He swallowed hard, his hands still trembling as he clasped them together, as if trying to keep himself from falling apart. “I was wrong, Eva. I know I can’t change the past, but I’m asking for your forgiveness. Please… I need you to understand.”I shook my head, a bitter smile tugging at my lips. “F
Chapter 73Sara’s Point of ViewI strolled through the mall, the chatter of shoppers buzzing around me like a faint hum. As I passed by one store window after another, my phone buzzed in my hand. Expecting a routine update, I barely glanced at the screen before I opened my email.And then I froze.I
“You know,” a middle-aged woman said to her friend, not even glancing at me as I passed by, “Sara Brown’s career has been on a steady decline. It was only a matter of time.”Her friend nodded, looking sympathetic but not surprised. “Maybe she’s finally lost her touch. It’s not like she was ever that
Chapter 74Sara’s Point of ViewI threw my phone across the room, barely satisfied when it crashed into the wall, leaving a tiny crack on the plaster. It wasn’t enough not nearly enough to match the rage bubbling inside me. How could they drop me? I had worked with that brand for years, posed in the
Chapter 75Max’s Point of ViewThe silence in my office was deafening, broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioning. I sat at my desk, staring blankly at the stack of files I should have been working through. But my mind wasn’t in the room it hadn’t been for days. It hadn’t been for weeks, t
Chapter 76SARA POINT OF VIEW I stormed out of Max's office with my blood boiling so hot I could barely see straight. My heels stabbed the marble floor with each step, echoing my rage through the hallway. The nerve of that man! After everything everything I've done for him, this is how he treats me
Chapter 77: Sara's Point of ViewI couldn't breathe. My chest hurt. My hands shook. The fancy room around me felt too small, like the walls were closing in. The only sound was that stupid old clock going tick-tick-tick on the fireplace, like everything was normal. But nothing was normal anymore. No
"Look at me," she ordered.I stared at the wall instead. The fancy wallpaper got all blurry as tears filled my eyes. I blinked hard. Sara Brown doesn't cry. That's what Mom always taught me. Crying is for weak people. We're not weak."Look. At. Me." Mom's voice got even scarier, like ice about to cr
"Age is just a number," Leo declared grandly, another line I suspected came from Eva's romantic comedies. "And my heart wants what it wants." "Your heart wanted to marry the pizza delivery girl last week," Sam reminded him. "That was before I met Clara," Leo said with dignity. Then he turned back
Chapter 187 Max's Point Of View I stared at the stack of reports on my desk, each one thicker than the last, but none containing the answers I needed. Finding Emily's secrets was like trying to catch smoke, just when we thought we had a lead, it would slip through our fingers. "Mr. Graves?" Clar
Chapter 186 Max point of view I sat at Eva's dining room table, watching my kids do their homework. It had been a week since the cookie incident, and things were... well, different. Not perfect, but different. James was actually letting me help him with his math now. He still rolled his eyes whe
Chapter 185 Eva's point of view I got up from the floor as fast as I could, trying to brush cookie crumbs out of my hair. My face felt like it was on fire as I met Josh's stare. Even though he's only a few years older than me, that look on his face still made me feel like a little kid who got cau
Chapter 184 Max sat on the living room floor, surrounded by opened presents and four very different reactions to his presence. Mia beamed at him, clutching her new stuffed unicorn like it was made of gold. The boys, however, radiated waves of barely contained hostility that made the room feel ten d
"Sometimes," Sam continued, his young voice unnaturally steady, "she would look at pictures and get really quiet. Was that because of you too?" I swallowed hard. "Yes." "Then why should we want you here?" Leo demanded. "You hurt Mom. You didn't want us." "That's not true," I said quickly, too qui
Chapter 183 MAX POINT OF VIEW My hands wouldn't stop sweating on the steering wheel as I pulled up to Eva's house. The trunk was loaded with wrapped presents, toys, books, games, everything I could think of that five-year-olds might like. But somewhere deep in my gut, I knew no mountain of gifts c
Chapter 182 Mia couldn't contain her excitement as she ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Her heart was racing, but not from the climb. She'd just overheard the most amazing news, and she had to tell her siblings right away. Their dad was coming to see them tomorrow! She burst into Jame
Opening my laptop, I pulled up Emily's company records. If she and Sara were behind everything that has been happening, they must have left some trace. People always did, no matter how careful they were. I just had to find it before they made their next move. Financial records, meeting minutes, trav