MINE. STILL.

My cabin sat at the end of a gravel road, tucked behind towering trees that looked like lazy forest guardians. At the foot of the mountain and near a thawing lake, slowly giving in to the Alaskan summer, the place felt like a parallel universe.It was the kind of spot that looked stolen straight from a movie...Twilight, maybe, if Bella Swan had better taste in interior design.I was out back, curled up barefoot in a creaky wicker chair on the porch, wearing an oversized hoodie and leggings that were starting to pill. Resting in my lap was a half-finished painting. Soft blues, grays, and streaks of orange pulled from memory.My phone kept buzzing beside my mug of tea. Once. Twice. Maybe fifteen times. Emails from architecture clients. A gallery checking in about the fall collection. Someone from the office claiming it was “urgent.”I glanced at the screen, then flipped it face down.Colors started dancing across my canvas. I didn’t even know what I was painting, and strangely, that fel

If heaven were real, it would look exactly like my old bedroom at the Bahr mansion. Fresh linen sheets washed with eucalyptus-scented softener, perfectly chilled air conditioning, and five cats lounging around me like I was some kind of domestic goddess from ancient Egypt.Lucifer curled up on my favorite pillow like he paid rent. Morticia sat like royalty on my vanity, plotting a coup. Chanel circled in front of the mirror, meowing softly. Nacho bounced after his own shadow like a maniac. And Butters… threw up in the corner of the Persian wool rug.“Oh my God, Butters,” I groaned, grabbing tissues and wiping the mess. “Do you have any idea how much this rug costs? It’s more expensive than Damian’s first car. But sure. Go ahead. I just pay the bills.”Lucifer gave me a slow, bored blink with one eye.“I know, Handsome. I know. You don’t need me. But listen, if I die first, you’re coming to the grave with me. Let’s see who wins in the end.”Before I could finish ranting to my fluffy ga

I was lying on my side, my back sinking into the soft mattress, with five warm bodies clinging to me like magnets.Lucifer had taken over my pillow, as always, one eye half open as if to say you’re just a tenant in this bed, human.Morticia stretched across my waist with regal weight, her sleek black body heavy, dignified, like she was composing a tragedy in her sleep.Chanel curled by my feet, fur like silk, purring in that quiet, refined way that felt too elegant for this world.Nacho, of course, picked the least comfortable spot: smack on my chest, legs sprawled like I was some cheap sofa. His breath was hot, his whiskers brushing my nose again and again.And Butters… Butters had claimed the space right next to my face, close enough that I could smell his fur faintly sour, like spoiled milk. His head pressed against my cheek, his body shivering with every snore.A short laugh escaped me. “Really? Out of the whole bed, you all decide to form infantry on top of me?”Lucifer didn’t mo

I inhaled.Then again.And again, until my lungs protested.If I didn’t get my breathing under control, I was two seconds away from yanking Theo’s IV pole and smacking him with it until he realized this wasn’t Disneyland anymore and we didn’t live in the fairyland of “happily ever after.”Though, honestly... Claudia would probably didn’t love that. And I was far too classy to give her that satisfaction.So, with a face I hoped looked calm, though my jaw was locked tight and my left hand was gripping the hem of my coat like I was bracing for a 6.0 earthquake, I nodded. Slowly.“Aspen, huh?” I repeated.Theo’s smile lit up like Lucifer being praised for not peeing on an expensive rug. “Yeah. You said you wanted peace and quiet. Away from everyone. Just us.”Oh, God.I wanted to laugh. Loud. Roll on the floor of this hospital pointing at his face, screaming, ‘Just us? Bro, we can’t survive five minutes in the same room without wanting to set each other on fire!’But if I didn’t at least

After a lunch full of overpriced pasta, too much laughter, and two best friends who clearly enjoyed my misery way too much, I went home.My parents’ house stood as arrogantly as ever. A classic façade with wrought-iron balconies, tall windows, and a front garden so perfectly manicured it could almost hide the fact its inhabitants were dramatic as hell.I slipped inside, hung my coat on the rattan hook by the door, and was immediately hit by the familiar scent of Mom’s kitchen: garlic, tomatoes, and something that would almost certainly make me regret having eaten lunch earlier.“Dianna? You’re home?” Her voice carried from the kitchen, followed by a clatter of pots far too loud to be an accident.I didn’t answer. Just climbed two steps at a time and drifted into my room.The second the door shut, I collapsed onto my bed, face tilted to the ceiling, phone clutched in my hand.PING.One notification.The name across the screen: Claudia Rodriguez.I inhaled deeply, opened it, and there i