*Click. Click. Click.*My heels hit the marble floor like angry little hammers as I ran. Each step echoed in my head: I. Hate. Her. I. Hate. Her.Eva. Sweet, perfect, innocent Eva. Just thinking her name made bile rise in my throat.You know what makes me the angriest? She doesn't even deserve any o
The thought made my heart beat faster. She was right. These past few weeks, Max had barely touched Eva. Barely looked at her. When she talked, his eyes would glaze over like he was a million miles away."And who's been there for him?" Mom's voice dripped honey and poison. "Who's been his shoulder to
Chapter 25EMILY (SARA'S MOTHER) POINT OF VIEW I just left Sara's room, and my heart feels like it's breaking into a million pieces. These big fancy mansion walls they're so cold and empty, just like Williams' heart. I can still hear my baby girl crying in there. Each sob feels like someone's stabb
What a joke that turned out to be.He didn't bring us there because he wanted us. No, he brought us there to take care of Eva his precious, perfect little princess. He never married me. Never gave Sara his last name. We were just the help, living in the shadows of his real family.That's when I real
Chapter 26 EVA POINT OF VIEW The familiar scent of coffee fills my nose as I sit across from Sally my best friend at our favorite coffee shop,the one we always go to, and something just doesn't feel right today. Even though everything looks exactly the same, you know, the coffee smell that's alwa
Sally's mouth drops open so wide I can see the coffee she just drank. "What? Eva, that's just crazy! Why would he even think something like that?"And then it all comes rushing back to me, like someone pressed play on the worst movie ever made. I can still feel exactly how cold that water was when I
"No," I say, probably way too fast. "No, it's... I'm sure it's nothing big. I'll call you later, okay?"The drive to Max's grandfather's house feels like it takes about a million years, even though it's really only like ten minutes away. You know how when you're really scared or nervous, your brain
Chapter 27 EVA'S POINT OF VIEWI can't stop shaking as I kneel next to Max's grandfather. He's just lying there on that fancy rug he loved so much, and nothing feels real anymore. Everything around me is all blurry, and my heart is beating so loud in my ears it's like a drum. The house is so quiet
Max’s Point of View It was the first time in weeks that we had something close to peace. Eva actually smiled, really smiled, as the kids worked on their fort, a chaotic masterpiece of pillows, sheets, and blankets piled high in the living room. It was the kind of moment I had been desperate for, t
Chapter 254 Sara’s Point of View I spread the financial documents across my desk, my gut twisting with unease. Something wasn’t right. Something about Martha Taylor’s spending habits gnawed at me, like an itch just beneath the surface of my skin. "Look at this," I said, pushing the credit card st
*** *** *** ***** I woke at dawn, Josh's words from last night echoing in my head. Time to prove to my family they came first. Starting with breakfast, real breakfast, like we used to have before everything fell apart. The kitchen was quiet as I pulled out ingredients. Pancake batter mixed with ch
Max point of view The bar was quiet at midnight, just me, Josh, and a bottle of scotch between us. The same drink that had started this whole mess five years ago. "Eva's right," I said, staring into my glass. "I'm destroying everything. My kids asked about divorce today, Josh. Divorce. They're fi
"Daddy?" Mia's voice trembled. "Are you leaving us?" And in that moment, looking between my wife's tears and my children's fear, I realized exactly what my one night's mistake had cost. Because sometimes the hardest wounds come from the ones we love most. And sometimes there are no right choices,
Max point of view I found Eva in our bedroom, packing my remaining clothes into a suitcase with violent movements. "Martha told me what you said," I started, anger boiling beneath my calm. "Threatening her, calling Nathan illegitimate, acting like some queen on her throne." "Oh, did your mistres
Eva's Point of View The walls of my office at Brown Tower were made of glass and steel, but right now, they felt as unyielding as iron. Outside, the city stretched endlessly beneath me, a kingdom that belonged to my children. A kingdom I would protect with everything I had. The soft knock on the d
**** ***** I sat alone in my darkened office at midnight, a glass of scotch untouched before me. The same drink that had created this mess five years ago. Eva's words echoed in my head, mixing with memories of Nathan's hopeful face. "A bastard son," Eva had called him. The words made me sick. On
Max point of view I found Eva in our home office, papers spread across her desk. The look she gave me was colder than I'd ever seen. "The lawyers sent everything," she said, her voice arctic. "Their demands. The trust fund. The visitation schedules." "Eva..." "Fifty thousand dollars a month." S