The Years Between Us Novels & Stories

And now, the last lingering threat to her son's safety was permanently crushed. ​She felt two strong, warm arms wrap gently around her waist from behind. Ezekiel pulled her back against his broad chest, resting his chin lightly in the soft crook of her neck. His warm breath fanned across her skin, sending a sweet, familiar warmth through her veins. ​"You're quiet," Ezekiel observed quietly, his deep voice vibrating against her back. ​"I was just realizing that it's over," Sienna whispered, leaning back against him and placing her hands over his forearms. "For two years, we've been running from one war to another. I forgot what it feels like to just... breathe without waiting for another stri

“At least you noticed.” A quiet laugh escaped him. There wasn't much humor in it. “I noticed.” “And?” He shrugged. “I suppose we're both expected to pretend this is normal.” That made me pause. I studied him. Maybe he wasn't as comfortable with this as I thought. “Our parents seem to think it makes sense,” he continued. Our parents. Not us. “Do you want this?” I asked. Justin looked at me. His expression changed. For half a second, something flickered across his face.

All of them looking for romance and financial sponsorship. Nathan stared bleary-eyed at his computer after eight hours of a futile job search. He took a swig from his can of Heineken and wondered at what point in his life did it spiral down so bad that he sat here, jobless at twenty five years of age, looking for a sugar daddy.

Maya December had arrived and gone as well as another year. We were already in January, and if I had thought about everything that had happened in the last year I would have seemed to have lived a hundred lives of different people. A year ago, Nate and I had just come out of limbo, and we decided to be together, to give ourselves a chance, despite the many doubts and fears we had chosen.

[Cordelia] Today is our 20th second anniversary. We've lost count of the first one, forgetting it entirely as a moment of sadness. Instead, we honor the day when we took our vows and meant them, 7 years later in Napa. Usually, we leave Los Angeles and take the week for just the two of us. Even after two decades, we haven't lost our hunger for one another and I look forward to our time away where we can just be two people together and in love.

Neal chimes, always the up for everything. I smile at him. “How about the others? We should do something today since it’s been a long time we did something fun.” Four months after New Year’s Day and the second collapse I had that got everyone worried, it was America’s most favourite celebration of the year. Her birthday.

Program Duration: 1 Year A mentor will be assigned to you on orientation day. Aria covered her mouth with both hands. A sob caught in her throat, this one lighter, softer and joyful. She had done it. Despite everything. She had gotten in. Something warm bloomed in her chest for the first time in a long time. Hope. She whispered to herself: “I can start over.”

Just resignation. We stood there in the alley, the evening bleeding into darkness, while the future rearranged itself. My mind spun through the dominoes: two families, two armies, each with a hair-trigger, both convinced the other had fired the first shot. The outcome was so obvious it almost felt preordained. But then Alexander spoke again, the words so quiet I almost missed them: "We need to disappear for a few hours." I blinked. “Disappear?” “Yes.” “From both families?”

Because all she felt now was wrong. Mara sipped delicately at her tea, her lashes lowering. “How fortunate for you,” she murmured. “Some of us never needed such a grand spectacle to prove ourselves.” Elara’s fork paused against her plate. Her smile was warm, practiced, but Irvine caught the faint flicker of tension in her stepmother’s gaze. “Mara,” she said gently, “perhaps today we could keep the conversation light. It is a family meal right, not a sparring ground.”

I placed the papers on the table, neat and tidy. I was going to leave a message for her, but I did not go through with it. Instead, I said it in my mind, 'Hey honey, this is the last time I'm calling you that, I guess. I spent ten years in love with you. It's really hard doing that, I know, but I'm giving up anyway. Congratulations, to both you and me.' I grabbed my suitcase. The moment the countdown was over, I put my hand on the doorknob.