MasukLydia POVSaturday mornings had always felt different.The city seemed quieter, the roads less impatient, and for once, my phone wasn’t vibrating every three minutes with another work emergency demanding my attention.After everything that had happened over the past few weeks—the endless meetings with Theo, crisis strategies, custody conversations, and trying to balance my company with motherhood—I desperately needed a day that wasn’t about fixing someone’s life.Today wasn’t about PR.It wasn’t about shareholders.It wasn’t about lawsuits or boardrooms.Today belonged entirely to my children.Ever since I’d told them about the playdate with Brooke, they had been counting down the days as though Christmas had arrived early.Mostly Ava.Eli simply enjoyed reminding his sister that if she annoyed the science girl too much, she’d probably invent a machine that launched people into another galaxy.Ava had immediately informed him that wasn’t how science worked.Eli, naturally, disagreed.
Lydia POVTrue to his word, he was at the cafe thirty minutes later.Not twenty-eight.Not thirty-three.Thirty.I glanced up from my laptop He looked noticeably different from earlier that morning.He was still impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit, his tie perfectly straight, not a single strand of hair out of place. To anyone else, he would have looked exactly the same.But after today’s conversation…I noticed the things other people probably wouldn’t.The slight shadows beneath his eyes.The stiffness in his shoulders.The way he smiled before he’d even reached me, as though trying to reassure me that he wasn’t about to fall apart.It was the smile people wore when they were trying to convince themselves they were okay.“You’re punctual.”He chuckled.“I’ve been told that’s one of my better qualities.”I gestured toward the chair opposite me.“Sit.”He did.For a moment, neither of us spoke.The silence wasn’t uncomfortable.It was simply… thoughtful.Theo was the first to break
Lydia POVThe lecture was supposed to end after ninety minutes.Nearly two and a half hours later, I was still standing at the front of the lecture theatre.At some point, the official Q&A had dissolved into something far less formal. The students had abandoned the microphones and gathered around the stage instead, some sitting cross-legged on the steps, others leaning against desks with notebooks balanced on their laps. The atmosphere no longer felt like a guest lecture. It felt like a conversation.I didn’t mind.In fact, these were always my favorite parts.Anyone could stand behind a podium and deliver a polished presentation.The real magic happened when curious people started asking difficult questions.A young man in the second row raised his hand.“Ma’am… what’s the biggest mistake young PR professionals make?”I smiled.“They think they’re being hired to speak.”Several students looked confused.I continued.“They’re not.”“They’re being hired to listen.”I stepped away from
Lydia POVThe moment I stepped out of the car, the familiar scent of freshly cut grass mixed with old brick buildings and roasted coffee drifted through the air.Universities had a smell.Not a perfume.Not something bottled.Just… possibility.Students hurried across the courtyard carrying laptops that looked far too expensive for people who claimed to be broke. A few sat beneath enormous trees rehearsing presentations, while others occupied every available bench, laughing loudly over conversations that probably felt life-changing in the moment.I smiled to myself.Some things never changed.There was always someone running because they were late.Always someone pretending to study while actually gossiping.Always a couple arguing quietly outside the library.Always someone convinced they were about to fail an exam they’d probably ace.It was strangely comforting.A young woman wearing a university volunteer badge hurried toward me.“Ms. Lydia?”I nodded.“Welcome. We’ve been expecti
Lydia POVThe office felt strangely hollow after Theo left.For several seconds, I remained exactly where I was, my fingers still resting against the edge of my desk as though moving too quickly might somehow undo everything I had just heard.The soft click of the door echoed through the room before silence settled over it again.Outside, the building was alive.Phones rang in neighboring offices. Someone laughed down the hallway. The printer outside my assistant’s desk hummed endlessly as another stack of reports slid into the output tray. Life had resumed its usual rhythm.Mine hadn’t.I slowly walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. From up here, everything looked impossibly small. Tiny cars crawled through intersections. People hurried along sidewalks carrying coffees and briefcases, each of them wrapped up in lives I would never know.It was funny.The higher you climbed, the more insignificant everything below looked.Yet somehow the problems inside this
Lydia POVTheo fell silent again.Neither of us seemed in any hurry to continue.Outside my office, I could faintly hear people moving about, printers humming, phones ringing, and heels clicking against marble floors. It was the usual rhythm of a busy workday, yet somehow it felt incredibly distant.Inside my office, it was just the two of us.One listening.One remembering.After a long moment, Theo finally broke the silence.“I thought the divorce would be the hardest part.”He gave a small shake of his head.“I was wrong.”His fingers absentmindedly rotated the wedding band that was no longer there, the habit clearly surviving long after the ring itself.“The divorce was painful.”“But it ended.”“The custody battle…”His jaw clenched.“…never seems to.”I frowned.“What happened?”He leaned back slowly.“Initially, we agreed on shared custody.”“Everything was surprisingly civil.”“I thought maybe…”He smiled sadly.“…maybe we’d at least be good parents, even if we weren’t good sp
Lydia POV A formal strategy session That’s what it was called But it felt like something else entirely Controlled Tight Precise I walked into the room first as always My team followed files ready screens set everyone in position I didn’t look at him immediately I knew he was there I
Lydia POV“—we don’t wait for public reaction,” I said,, “we shape it before it becomes a narrative.”My team nodded on the conference call.Pens moving.Tablets tapping.Then the door opened.I didn’t turn immediately.I rarely do.Clients walk in all the time.Late. Early. Nervous. Arrogant.It’s
POV: AvaI believe I am the more logical twin.Eli disagrees.But Eli also once ate glue because he said the label claimed it was non toxic and he wanted to “verify.”So his judgment is compromised.Our mother says we are both alarming in different ways.Which I consider fair.Mummy is very strong.
Lydia POVI stared at Madam Eloise’s card for so long my supervisor had to physically pluck it from my hand.“Lydia.”I blinked.She waved the card once in front of my face.“You’re not seriously considering saying no, are you?”The office had gone suspiciously quiet.Even Clara was staring.“I…” I







