Lila’s P.O.V
The email arrived at 7:14 a.m. on a Thursday in late February, subject line stark and official: *Notice of Final Hearing – Harper v. Whitaker (Dissolution of Marriage)*.
I was pouring cereal when my phone buzzed on the counter. Lucian had left only twenty minutes earlier—after dropping off coffee and helping Shayla with her ponytail—promising to text after his morning meeting. The apartment still held the echo of his low laugh when Lucas tried to “tune” a spoon like a guitar. Everything had felt almost safe. Almost settled.
Then the subject line turned the room cold.
I opened it with fingers that felt numb. The body was brief, legal boilerplate forwarded from my lawyer: Ethan’s team had filed an emergency motion to finalize the divorce papers I’d left unsigned for months.
