**Oliva POVLights beamed at me in every direction. The echo of silence took over the auditorium. I was alone on stage with nothing but a concert grand piano. The audience was lost in the shadows behind the glare of the lights. They were silent, but I knew they were there. My fingers ran across the keys, the notes drawing from the piano and echoing around the auditorium. My foot moved back and forth across the pedals, making all the right exaggerations to the notes. Five years of secret heartache flowed through my fingers. While I played, nothing else mattered. Just me and the music and how it felt in my bones. I took a deep breath in, savoring the crescendo before the inevitable decline into the outro. I slammed the pedal to draw out the final notes and then I let the music fade once again into silence. The audience exploded with cheers and clapping. My heart hammered with bittersweet excitement, and I smiled, standing up and stepping to the edge of the stage. Roses and bou

Ken started to fuss as I packed up from rehearsal to head home. The session ran more than an hour over and his little head was already bobbing up and down. I didn't like carrying him long distances but I scooped him up and walked as quickly as I could from the building to our car. Ken mumbled a little and continued to fuss as I packed him into his booster seat. I kissed his forehead and closed the car door. Something near my front tire caught my eye. I went over and knelt down to see what was there. A crumpled piece of paper. I picked it up and was getting ready to unfold it when something slammed into me from behind. Grunting, I pitched forward, slamming into my car. The wind left my lungs and every time I tried to breathe, my chest heaved and spasmed. "Wh-wh…" I couldn't talk. My voice was hoarse and no air would come out. "You really think you're better than me?" Nina's nasally voice asked. She shoved me again.I braced my hands against the car and turned around. I

Ken walked beside me as we got off the plane wearing a cartoon backpack and pulling his own little roller suitcase. He was growing up much too fast for my liking. We went to the entryway of the airport where my mom said she'd have a driver waiting for us. She couldn't leave my dad. I looked around for someone holding a "Richardson" sign but there wasn't anyone there. While we waited, I noticed several men looking at me, eyeing me up and down as they walked by. Sometimes I'd get a wink or a smirk. I'd learned how to tune those out and not react. Ken, on the other hand, seemed upset by it. He glared at the men passing by. "Don't look at my mom!" he hissed at a few of them. As soon as they were called out, my onlookers would look away quickly and hurry off. "You're growing into a young man," I told Ken as he tried to protect me. He looked up at me with starry eyes. "I'll protect you until you find me a good daddy. Then he will protect us both," Ken said, laughing a li

**Ellis POVIt was hard to be home. Every year it got harder and harder to come home to an empty mansion.Coming home was supposed to be pleasant and relaxing. Instead, I spent the majority of my time staying busy and finalizing business deals in my office. I barely gave myself enough time to sleep before catching the next plane out. My eyes flitted from the papers I was reviewing at my desk to the piano in the room across the hall. The piano Olivia had played. I kept it in my line of sight when I was home, but all it did was bring back painful memories. Shaking my head, I returned to my paperwork. I had to get several deals wrapped up before I hit the road again. "M-Mister Peterson?" a soft voice asked at the door, knocking gently. I looked up, seeing one of my maids. She was blocking my view of the piano. "Come in," I said, motioning to her. She shyly looked at her feet, cheeks reddening, and then stepped into my office. "What can I do for you?""There's someone

I stared at Ellis as he walked up beside me. He exuded the same confidence and charm I remembered. I heard flustered sighs go through the other women there as they stared at him. Dressed in a tailored burgundy suit with a black button-up, a cream-colored tie and pocket square, his smirk was both challenging and charming. He stopped right beside me and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. His smooth jaw, dark hair, and those sparkling eyes. If anything, he was even more handsome than when I'd left five years ago. My heart raced and my palms felt sweaty. I was completely captivated until Ken pulled away from me. "Ken!" I tried to grab him. He ignored me and ran right up to Ellis. Ken grabbed his pant leg and tugged. Ellis looked down at him and smiled fondly. There was too much familiarity between them. Had they met before, I wondered. "I hoped you'd come," Ken said with a wide eyed grin. My heart nearly stopped to see them together. I had imagined it so many times but n