YES WE DID IT, EVEN AFTER EVERYTHING Cecile POVThe words hung between us like smoke after a fire—thick, lingering, impossible to ignore. I pulled my hand back from Kevin’s chest, feeling the warmth of his skin fade against my palm, and turned toward the stove again. The sauce was done, but dinner suddenly felt like an afterthought. My heart was pounding, not from fear or anger, but from that raw edge of certainty we’d just carved out. He chose me without hedging, without caveats. And damn if that didn’t stir something deep, something hungry.I plated the food mechanically, the clink of forks against ceramic cutting through the quiet. Kevin watched me, his eyes tracing my movements like he was memorizing them. “You okay?” he asked, voice low, not pushing but probing.I glanced over my shoulder, a small smile tugging at my lips. “Better than okay. Just… processing.” I handed him a plate, our fingers brushing, sending a spark up my arm. “Eat. Before it gets cold.”We sat at the table,

Chapter – NO ESCAPE IN SLEEPCecile POVThe hallway stretched longer on the way back.Each step felt borrowed, like I was walking on someone else’s floor, in someone else’s life. The phone was still warm in my palm, Marcus’s voice echoing in the hollow parts of my skull. That’s my girl. The words sat like acid on my tongue. I wanted to spit them out. I wanted to scream them into the dark until the walls cracked.Instead, I kept walking.Bare feet silent against the cool wood. Heart hammering so hard I swore it would bruise the inside of my ribs. The bedroom door loomed ahead—ordinary, white, slightly ajar the way I’d left it. A thin stripe of moonlight sliced across the floor from the gap. I paused there, hand hovering over the knob, breath caught somewhere between lungs and throat.I could still turn around.I could grab my bag from the living room, slip out the front door, disappear into the night before he even rolled over. No note. No goodbye. Just gone.But my fingers curled arou

Chapter – ECHOES IN THE DARKNESSKelvin POVSleep wasn’t coming easy that night, no matter how hard I tried to force it. The bed felt too damn big, too warm, with Cecile curled up against me like she belonged there. Her breathing had evened out hours ago, soft and steady, but mine? Mine was a mess—ragged edges catching on every little thought that wouldn’t shut the hell up. I lay there, staring at the ceiling, shadows playing tricks from the streetlight sneaking through the blinds. My arm was slung over her waist, fingers loose on her hip, but my mind was a battlefield.She shifted then. Subtle at first, like she was just adjusting in her sleep. But no, it was deliberate. Her body tensed under my touch, muscles coiling tight before she eased away. Slow, careful, like she didn’t want to wake me. I kept my eyes shut, breathing deep and even, playing dead to the world. But every nerve was on fire. Where the hell was she going? Bathroom? Water? Or something else?The mattress creaked fain

CHAPTER –The call went through on the second ring.That alone told me everything.The private investigator never picked up on the first ring. He liked to remind people he wasn’t on their payroll, even when he was. Power move. Control. Tonight, I didn’t care.“Talk,” I said the second he answered.A pause. I could hear traffic in the background, distant horns, the low hum of the city refusing to sleep. He was outside. Always liked to move when he talked—said walls had ears.“You sound tense,” he said. Calm. Neutral. Professional.“I don’t pay you to assess my mood.”Another pause. Then a faint exhale, like he was settling in. “Alright. You want the full picture or the ugly version?”“They’re the same thing,” I said. My jaw was already tight, teeth grinding. “Start talking.”He didn’t rush. That was his thing—letting the silence stretch until it scraped against your nerves.“She’s clean on paper,” he finally said. “No criminal record. No outstanding warrants. No obvious financial fraud