LOGINSHIMMA’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
SHIMMA’S POVNoah, Nora, Elara……..my babies……..were clinging to me like I was the only thing keeping the world from breaking open again.“Mummy, I miss you so much,” Noah whispered against my shoulder, and the others murmured it too, their arms tight around me at the same time.I could feel my heart aching……..not just because I missed them, but because I hated myself for how close I’d come to losing them. Doctor Ryle’s death… it wasn’t just tragedy. It was shock. It was the kind of loss that made everything after it feel unreal.“All right, my sweethearts,” I said gently, forcing my voice to stay warm. “Let’s eat. Dinner is ready.”But they didn’t want to let go.They looked at me like they were afraid I might vanish again………like the bed they’d found me in had been a warning, not an illness.“Noah, Nora, Elara,” I said softly, lifting my chin so they’d meet my eyes. “Please look at me.”They did, with wide eyes…….wet lashes. Fear hiding under the love they had for me.“I promise,” I t
MATTIAS’ POV.(continued)“What?!” I said out loud, taken aback so hard my voice cracked on the first word.The officer didn’t flinch……….he just watched me.I swallowed, slowly this time, like my throat could close the panic back up if I acted fast enough.“Excuse me?” I managed to say, even though my stomach was twisting.He tilted his head slightly. Not curious……just calculating.“Did you ever get angry,” he repeated, “at Doctor Ryle… for not saving your best friend, Derry? And instead, marrying his wife?”My hands were still clenched under the table. I could feel the imprint of my own nails in my palms.That’s not even a question.That was an accusation trying to wear a question’s mask.“No,” I said immediately.The word came out too fast, too certain……..like I was trying to outrun what he’d already decided.He didn’t react.I had to force myself to slow down, to breathe, to talk like a man who wasn’t being set on fire.“I did not have anger like that,” I said. “I don’t…….I’m not th
I blinked hard, my heart racing. Blake was here, and a surge of anger welled up inside me. How could my parents set me up like this? Did they really think I’d just forget everything and fall back into my old life?“Shimma?” Blake asked, his voice cutting through my thoughts. He looked surprised—maybe
“I have my ways. And I'll do anything just to see you. I'm not letting go. Never,” he said, being to take my lips when I jolted to the sound of a knock on my door….“Shimma! Can I speak to you for a second?” I heard my dad say. I turned back to Mr. Mattias. “You need to leave,” I said. He frowned.
I smiled, bending to pick up the note as I read through it…“COME JOIN ME FOR DINNER. XOXO.” I smiled and dropped the note back on the bed. I picked up the shirt, my eyes running over it. It was twice as big as I had expected. I put it on, glancing at my reflection in the mirror. A chuckle escaped my
“Like your shirt?” I asked, and he nodded.“Uhh, okay,” I said nervously. I hadn't worn any of my ex's clothes before, let alone Mr. Mattias's.“Alright, you can go upstairs and take your bath; I'll bring it to your room,” he said. I nodded.I was about to take a step when he called my name. “Shimma,”







