A Mother’s Love—And a Son’s Shame My hands shook as I held the scissors, staring at my reflection in the cracked mirror of my tiny basement salon. For 22 years, I’d cut and styled hair in this same cramped room while my son, Patrick, did his homework at the corner table. I buried his father when he was just two years old, and from that day on, it was just the two of us—me, Mariam, a single mother who worked her fingers to the bone to give him everything. And

The Night Everything Changed Lacey expected warmth. Laughter. Maybe even love. Instead, one sentence shattered her world. And in that moment, she had to choose—stay silent, or fight for the life she never meant to lose. The Man Who Stole the Stars The first time Lacey saw Aidan, he was standing by a bonfire, the flames dancing in his dark eyes. His laugh was loud, carefree, the kind that made people turn their heads. “You’re shivering,” he’d said, draping his jacket over her shoulders. “Better?” That was Aidan. Thoughtful. Charming.

The Summer Everything Shattered That summer, my world collapsed—money gone, Dad gone, nowhere to run. And just when I needed family the most, my stepmother slapped a price tag on my grief. I almost lost myself completely. The Beginning of the End I stood in my tiny rented apartment, staring at empty shelves, half-packed suitcases, and a mountain of boxes. For ten years, I had worked nonstop—no weekends, no breaks—saving every penny to open my dream: a cozy bookstore café. And just as I was about to step into that