LOGINMARL'S POV:I sat in my office, staring at the growing stack of case files on my desk without really seeing them.The afternoon light slanted through the blinds, casting stripes across the polished wood. Outside, the city hummed with the usual sounds of traffic and construction and people going about their ordinary lives. Inside, everything was still and silent. The way I liked it.People's perception of me was exactly what I had expected.Slightly wealthy. Highly capable. Picky about cases, the kind of lawyer who only took work that interested him. Difficult to work with. Constantly surrounded by wealthy acquaintances who tolerated me because I was useful.Some of the jealous ones whispered behind my back. They said my high win rate came from flattering rich clients or using underhanded tactics. They said I had never won a case on merit alone. They said I was a fraud wearing a fancy suit.Even some so-called friends believed it.I had heard the whispers for years. They slid through c
MARY'S POV:"Mary." Her voice was warm, familiar. "It's been so long. How are you?""I'm fine," I said. "I need to ask you something.""Of course. Anything.""I'm getting divorced. I need a lawyer."Silence.Long, heavy, uncomfortable silence.I could hear her breathing on the other end of the line. Could hear the rustle of papers, the click of a keyboard, the quiet sound of someone trying to figure out how to say no."Mary," she said finally, "I want to help you. I really do. But... Alistair Vane is one of our biggest donors. If I take your case, I'll lose my job. And so will half the people in this firm.""I understand.""Do you? I'm so sorry. I wish I could—""It's okay," I said. "I understand."We said goodbye. I hung up the phone.And then I sat there, in the empty kitchen, and I let the silence swallow me whole.The last lawyer I met with was a woman named Eleanor Cross.She was in her late fifties, with silver-streaked hair pulled back in a tight bun and glasses perched on the
I had sent them through his lawyer. Through his secretary. Through every channel I could think of. And every time, the response was the same: silence.He was ignoring the papers. Pretending they didn't exist. Living his life as if I had never been a part of it, as if our marriage had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience he could simply outlast.There had once been a time when I still clung to hope.A foolish part of me had believed that maybe, somewhere beneath all the lies and betrayals, Alistair still loved me. Maybe, in his own twisted way, he was trying to protect me. Maybe he was just confused. Maybe he needed time.Now I knew better.He was just a coward. Instead of facing reality, he chose to run from it. Instead of taking responsibility for his mistakes, he buried them beneath a carefully crafted fantasy and pretended the problem no longer existed.He wanted to have everything. The wife at home, the mistress in public, the daughter who worshipped him. He wanted to keep
MARY'S POV:She turned and walked back toward her room, her bare feet padding softly against the hardwood. Her shoulders were slumped, just slightly, the way they always were when she was trying to be brave.I watched her go, and I felt something inside me harden.Not anger or sadness but it was something colder that was becoming more permanent.***That night, I didn't sleep.I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, counting nothing in particular. The house was quiet around me, the type of quiet that only came after midnight, when the world had finally stopped moving. Somewhere down the hall, Elowen was asleep, her small body curled around her stuffed rabbit, dreaming of a father who might show up for once.I thought about the parent-child event. About Elowen's face when I told her I would try. About the way she had nodded, accepting the lie before I had even finished telling it.She knew.Somehow, impossibly, she knew that her father wasn't coming. She knew it the same way she kne
MARY'S POV:Alistair's head snapped toward me."I said apologize to her." His voice was ice. "Right now."I stared at him.At the man kneeling on the floor beside another woman. At the man who had missed his daughter's birthday. At the man who had left me in a jail cell overnight. At the man who had just asked me to apologize for something I hadn't done."Right now, Mary," he repeated. His voice rose, filling the room. "Apologize."I didn't even bother responding.There were no words left. No arguments left. No tears left. I had spent them all, every single one and won't anymore.I turned around and walked into the house. The door closed behind me with a solid click, shutting out the cold air and the lamplight and the sound of Vesper's soft, practiced whimpers.The foyer was dark. The living room was dark. The whole house felt empty, hollowed out, as if someone had scooped out the insides and left nothing but the shell.Behind me, I heard footsteps on the porch. Then knocking. Loud an
MARY'S POV:She was standing exactly where I had left her, her hand still in Alistair's, her expression wounded and innocent. The slip dress hung from her shoulders like a second skin, pale silk that made her look fragile. Untouchable and definitely the kind of woman you wanted to protect.The kind of woman I would never be.I didn't answer. What was there to say? She had already won. She must have known it. Must have felt it, the way the room had shifted, the way Alistair had chosen her, the way I was standing alone in the doorway of my own home wearing another man's coat.Alistair stepped forward, his voice hardening."You can't just leave."I raised my eyebrows."I won't allow it." His jaw was tight, his eyes blazing with something that looked like anger but felt like something else. Something closer to fear. "You're angry right now. I understand that. But does that mean you've done nothing wrong? Vesper was here first. If anyone has been hurt the most in all of this, it's her."Ve
HANNAH’S POV:"Stop," I said, laughing.Martin stepped forward next. "He's right though. You look stunning, Hannah." He gave me a side hug, and I caught a whiff of his cologne. "And you smell fantastic!""Thank you! So do you. Both of you clean up very well.""We try," Lucas said with a grin.But t
HANNAH’S POV:THAT SAME NIGHT:I wasn’t sure how long I was in the elevator as I had shut my eyes tight but I opened my eyes when I felt the elevator move and the light came on. Tears rolled down my cheeks when the door opened and Elijah was standing there with three security behind him officers.
HANNAH’S POV:A WEEK LATER:Today was a beautiful day and I felt it was going to be a just beautiful as the sunrise. I joined the kids and Elijah for breakfast where we drank orange juice, with pancakes and syrup and we shared the grace today. Although my driver was around and well, Elijah offered
HANNAH’S POV:Amelia gasped dramatically. “PANCAKES?!”“Pancakes, fruit, and everything you like.” I announced as I recalled there was a private chef who we could snap our fingers and everything we desired would be served in a blink of an eyexAmelia cheered and jumped up, accidentally dipping her







