All Chapters of He was never mine: Chapter 211 - Chapter 220

227 Chapters

Not A Vacation

Wyatt’s POVAvery was curled up on the couch with her sketchbook when I sat beside her. I draped an arm along the back of the couch behind her shoulders.“Anna invited us to her birthday.”That got her attention immediately.“Your stepmother’s birthday?” She looked up. I nodded. “At the estate. Four days. Maybe five.”Her eyes widened instantly. She set the pencil down and turned to face me, eyes already lighting up. "You mean like a vacation?"I almost laughed. "A family gathering.""Same thing.""Avery.""What? Big house, pool, food I don't have to cook." She shrugged, with a grin. "Sounds like a vacation to me."I didn't argue. Nothing involving the Sterlings was ever simple.But she’d buried herself in Monochrome crises for weeks, and if four days at the estate meant she got to breathe for a minute, I wasn't going to be the one who ruined that for her.She was off the couch before I finished my drink, and headed to the bedroom with a bounce in her step. By the time I caught up,

A Familiar Object

Wyatt's POVThe fork in Eleanor's hand hovered over her plate, waiting.Avery set hers down slowly, buying time to steady her voice. “No,” she said. “I still don’t remember anything about that night.”Eleanor nodded. She patted Avery’s hand twice. “Such a shame.” She sighed. “I was told you were expecting at the time.”Avery went still beside me. Most people wouldn’t have noticed it but I did.Her fingers tightened around her glass and her breathing changed. I almost reached for her hand under the table, but I didn’t. Sometimes touching a wound only reminds you it’s there.“I always thought pregnant women were supposed to be careful on stairs,” a younger cousin said from down the table. The room went completely silent. Somewhere down the table, a fork hit porcelain. The sound seemed far louder than it should have been.“Enough.” Uncle Edward’s voice cut through. He rarely raised his voice which was exactly why everyone listened when he did. “This is a dinner table, not an interrogat

What She Remembers

Wyatt’s Pov"Wyatt…I think… I… I've seen that before," she whispered.Her hand pressed flat against her temple, fingers trembling. Her eyes went unfocused, staring through the barbecue and the grass like she saw something else entirely.I grabbed her arm to steady her. “Hey. Look at me.”She didn’t. Her lips parted and the words came out broken."Dark…" Her fingers dug into my forearm. "Stairs…""Pain…""A voice…""Metal…"Then her whole body went rigid and her breathing went shallow and fast. This wasn’t just panic, her brain had cracked open something sealed for years.Nate cut through the crowd first. “Avery?” He scanned her face. “What’s wrong with her?”Anna rushed up right behind him. “Oh God, Avery, are you ok? should we call a doctor?”Half the family crowded around us within seconds."What happened?""Someone get water…"“Everyone back up,” I said quietly and the crowd pulled back. I turned to Anna. “She needs to lie down. We’re going upstairs.”I kept my arm tight around Ave

In The Dark

Avery 's POVI heard everything.I’d come downstairs to grab water and had barely reached the back corridor when Nate’s voice carried across the terrace.By the time I realized what I was hearing, it was already too late to walk away.So I stood there in the doorway and listened to everything.Ridgefield…He'd dropped that word like a grenade he'd carried for months.The crowd broke up slowly after that. People didn’t know where to look and voices dropped low. Someone steered the kids back inside. Anna stood near the grill with her arms folded, face tight like she’d seen one too many of Sterling dramas.I turned back toward the house. I needed air, even though I was already outside.Then Celeste stepped into my path.No smile, no polished expression this time. She walked straight at me with her arms loose at her sides and eyes locked on mine. For a second I couldn’t read what she planned to do but I held my ground.She stopped close enough that I could see the tension in her jaw, her

The Fall

Wyatt's POVMy hand reached for Avery’s side of the bed before I fully woke up. The sheet was cold and her space was empty. My eyes snapped open immediately. I sat up fast and scanned the room. Bathroom dark, balcony curtains still, no sound anywhere.I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and opened the security app. After yesterday’s memory flash and Celeste’s terrified face, my mind skipped straight to the worst.I opened the first camera feed, empty. Front entrance, empty. Back garden, nothing.My stomach tightened.I switched to another camera, then another and finally, a figure appeared on the east staircase feed, Avery.She stood beside the landing window, staring down toward the garden, completely still and safe.Relief hit hard enough to ache in my chest. I was already moving.I came around the corner quietly. Avery still hadn’t noticed me. Her attention was completely fixed on the phone in her hands.Thumbs flew across the screen, brows furrowed tight. She looked far more fo

Not An Accident

Wyatt’s POVI stayed crouched beside the broken railing for another minute after everyone disappeared inside. The party tried to restart, the music came back on. A few cousins stayed in the pool but the easy vibe had vanished. Staffs clustered in small groups and kept glancing toward the house.My eyes drifted across the deck. Celeste sat exactly where she’d been for hours. Sunglasses on, drink in hand, leg crossed. She looked like she was enjoying a normal afternoon. Not like her husband had demanded a divorce in front of everyone, not like he’d just crashed hard enough to possibly break bones.She turned her head slightly and our eyes met. She held the look for one second, then lifted her glass and took a slow sip. I stood and went inside.Nate’s room was packed when I arrived. Anna pressed an ice pack to his ankle. Someone tried shoving a pillow under his leg but he pushed it away and the doctor couldn’t even get close to him.“Everybody out,” I said from the doorway.All hea

Bathroom

Wyatt's POVI pulled Avery straight into the bathroom. The massive glass shower gleamed under the low lights, steam already rising as I cranked the hot water on full. It poured down in a heavy rush, filling the space with heat and the steady roar that drowned out every noise in the house.Avery stepped in first, still in her bikini, water instantly soaking her hair and making the fabric cling to her body like a second skin.I followed, sliding the glass door closed with a soft thud. She turned to me, eyes tired but sparkling with that spark I loved, and I didn’t hesitate. I cupped her face with both hands and kissed her. Our lips met soft and slow at first, tasting the day’s salt and exhaustion. Her arms looped around my neck, fingers sliding into my wet hair, and the kiss deepened. Tongues tangled, gentle then urgent, like we were pouring all the leftover tension from the pool party into each other. She pressed closer, her body molding to mine under the spray.“You feel like ever

Birthday

Avery’s PovI woke up smiling into the pillow. Last night in the shower replayed in my mind, the hot water, Wyatt’s hands on my face, his low voice telling me he loved me like it was the simplest truth in the world. The way he’d held me after, as if I was the only thing that mattered. I pressed my face deeper, trying to stop the grin but it wasn’t working.The bedroom door opened. Wyatt came in, balancing a tray with coffee, fruit, pancakes, and the orange juice. He set it on the nightstand and turned.He stopped when he saw my face. "What?" he asked, already suspicious."Nothing." I sat up and reached for the coffee."You're smiling weird.""I smile normally."He walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, pushed a strand of hair behind my ear, then kissed me slowly. “Good morning, baby,” he murmured.“Good morning.” I looked at him over the cup. “You made pancakes.”“Staff made them. I carried them.” He settled beside me and stole a piece of fruit. “There’s a difference.”“Very hero

No More Hiding

Wyatt's POV“I’m telling you, the build matches her perfectly, Wyatt.”Marcus’s words still echoed in my head. The call had ended less than a minute ago, but I could still hear him.Across the ballroom, Celeste laughed softly and lifted her champagne.The figure on the footage moved like Celeste. I’d thought as much because Avery told me she saw her in the garden that night. Same height, same build, same way of walking.It wasn’t enough to accuse anyone but it was enough to make my stomach turn."Are you absolutely sure?" I asked him.“I can’t really tell you it’s definitely her,” Marcus had said. “But if it were me? I wouldn’t let this go.”I slipped the phone into my pocket. Celeste was still laughing, as if the world hadn’t shifted beneath her feet.Then I looked at Anna dancing with Edward, laughing at something he had said, face lit up with real joy. I could walk over there right now. I could ask every question burning in my head.But Anna was happy and I wasn’t going to ruin t

Another Secret

Wyatt’s POV“Did he just say death?” Someone finally broke the silence.“First husband?”“California?”Nobody moved. Nobody even seemed to breathe. Every eye in the room stayed on Celeste.Then a laugh broke the tension. Everyone turned at the same time.Nate sat at the hallway entrance in his wheelchair. He must have rolled back quietly. It wasn't a happy laugh. It sounded tired like a man who had finally run out of reasons to keep pretending.“Well,” Nate said, voice flat, “I guess some secrets really do expire.”Celeste spun toward him. "You knew?"“You told me about one husband,” he said quietly. “You forgot to mention the second one.” The room exploded into whispers. Questions came from every direction. People looked at each other, then back at Celeste.Tobias turned to the cousin beside him with wide eyes."Wait." Tobias pointed at Celeste. "Married before? As in... twice? Before Nate?"“Twice?” someone repeated behind him.One aunt pressed both hands over her mouth. Three peop

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