The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, casting the sprawling greenery of Riverside Commons into deep violet shadows. The park rangers were starting to make their rounds, signaling the end of the day, and for the first time in what felt like years, Kaelen didn’t feel the immediate urge to check his email. Watching Mirella skip toward the parking lot, her face still faintly sticky from the afternoon's adventures, he realized she had finally had a day like a normal kid. No tutors, no formal dinners, just sun and a swan boat. Even though he still found his own presence at the park somewhat awkward and out of place, the look on his daughter's face made the stiff muscles in his back relax just a fraction.Since the hour had grown late and Mirella was scheduled to stay at Arianna’s place for the night, Kaelen walked them to his car. The evening air was cool, a sharp contrast to the humid warmth of the afternoon. He opened the door for them, offering a quiet drive home that was

After that night at Arianna’s place, Kaelen hadn't really made a move to call her. It wasn't because things were still awkward between them, even though that kitchen disaster with the sauce was definitely one for the books. He had actually shrugged that feeling off just a few hours after leaving her apartment, his mind already shifting back into high gear. The truth was way more boring: he was just straight-up busy, buried under a mountain of prep work. The first hearing for the case was literally tomorrow, and the pressure was sitting on his shoulders like a lead weight. Every second counted now, and he didn't have the luxury of overthinking a stained shirt or a clumsy moment. He hadn't even had a chance to speak to Mirella properly, which usually would have made him feel like a deadbeat dad. But he kept telling himself it was all for this moment, all for the sake of winning this war and securing their future. If he didn't

In the house that used to belong to Kaelen, the air felt heavy and thick with the scent of expensive liquor and regret. Riley sat at the sleek marble bar, her fingers tracing the rim of a crystal glass filled with amber liquid.Her thoughts were stuck on Kaelen, circling him like a predator that wasn’t quite sure if it was about to be the prey. Tomorrow was their first official battle in court, the moment where all the secrets and the lies would finally be dragged into the light.She took a slow sip, the burn of the alcohol doing nothing to soothe the cold knot of skepticism growing in her gut. To be honest, she was actually starting to doubt her chances of winning this thing.She had done her research, staying up late into the night to look into the statistics of the specific type of case she had filed. The numbers were brutal and unforgiving.According to every legal database she saw, most of the people who initiated cases like this rarely won because they had no factual evidence to

The second Kaelen stepped out of the car, the noise level out there went from a dull roar to a straight-up explosion. He looked up and saw Riley right in the middle of it all, surrounded by a swarm of reporters like she was some kind of A-list celebrity on a red carpet. She was standing there with this perfectly practiced look of "wronged woman," giving her statement while cameras flashed every half-second. When she spotted him, she didn't even flinch; instead, she let this slow, mocking smile spread across her face. It was the kind of smile that said she’d already won the first round without even stepping inside. She leaned into the microphones and said, "Oh, look. The main star of the show has finally decided to join us." The reporters didn't even wait for her to finish. They turned back like a pack of hungry dogs that just caught the scent of fresh meat. The crowd tried to rush toward Kaelen, microphones thrust out like spears, everyone shouting questions at once. "Kaelen

The courtroom was already filling when they arrived, a slow-moving tide of spectators and officials that seemed to swallow the available space.Kaelen stepped through the tall wooden doors with Arianna and Jonah close behind him, the low murmur of voices pressing against his ears like the persistent hum of high-voltage static. The air smelled faintly of lemon polish and aged, acidic paper—the sterile scent of bureaucracy—and the dull, rhythmic echo of leather soles against the expansive marble floors gave every footstep a sense of unsettling finality.This was it.There was no more room for tactical delays. No more late-night sessions of preparation. No more pretending that this collision wasn't happening in the light of day.Since both sides stood on opposing ends of the law, they naturally separated like oil and water, gravitating toward their respective tables. Riley was already there, standing on the opposite side of the cavernous courtroom, her posture straight, composed, and unn