LOGINSHIMMA’S POVI managed to sit up, although my whole body felt extremely weak……..like every muscle had already decided to give up, and I was only stubborn enough to refuse.The room was a bit dark. The light from the hallway barely reached the edge of the bed. My head swam with fog, and the air felt heavy in my lungs.I tried to steady my breathing, but even that felt like effort.When I pushed my feet to the floor, my legs trembled immediately. I caught myself on the bedframe first… then on the wall….. my fingers splayed, gripping hard as if the house could tilt.Slowly, carefully, I stood up.I made my way toward the door the way you walk across thin ice…….measuring every step before committing. Every step down was a fight against dizziness, and I kept clinging to the walls between turns because I couldn’t walk without support. I couldn’t even stand on my own.At the stairs, my fingers found the railing.I held it tightly. Too tightly.I could feel how cold the metal was against my s
MATTIAS’ POV.(continued)I was halfway through cutting the sweet potatoes for dinner when the phone started vibrating against the counter.The kitchen smelled like warmth and starch and the kind of normal that never lasted long in my world. I wiped my fingers on my apron, glanced at the screen, and saw the number I didn’t want to see.Police.My stomach tightened before I even answered. I didn’t pick it up right away……..I just stared at it, breathing shallowly, like my body was trying to delay the moment the voice would arrive.When I finally lifted the phone, my elbow stuck to my side from tension. My shoulders were already drawn up. I tried to keep my face neutral, but my jaw felt stiff, like it was bracing for impact.“Hello?” I said.There was a pause on the line…….breathing, then the faint scrape of someone settling into position, like the call itself was part of a script.The knife in my other hand slowed. The sweet potato slips stuttered under the blade, one thin piece wobbling
BEAU’S POV.“Arghh! Yes, harder! Oh!”The words were still hanging in the air when the alarm cut through everything…….loud and humiliating in a way that made my face burn.I shot my eyes open, my heart slamming against my chest, only to realize it was a dream. Another dream.Another sick, sinful dream.The image of Shimma wasn’t just in my head like any other fantasy…….it felt too real. Her voice. Her body. That heat that always made me forget myself.I jerked up from the bed, swallowing hard as if I could choke down the shame….this was too shameful, knowing she couldn’t be mine as quickly as I wanted her to be. How long was this going to continue?Having sex dreams about Shimma wasn’t going to make waiting any easier.But at the same time, I couldn’t go to her. Not yet.Not when I was still a suspect in the cops’ eyes.Not when I could be arrested any day and I would never get to see her again.Not when my life felt like a thin piece of string stretched between me and freedom……and a
SHIMMA’S POV…..When the pain hits, it doesn’t just sit in one place. It spreads……like fire under my skin…..like my body is punishing me for being alive.“Babe… you need to come down and have breakfast. You’ve been in bed for two days without food. You’re making me worried as hell.” Mattias’ voice came from the doorway, careful and tired.I didn’t answer. My eyes were open, but I wasn’t really there.Everything hurt. My head hurt. My stomach hurt. My heart hurt the worst.My mother had left the night before……quietly, I think. She couldn’t stay. I understood that much. She couldn’t bear to watch me like this, like a broken thing nobody could fix. Expecially because she couldn’t try to fix me when she herself was fart more broken.And the worst part? The thought that wouldn’t leave me alone.It happened here……In my home.So in my head, it feels like it’s my fault. Like if I had been wiser, if I had been smarter, if I had turned someone away at the right time… Doctor Ryle wouldn’t be dea
Beau’s POV.(continued)“What if someone else used the chance? What if someone who hated him took advantage when there was no one around?” I let the question hang there like bait.“Who?” the cop asked.I let the name drop freely from my mouth. “Mattias.”It felt obscene to say it out loud. But it had to sound plausible, and Mattias had motive and history. The Cop turned around and stole a glance at the other cop who stood by the door.He drifted his gaze back to me, his brows furrowed in shock mixed with concern and curiosity….he was buying it. I could tell from the way his eyes suddenly became unsure. “What makes you say that?” Thw other officer who stood by the door asked. I hesitated, taking a deep breath, then I spoke, trying to sound calm and a bit unsure…..bur at the same time. Believable.“Shimma’s father died at Ryle’s hospital years ago,” I said, my voice soft. “They failed him. He lost everything…….his job, his health…Mattias was close to Shimma’s family. He held Ryle resp
Mr Beau’s POV; (continued)“Good day, Mr Beau,” one of the police officers greeted, his face and tone serious.I glanced carefully at the two police officers. One kept his hand near his radio as he watched me suspiciously; the other had that flat look people get when they know they’ve already won. My mouth went dry.“Mr. Beau,” the other one said. “We need you to come with us to the station for questioning.”I laughed, a thin sound that might’ve been a sob. “Why?” My voice was small. “What did I do?”“We advise you to cooperate,” the cop who spoke earlier said. “It’ll make things easier for you.”Make things easier. The words landed like a blow. My hands shook so hard they felt useless. “I don’t understand,” I said. My head spun with possibilities. Some neighbors complaint…..my mother being worried that I hadn’t been picking her calls…/..anything but the thing I’d been trying not to think about: Doctor Ryle.They didn’t handcuff me. It felt like they didn’t need to, and that alone cal
SHIMMA’S POV.We got back about an hour ago, and the children were already sound asleep in their bedrooms. The house was quiet, and everything felt so peaceful.I sat on the bed, scrolling through my phone, waiting for Mattias, who was bathing in the bathroom. Minutes later, the bathroom door crea
SHIMMA’S POVIt’s been two days without my babies. How on earth could I have thought a day like this would come?Not to mention the unbearable feeling of not knowing about their well-being. Did they eat right? How scared and worried would they be? Were they even still… No! There was no way I could
“Hello?” I said, my voice crackled.“Are you ready?” he asked, as if this were a game to him. Fucking bastard.“Yes, I am,” I replied in a low, calm tone. Part of me was relieved and ready to see my children, but most of me was uncertain about whether the tracking devices would help. What if he was
SHIMMA’S POV….As I drove to the supposed location, I couldn’t stop praying and hoping everything would go well.There was a strong possibility that Lucas wasn’t there, but I had to focus on the positive side. Still, what if he really was there? What would he do to me if I got to him before Mattias







