LOGINChapter 79Skylar's POVRory refused to answer my calls.At first, I thought she simply needed time to cool off after what had happened at the café. I had expected a day or two of silence, maybe even a week if she was still angry. But one week became two. Two became a month. Before I knew it, two whole months had slipped by, and every single call I made either rang until it disconnected or went unanswered.Eventually, I stopped trying.Not because I didn't care.Because I wasn't sure whether hearing my voice only made her angrier.The silence between us settled somewhere inside my chest, refusing to leave. Some mornings I would unlock my phone before getting out of bed, hoping to find a message from her. Other times I found myself staring at our old conversation, wondering if I should text instead of calling.Every message I typed ended up deleted before I could send it.No combination of words seemed right.How was I supposed to apologize for slapping my own daughter while also stand
Chapter 78I kept both hands on the wheel even though I could not feel them anymore. The sting in my palm was still there, sharp and immediate and every time I tried to push it away, it came back harder. I had slapped my own daughter. I had raised my hand to my child.The road ahead blurred for a moment and I blinked fast, forcing myself to focus. I would not cry. Not yet. Not while I was still driving.But the truth of what I had done sat heavy in my chest, pressing down like something too large to swallow. I should not have done that. No matter what she said. No matter what she was trying to do. She was still my child and I had let my hurt make me someone I did not want to be.That was Jason's gift to me. That was what years of him had left behind. A woman who could lose herself in a moment, who could reach for violence when words failed her. I hated him for that. I hated what he had shaped me into without me even noticing it was happening.I turned onto the main road and exhaled sl
Chapter 77Skylar POV“I thought we were having a normal conversation Rory but now you say this and… I don't even know what to say”“Mom you need to cut him some slack and stop being judgemental please” “Oh this is it. No wonder you were acting so nice. It's because you wanted to blurt out this nonsense from your mouth and wait…” I pushed up from my seat.The chair legs scraped harshly against the polished floor, the sound cutting through the charged silence like a warning. My heart hammered in my chest as I stood and the weight of years of carefully guarded emotions suddenly pressing down on me in this sterile, neutral-toned room. The soft lighting overhead did nothing to warm the growing tension; instead, it highlighted every micro-expression on their faces. Rory’s determined stare mixed with that flicker of vulnerability she tried to hide, and Ethan’s quiet watchfulness beside her. I had walked into this meeting expecting awkward small talk, maybe even a tentative bridge across t
Chapter 76 Skylar's POV I arrived fifteen minutes early. The café Rory had chosen was located in a quiet part of the city, far from the business district and even farther from the neighborhood where Jason lived. It was the kind of place people visited when they wanted privacy rather than attention. Small wooden tables filled the interior, soft music played through hidden speakers, and the afternoon crowd was light enough that nobody paid much attention to anyone else. I sat near the window and checked my phone for what felt like the tenth time. Not because I expected a message, but waiting made me restless. I had spent years imagining conversations with my children. In some versions they forgave me. In others they refused to speak to me. Sometimes they were angry but sometimes they were curious. Reality, I was discovering, was far more complicated than anything I had imagined. When the café door opened, I looked up immediately. Rory entered first and Ethan followed behind h
Chapter 75 Zane's POV When Skylar arrived at my office that evening, I could tell immediately that she had spent the entire day thinking and she looked mentally exhausted before the day was even over. She walked in carrying her handbag and dropped into the chair opposite mine with a sigh that seemed to come from somewhere deep inside her. I closed the file I had been reviewing and set it aside. "How did it go?" She knew what I meant without asking. "The police station?" She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead. "About as well as you'd expect." "Mara wanted to see the driver." For a moment she stared at the ceiling as though replaying the visit in her mind. "He wasn't what I expected. I thought I'd see somebody arrogant who looked like he didn't care what he'd done. Instead he looked terrified and disheveled and Nervous. Like he'd barely slept." "Did he admit to it?" A short laugh escaped her. "No. Apparently he doesn't remember anything." I shook my hea
Chapter 74Skylar's POVBy the time we arrived at the police station, I was already wondering whether I should have insisted that Mara stay home and rest. She had been discharged only a few hours earlier, and despite the brave face she was putting on, the accident had clearly taken a toll on her. She moved more slowly than usual, and every now and then I caught her pressing a hand lightly against her side when she thought I wasn't looking.Unfortunately, Mara had never been the kind of person who listened when she had made up her mind.The moment she learned the police had found the driver, she decided she wanted to see him for herself, not hear about him.I had tried talking her out of it during the drive."You should be home." I said slowly."You sound like a grandmother." She turned to look at me from the passenger seat. "Skylar, if someone almost killed you and then walked away from the scene, wouldn't you want to see his face?"I didn't answer immediately because the truth was ob
Chapter 7Zane's POVShe came out in the deep burgundy dress.This was the first time I had seen her in something fitted. She always wore flared skirts and loose gowns, but today, I could admit it. She looked very pretty. The dress suited her. She just didn't know it yet."Is that the only one you
Chapter 6Skylar's POV"Don't think too much." He smiled. "I just want to feed you."I exhaled slowly. Why had I immediately assumed he wanted to kiss me again? As if I even wanted him to."Why would you do that? I can feed myself.""You see, that's the thing about you." He set the spoon down brief
Chapter 4Skylar's POVI waited until he left for work the next day. I heard the front door close. His car pulled out of the driveway, and I counted to sixty before I moved. Then I slipped out of the house and made my way to Hot Dishes.I waited for about an hour at the same spot I had sat the prev
Chapter 3Skylar's POV"Leave us for a minute. I'll call you." She told the man behind her. He left without a word.I followed her into the lobby. It was quieter here. A leather sofa sat against the wall and there was faint smell of something expensive."Your personal assistant?" I asked."Yes." Sh







