Lahat ng Kabanata ng Hate Me, Desire Me: Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 47

TIARA MCKENZIE'S POVThe sunlight slipped through the edges of the hotel curtains, casting soft golden stripes across the carpet and the side of the bed. I sat on the armchair, legs pulled to my chest, wearing the same clothes from last night and feeling like my skin didn't belong to me. My eyes burned, not from tears, but from the kind of exhaustion that sits in the bones after something inside you has shattered. I didn't know what time it was, but the quiet hum of the city waking up made it clear that morning had arrived whether I wanted it to or not. Everything about this day felt too bright for the kind of heaviness I was carrying.Elijah was asleep on the floor, his back turned to me, a pillow wedged under his head and the spare blanket bunched around his legs. He hadn't said much after I told him I was still leaving. No

TIARA MCKENZIE'S POINT OF VIEWThe first light of morning slipped past the curtains, painting the room in a pale golden hue. I blinked awake slowly, and the first thing my eyes landed on was the silver bracelet around my wrist. The lily charm glinted against the sunlight, innocent and beautiful, as though it had been meant for me all along. I turned my arm gently, considering unclasping it before anyone could see, but my fingers hesitated. Somehow, it felt heavier than its weight. It was not just metal. It was Elijah's presence lingering on me, even across oceans.I lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, feeling the way silence pressed against my ears. Sleep had not been generous last night. The bracelet had kept reminding me of him, of everything that was said and unsaid, of everything we were and weren't. My heart argued between removing it to protect myself and keeping it to protect the fragile thread that still existed between us. I hated the pull, the way one simple gift

TIARA MCKENZIE'S POINT OF VIEWThe house had settled into a quiet rhythm after the broadcast, the kind of hush that comes when everyone drifts into their own corners, retreating into private worlds. Genesis’s laughter floated faintly from upstairs as she played, her little voice spilling through the floorboards like sunlight through cracks, bright and untouchable. Vera had retreated to the study with a stack of paperwork, her pen scratching quietly against the silence, while Cameron busied himself in the kitchen, humming a tune under his breath as he chopped vegetables.The air was thick with the scent of garlic and something warm simmering, but it did little to dispel the heaviness that pressed down on me. I sat alone on the sofa, staring at the darkened television screen, its reflection showing a version of me I barely recognized, shadows curling around my features.My phone buzzed suddenly against the coffee table, vibrating loud enough to make me jump. The sharp sound shattered th

TIARA MCKENZIE'S POINT OF VIEW"You can't keep avoiding this, Tia," she said softly, her voice steady, almost gentle. "Genesis is asking questions. And the more he sends, the deeper those questions will cut."Her words sliced through me even without sharpness. I leaned against the counter, pressing my palms into the wood as though I could hold myself upright with sheer force."I know," I whispered, my voice trembling. "Do you think I don't know?"Vera's eyes softened, but she didn't relent. "Then what are you going to do?" she asked quietly.The question landed between us like a stone in water, rippling outward until the silence rang louder than her voice. My throat closed, the words clawing at the back of it, but I had nothing to give her. Nothing that would satisfy, nothing that would erase the ache that had rooted itself in both me and my daughter."I want to protect her," I said finally, my voice cracking under the weight of it. "She deserves a childhood free of complications, fre