't where one was born, but where the love was.

"Finish this one, then take a break. You've studied enough today." Mom rested her chin in her hand and watched Sadie work. Her eyes held the kind of pride and warmth I hadn't gotten from her in forever. Then someone knocked. Mom's whole body relaxed, like she'd finally released a breath. "Vienna's back," Sadie said, smiling. "She came home to say sorry." Mom stayed in her chair. She just tipped her chin at the door. "Don't you have a key? Open it yourself." Nothing. A few seconds passed. Mom frowned and called again.

And I will find myself back where I was yesterday: that gray alley, that dirty kitchen, that life without light. — Come in, my dear. You are home now, whispers the woman beside me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. Home. Those two words strike hard in my chest. Like a foreign truth, a half-whispered dream. Home. As if I belong here. I take a step, then another. The air smells of jasmine, beeswax, and old wood. It is a warm, enveloping scent. A scent of home. I have not known many homes.

Three years after my release from prison, I ran into my ex-wife in the presidential suite of the most exclusive hotel in Bayshore. It had been years since I last saw her. She was draped in a silk robe, radiating wealth. When she recognized me, something unreadable passed through Cecily Monroe's eyes. "On the day you got out, why didn't you wait for me to come pick you up?" I said nothing and handed over the takeout. Her gaze dropped to the scar on my wrist, and her breath caught. "I went too far with that. But you've always been tougher than Adrian. You can always get back on your feet." She was talking about what happened six years ago, when Adrian Burke was involved in a catastrophic