ログインMR BEAU’S POV.I cleared my throat, forcing a smile as I stood before the two huge and scary-looking guards that stood by the gate. All armed and guarded.Yes……….I knew.I knew that the last place I was supposed to be at was here… right in front of Shimma’s home.But after hearing her voice last night… after that sudden electricity of her breathing and the way the sound of her voice reached me through the silence, I realized I had to try harder.I couldn’t let them keep her away from me. Not when I’d already tasted the thrill of reaching her.Not when my mind wouldn’t stop clawing at the thought that she was “so close”, right behind these walls, and yet so unreachable……..unless I made myself undeniable.“Good morning,” I said, tilting my head like I was harmless. Like I wasn’t desperate. “I’m Beau……Mr Beau,”One of the guards didn’t even bother to look at my face properly. He kept his posture rigid, his hand near his baton.“You’re not on the list,” he said flatly.I swallowed, forcin
MATTIAS’S POVI didn’t know who had called…….an unknown number, that was all the screen showed. But it didn’t matter how many times I told myself it was nothing. The truth was, my skin didn’t believe it.I stood in the hallway, away from the kids, away from Shimma’s eyes. I kept my voice calm anyway.“Hello? Who is this?” I said, my gaze drifting upward like I hoped it wasn’t any bad news.But strangely, there was no response.Just dead silence……like the caller was still breathing on the other end but refusing to speak.My jaw tightened. My fingers were still damp from earlier nerves, and I hated that my body was giving me away.“Who is this?” I repeated, slower this time. “Talk to me. What do you want?” I said, my voice rising.There was nothing…..No words. No background noise.Just nothing……..and that nothing crawled under my skin.Then the call ended abruptly.The screen went dark so fast it felt like a hand had snatched the air out of my lungs.I gasped, staring down at the phone
SHIMMA’S POV (continued).I walked towards the kitchen area, the delicious aroma of pancakes already hitting my nostrils.Mattias was already up.Even after what happened last night……..after the interrogation, the accusation, the fear sitting in his voice…….he was here. Flipping pancakes like nothing in the world could ever bring him down.‘How is he this strong?’ I thought to myself as I stared at him for a few seconds, just watching him focus on the food, barely noticing me.Then I felt my throat tighten anyway, because strength didn’t cancel pain. It just made it easier to carry.“Hey baby,” I said as I came closer.He turned towards me, his face soft with that bright smile I loved so much. “Hey!”He was chopping strawberries and kiwis, moving with careful hands.I stepped behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head against his back.“Did you sleep well?” he asked.I hesitated.The last thing I wanted was to worry him… to drag last night’s fear into his chest a
SHIMMA’S POVI could hardly sleep through the night. I wish Mattias wouldn’t have told me, or atleast, I wish that wasn’t the case.I kept replaying it in my head……..Mattias saying it so carefully. ‘They think I killed Doctor Ryle.’How could they of all people suspect my husband?Mattias was with us throughout. There was no time he left us in a way that could make any of this make sense. Even if he had……..l would still never suspect him. He could never hurt Doctor Ryle.I stared at the clock….it was past 3 a.m.Mattias was asleep beside me, his face turned toward my side, his arm loosely around me like he didn’t want to ever let go of me even when he was unconscious.I lay there anyway………motionless…..,letting the millions of thoughts drown out my body’s desire to rest.I tried breathing slow. I tried counting. I tried remembering how calm my life used to feel.But nothing worked.Finally, I sat up and swung my legs out of bed. “I just need… air,” I whispered to no one.I moved quiet
SHIMMA’S POV.“Please wake up, baby, I am here now.”I didn’t even know I’d heard it… until my eyelids finally fluttered open.For a moment, the ceiling felt unreal…….:like I was stuck between sleep and a nightmare. Then my eyes found him.My husband……Mattias.The one person I’d been longing to see for hours…….maybe days. His face was close enough that I could see every detail: the tiredness in his eyes, the fear, the way his expression looked like he’d been running without resting.I stared at the wall clock again, my brows furrowing, confused.“Where did you…” My throat was dry. My voice came out thin. “Where did you go?”He hesitated, and that hesitation told me everything.“I… I had an urgent meeting with a client from Monaco,” he said. “He had an early flight tomorrow morning, so I had no choice but to go see him now.”He brushed my hair back……soft, careful.But I could see it in his eyes….The way his mouth searched for words.The way his gaze kept darting away from mine.The wa
MATTIAS’S POV.I sat in my car at our driveway, staring at thin air for God knows show long now.Thousands of thoughts swirled in my mind, but I still felt……..empty. Clueless.I knew someone had planted the idea that I was a suspect. Someone close enough to know things that weren’t just happening outside… but inside our home too. Inside our lives. Inside what we said, and what we tried to hide.Someone who knew us well…….Someone who had access.I could point to Mr. Beau first. He was always around. Always near enough to watch us………to listen to family matters, act like he belonged in our space even though he only had one job: to teach my children.But I didn’t know what he truly knew. I wasn’t sure he understood the deep, ugly experiences……..like the death of Derry, and everything that had happened after. It wasn’t like anyone sat him down and told him the full truth of how it all connected. Not with Lucas’s case still hanging over our heads……refusing to fade.God.I felt confused. Los
LUCAS’S POV (continued)“No, I can’t do that. Please, I already did everything you asked. You promised me that was all you needed,” Derek said, refusing my request to stay at one of his hotels.Derek owned a few hotels, and staying in one of them was a good idea. If I had to stay anywhere else, the
Mattias’s POV (continued)Shimma rushed in, her hands trembling as she covered her mouth, eyes wide with panic. "He called me. Lucas called me."My heart raced as I stepped closer. "What did he say?"Her voice wavered. "Not much. Just... he called my name. Breathing in an abnormal way… I asked him
LUCAS’S POV (continued)For about a week and a few days, I had been watching the house from my rented place next door. It was the perfect viewing point—an unassuming home that granted me an unobstructed view of every moment in Mattias’s life.Every day and night, I observed their routines, their co
SHIMMA’S POV“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you!”I woke up to the cheerful voices of Mattias, Noah, and Nora standing by the side of my bed, singing to me.Mattias held a cake adorned with lit candles, while Nora and Noah clutched g







