Paul was the kind of student every teacher dreamed of—bright, polite, eager to learn. He loved school, loved solving math problems, loved listening to stories. Then, one day, he stopped coming. No warning. No explanation. Just… gone. At first, I thought he had caught a cold. Kids got sick all the time. But when a week passed with no sign of him, I started to worry. By the second week, I went to the office, my heart pounding. “Have you heard anything about Paul from my class?” I asked the

The first time someone mentioned Amber’s wedding, I laughed. “Wait, Amber who?” I asked, sipping my coffee, my attention more on the giant slice of cheesecake in front of me than on the conversation. The table went silent. Four pairs of eyes blinked at me like I’d just confessed to a crime. “Are you serious, Ivy?” Lauren finally asked, setting down her fork. “Amber. Our Amber.” My stomach dipped. “No way. She would have told me. You’re messing with me, right?” Jack shifted uncomfortably, almost knocking over his coffee. “Ivy,

I fell in love with a pregnant woman and promised to help her raise the baby, but she chose to run from her responsibilities. She abandoned me and our child, only to return years later with an unthinkable demand. I met Molly in college. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen—radiant smile, golden hair, and an energy that made people gravitate toward her. But she never paid much attention to me. Molly was always surrounded by the most popular guys, mostly football players, and I was just