Falling in love is the easy part. It's the late 80s when wealthy East Coast socialite Michelle Carver meets Scott McKallister, sun-crusted California local and frontman of an underground heavy metal band who flirts like he's got nothing to lose. It's instant chemistry. And when Scott promises a night she'll have to lie about later, Michelle can't resist.

"From the day I met Scott, life asked me to choose."

Michelle's status-obsessed family has plans for her that don't include marrying down. When the secret romance is discovered, Michelle must decide between the future she was raised for and the man she'd risk everything to keep. Their story ends the way every romance promises: with a happily ever after.

But that was only the beginning.

Told across multiple eras, What Lasts is a story about love that survives beyond the honeymoon phase: when kids arrive, money gets tight, and real life moves in. Marriage isn't about finding "the one," or even learning to pee with the door wide open. It's about choosing the same person, again and again. Scott and Michelle think they've figured that part out……until the day one of their children doesn't come home.

NOTE: What Lasts is a prequel to the Cake Series. No prior listening is required—this story stands on its own—but it lays the foundation for the world and characters that follow.