~ Mara ~
Cole left twenty minutes ago.
The house still felt like he was standing in the kitchen.
That was the problem with him.
He filled space without trying.
The silence after he left always felt bigger than the house itself.
I rinsed the same plate twice before realising it was already clean.
My brain kept replaying the same words.
I’m not going anywhere.
Simple sentence.
Terrifying promise.
I dried my hands slowly and leaned against the counter.
Permanence.
Cole had offered it like it was nothing.
Like stepping into my life and Lily’s life was just another decision.
Like he wasn’t a man who lived in a world full of violence, and men who solved problems with fists.
I tried to imagine explaining him to a judge.
Yes, your honour, the biker club president sleeps over somet
