(Winona)I flick on the television. I know I shouldn’t, but curiosity gets the better of me. I wonder if speculation over Jayden and I has stopped. I go through a few channels and I haven’t seen us yet, so maybe.Abby has had three days at preschool, and she’ll have a break for the last two weekdays. I must say my nervousness is somewhat eased, and she’s chatting easily about the other kids in her class, so she is making friends.Dinner at Jayden’s house was a lot of fun the other night. He’s happy with how negotiations are going with the shareholders. He’ll have enough ready to sell to him by the end of this month.I’ve been back to that café and never seen that man again. It really was my imagination. I switch off the television. Let them say what they want to say. Not like we can stop them. I’d rather know what’s going through Judy and Ashlyn’s minds right now.Abby’s been bright and cheery and not complaining of any pain. Even her face has some color. Today Jayden is picking us up
(Winona) “Winona? Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?” Jayden asks as the kids clamber out of the car. His voice is filled with concern, and it’s clear he’s struggling to process everything.I nod, trying to steady my racing heart. “I can’t leave them with him. You have no idea how bad it is, Jayden. Look at them.”Jayden looks at the kids, his expression softening with empathy. “Okay.” He lets out a long breath. “I guess we’ll figure it out.”“There must be a mother,” I say, more to myself than to him.“She left them,” Jayden replies, his voice tinged with sadness.“He would never have let her leave with them. The kids are his meal ticket. I can keep them safe until I find her.” I usher the kids through the front door and into the kitchen, my mind racing with a hundred different thoughts.Jayden follows us inside, shaking his head. “He left them here, though.”“He’ll be back when the cash runs out,” I say, knowing my father all too well.Jayden sighs, his frustration evident.
(Winona)Having these kids for a full day, I’m still very nervous about it. They aren’t saying much and I don’t want to press them on the details of their mother. Sarah basically says nothing and Bobby is protective of her, and isn’t offering any information either.Perhaps I’ll try asking again later. I mean, these kids are my half-siblings, I’m not sure what to do with them. Abby has been fine about having them here, but four-year-olds are fine about most things, I guess. They talk to Abby, I heard them chattering and laughing with her. So I know they can communicate.I wonder if their life has been like mine was. Cold, hungry and punished most of the time. Lonely. Tears swell in my eyes. I’m not letting that bastard take over my life again. I know he’ll be back when the money is gone. I need to be ready and to try and get these kids to a safer home environment. I don’t want him in my home. I do feel better now I know I have security watching. Otherwise, I’d be a complete mess. M
(Winona)“Thank you for trusting me. I’ll try and track down your Mom. Do you think she’d move far?” I ask Bobby, hoping for some clue.Bobby shrugs, his shoulders slumping in defeat. I can tell he’s not giving up any more information. But I have enough for now. I can get the authorities involved. I’ll get a restraining order out on my father. I don’t want him to be able to come anywhere near me.“I’m going to make some calls. To my old school and to child protection. I need to see if we can track down their mother or any other relative that might be able to help them,” I tell Jayden at my kitchen table, my voice firm with resolve.Jayden leans back in his chair, a look of concern etched on his face. “I still think it might be better if we were all at my place.”I shake my head. “I think that huge place would be too overwhelming for them. The way they would have lived. Plus, I don’t want that asshole getting a sniff of there.”Jayden nods, understanding my point. “I’m sure he already
(Winona)Jayden pulls up in the driveway with Bobby and Sarah in the backseat. They both look a little more at ease now, clutching small shopping bags filled with new clothes and a few beach toys. I meet them at the door, Abby holding my hand and bouncing with excitement.“Did you guys have fun shopping?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light.Bobby nods, a shy smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah, it was cool. I got a Lakers cap.”“I don’t doubt that with Jayden.”Sarah peeks out from behind Bobby, her eyes wide with curiosity. “I got a new dress,” she says softly, showing me the bright yellow fabric peeking out of the bag. “And a pink swimsuit.”“That’s wonderful, Sarah,” I say, giving her a warm smile. “We’re going to have a great time at the beach house.”Jayden unloads the car and we all pile into his SUV. The drive to the beach house is filled with the sound of the kids chattering excitedly and the gentle hum of the radio. The tension from earlier starts to ease as we pull into the d
(Jayden)I hand soda out to the kids who are dripping on my deck. “You lot have worked up a real thirst. Is anyone hungry?” I ask.Bobby and Sarah both look down and shake their heads, their expressions guarded. Abby bounces up and down, full of energy. “I am!” she exclaims.“I have some strawberries here and I’ll cut some banana and watermelon,” I offer, hoping to coax the other kids into some healthy food.“Oh,” Abby says, looking a little crestfallen.I smile, trying to make it sound fun. “No junk food till after dinner, Abby.”“I need to go potty,” she announces suddenly.“Mommy is inside; she’ll help you get your wet swimsuit off,” I tell her, watching as she runs inside where Winona is resting after her incident. She really lost it at that guy. I’m worried about her mental health at this point. I think she may need some professional advice, and we need to get her father out of her life. I’ll have the bastard jailed if I can.I peel bananas and cut them up for the fruit platter,
(Jayden)“It’s so complicated,” she murmurs, her voice filled with pain.“Tell me about what it was like, before you got to live with Anne,” I urged gently.Her shaking increases, her breath hitching with each sob.“I got you. I think you need to talk about this, get it out. Otherwise, you are going to explode,” I say in encouragement.“He was awful. I was his meal ticket. If he wanted stuff off people, I had to go too. Said they’d feel sorry for me. I had to go beg on the streets, and if I didn’t get enough, I never got to eat anything,” she confesses, her voice raw with emotion.“Jesus, Winona, I’m so sorry you went through that,” I say, my anger towards her father burning hotter.“School saved me. I knew an education was my only way out, and we had a school breakfast program. I got to eat there,” she continues, her voice a little stronger now.“Your mother?” I ask, not sure if I want to hear the answer.“She hated me. Hated that I’d come into her life and ruined it. So did he, but
(Ashlyn)I laugh out loud. “Oh, Gus. You really are so bad.” He’s been flirting with me for weeks now. The old fool thinks he can manipulate me, but he has no idea who he’s dealing with.He grins, his eyes twinkling with that fake charm. “I’m always putty in a beautiful woman’s hands.”“A woman who’s pregnant with your grandchild. I mean, isn’t that a little taboo?” I tease him back, playing the game with ease.“I think you like a little taboo,” he says as he gets up from the formal dining table. “Excuse me a second, my dear. I need the bathroom.”I smile sweetly. “Of course.”If only he knew. His attentions aren’t fooling me. I know he’s just trying to distract me from Jayden and Winona and their little family thing they have going on.Fuck them. I’m playing stupid. It’s easier to do what I need to do that way. Gus may think he’s clever. Judy may think she’s clever. But they aren’t as clever as me. Jayden is mine. I’m married to him. I’ll keep him.This baby is my cover right now. Wh
Readers, I’ve been back through all your comments and it really touches me that so many of you cared about these characters. I want to send a very special shout out to mitzi.goodson and Theresa for your active love of the story all the way and for commenting regularly. I love you guys and I love all the readers #hearteyes# Also I have discovered a mistake in the upload of Chapter 553. Only half the chapter seems to have been uploaded and I have now fixed that. I know you’re asking about if you’ll see these characters again…right now, I’m letting them rest but I hope to update you on them in the future. Right now I’m focusing on my new stories which I know you’ll also love.In the next one, After waking from a 5 month coma, Ava Lancaster watches her beloved daughter die. Ex-husband Zach Lorne, allowed the mother of his first child, cunning Sienna Sinclair to use little Lila as a medical pawn. Consumed by grief, Ava sets their mansion ablaze—clutching Lila’s body while Zach pleads outs
(Winona)Lisa sits on the couch between me and Jayden, her fingers curled around the USB stick.“You don’t have to,” I remind her gently.“I know,” she replies. “But I want to. I can’t move forward if I don’t hear him out.” She hands the drive to Jayden.Jayden leans forward and plugs the drive in. The screen flickers.And then there he is.Lance. Black eye blooming from Jayden’s attack over hall pass week, bruised knuckles, the same crooked grin he always wore.“Lisa,” he says, “I’m so sorry. I wish this could have been different.”I glance at her. She flinches but doesn’t look away.He shakes his head. “No big poetic intro. No music. No tragic montage. Just me.”His smile cracks slightly.“First, I want to say this isn’t your fault. You didn’t fail me. You didn’t love me wrong. In fact, you’re probably the only person who ever loved me right.”Lisa’s breath hitches beside me.“I wasn’t built for longevity, Lisa. You knew that. Hell, I practically had an exit sign blinking over my he
(Winona)Viktor stands with his hands by his side while Jayden finishes up his announcement.I watch on, proud of them both. Not only staunch in business but as friends.“I’ll still be involved on a higher level, but day-to-day, Viktor’s your guy,” Jayden says, firm and confident. “Effective immediately, he’s the new CEO of Nexus Global.”There’s a brief pause before the quiet, respectful claps ripple through the room.Viktor just nods. “Thank you,” he says. No long speech. No dramatic reaction. Just two words. Classic Viktor.Jayden glances my way and walks over.“Proud of him,” I say quietly. “And of you.”“He’s ready,” Jayden replies. “Hell, he’s been ready for a while now. He taught me almost everything I know about Nexus Global.”Viktor lingers by the window, posture steady. Astrid steps up beside him, saying something low. He replies with a brief nod and the smallest of smirks.Jayden leans into me and murmurs, “did you see that?”I arch an eyebrow. “The nod or the smirk?”“Both
(Winona)I see the moment his eyes catch mine in the window behind Astrid. He blinks like he’s seeing a ghost. Too late. I’m already across the restaurant floor, my heels pounding each step out in deliberate warning, the sound sharp against the quiet hum of late-night conversations. Heads turn. I don’t care.His face shifts from confusion to panic as I advance—his mouth parting slightly, eyes darting to Astrid like he’s trying to figure out if he’s imagining this. He’s not. I’m here. I saw everything.I saw the kiss. I saw the closeness after. The lingering smiles, the laughter, and the way Astrid’s hand stayed on his like they were sharing secrets. Like she belongs to him. You don’t need sound to understand body language.That kiss wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a friendly peck on the cheek. It was enough for me to wonder if they’ve been playing me for a fool for weeks. Maybe months.Jayden stands just as I reach the table, knocking his chair back in a clumsy scrape. Astrid rema
(Jayden)Astrid raises her glass, the candlelight catching the rim. “To surviving another quarter without firing anyone major.”“To the rest of us surviving the grueling schedule of the Ice Queen herself.”“You did okay.”“Just okay?”“Better than okay. You have quite the work drive, Jayden. Gus was right to leave Nexus in your hands.”“Not one of you thought that at first. You all hated me. Especially Hugo. I think he still might, actually.”“Oh, you are not so bad, after all.”We clink glasses. The wine’s sharp, dry—like her. The restaurant is dim, ambient, tucked just off the canal. Astrid insisted it was the best late-night spot in Brussels. So far, I can’t argue.The food was incredible, the service seamless, and the company? Easy. A little too easy.This dinner has gone longer than I expected. I expected an answer from Winona to my text. But it hasn’t come. The conversation just flowed so effortlessly tonight.No drama. No awkward silences. No carefully chosen words. Astrid, wh
(Winona)It’s nearly 1 a.m. when I step off the jet into the crisp Brussels air. I haven’t slept. I haven’t eaten properly. My thoughts have been chewing on each other for nine hours straight.I hear my phone notification, but I see Cass and I’m so damn happy. She’s about to launch the rest of her life and I’m excited for her.“It’s so good to see you.” I say as I run towards her and give her a hug.“You look like hell,” she says as she grins and hugs me back.“Oh, thanks for the compliment. You look like death yourself.”“Just finished a12 hour shift, what’s your excuse?”We walk out to the private parking area. Having a private jet is so convenient.“I can only blame stress and paranoia,” I tell her as we put my case in the back seat and get into her car.“Paranoia?”“Yes, about where Jayden and I stand in out marriage lately. I’m not sure I’m what makes him happy. All we do is fight, it seems.”“Okay… ah, so me telling him you’d have been better off never meeting him probably didn’
(Jayden)It’s nearly ten. The office is quiet, except for the soft hum of fluorescent lights above the boardroom. Astrid and I have been going through projections for Q3. Numbers, strategies, deadlines. All things that used to matter more than they do right now. My family call is bothering me. It’s not that Winona had a sudden business trip, that’s expected, it’s just the way we interact lately. Going through the motions. Not speaking up on how we feel in case it triggers an argument. I’m as much to blame.“You missed an adjustment here,” she says, tapping the edge of my laptop.“I didn’t miss it,” I say, not looking up. “I just didn’t apply it yet.”She raises an eyebrow. She knows I’m distracted. I’ve worked with her long enough to recognize the look that says I’m full of shit.“You want my input or just someone to nod along while you pretend to work?” she asks.I lean back in my chair. “You always cut right through it, don’t you?”“Of course.”She’s right. She doesn’t have patie
(Winona)The family call starts like any other.Except this time, I’ve told the kids I’ll be away and lied about where I’m going.Now I have to convince Jayden it’s an unexpected business trip.Bobby’s got a stack of papers next to him, pretending he’s not glancing at them while he listens to Jayden. He’s been working on some design options for the school vegetable garden.He’s become quietly obsessed with getting it right.Sarah is asking about when she can next visit the Nexus office again. Abby’s wearing one of Henry’s bibs and announcing herself as the ‘baby boss’ while trying to feed Henry a cracker he doesn’t want.Henry is slamming his hands on the table, shrieking with defiance, and Kit is doing her best to keep the screen steady while holding him.Chaos. Beautiful, familiar chaos. Welcome to the Brennan zoo.Jayden is calm, smiling, fully engaged. He’s asking Bobby about his team at school, praising his leadership skills. He tells Sarah he misses her drawings and promises to
(Winona)Phillip is at his desk when I walk in, finishing up a call. He looks up and gives me a half smile, casual but watchful.I cross the room but remain standing. “I won’t keep you long. I just… I wanted to let you know I’m stepping down in an active capacity from Vault. Effective immediately.”Phillip’s face shifts from polite curiosity to astonishment. “Wait—stepping down how?”I nod. “I’ll remain the owner. But I’m not going to be overseeing day-to-day management or strategic decisions anymore. I’m handing all of that to you. If you want it. CEO, President, call it what you will—I’m out.”He studies me carefully. “That’s… a big move, Winona. You’ve always been a control fre… ahh, hands-on.”I give him a quick grin. “Nice save.”“I’m talented, what can I say? But you being hands-off, I’m not sure that’s even possible.”“I’ve realized I can’t keep devoting so much energy to business. My family needs me. My kids need me.”“Is this what Jayden asked you to do?” “No. He’s been exc