We Could've Been Characters

Cyanna is the central character: a designer at Brooks Haven Design Firm who marries Damari in the prologue while suppressing her love for Karys, her best friend since preschool. She is shaped by parental expectation, grief after a miscarriage, and avoidance, burying herself in work and keeping her loss locked away. She eventually learns of Damari's affair with Jackie, divorces him, and admits her love for Karys.

Arc: She moves from an outwardly perfect but emotionally empty bride who suppresses her feelings, through grief and avoidance, to a woman who removes her wedding ring, ends her marriage, and chooses Karys; by the end she is pregnant with Karys's baby and commits to a future with him.

• Karys Hill — her best friend since preschool, longtime love, and father of her unborn baby
• Damari — her husband, whom she divorces after his affair and refusal to let her go
• Jackie — her secretary at Brooks Haven Design Firm, later revealed to be Damari's mistress
• Mr. Luther — her late father's oldest friend and legal confidant, whom she trusts with her estate and divorce
• Dr. Shelby Yates — her longtime doctor, who confirms her pregnancy
• Yanieca — Karys's girlfriend, toward whom Cyanna shows tense civility; Cyanna initially wants Karys to be with her
• Cyan Brooks — her late father, whose expectations and prenup shape her marriage and divorce

Karys Hill is Cyanna's best friend since preschool and a professional athlete for Los Oceania, also operating as Hillcrest Holdings. He has loved Cyanna all his life but stayed silent, giving her away at her wedding to Damari and later trying to protect and reclaim her. He is direct, possessive, and done waiting by the end.

Arc: He moves from silent, heartbroken support at Cyanna's wedding to actively pursuing her: arranging meetings and gifts, confronting Damari, breaking up with Yanieca, sleeping with Cyanna, and finally forcing Damari to sign divorce papers so he and Cyanna can be together.

• Cyanna — his best friend since preschool, the woman he loves, his girlfriend, and the mother of his unborn child
• Damari — his former college roommate and rival, whom he resents and ultimately forces to sign divorce papers
• Yanieca — his on-again-off-again girlfriend and H&H operations manager, whom he breaks up with
• Cyan Brooks — his father's best friend and Cyanna's father, whose influence kept Karys on the straight and narrow
• Jackie — mentioned in his evidence that she and Yanieca cheated with Damari

Damari is Cyanna's husband, a lawyer who made partner at his firm and was Karys's former college roommate. He prioritizes his career, was not ready for a child, dismisses Cyanna's miscarriage, plans to divorce her to leave with something, and has an affair with Jackie. He refuses to sign divorce papers until Karys forces him.

Arc: He goes from Cyanna's husband and the man her parents approved of to a cheating, dismissive spouse planning a transactional divorce; after Luther's evidence and Karys's confrontation, he signs the divorce papers and loses Cyanna.

• Cyanna — his wife, whom he cheats on with Jackie and refuses to divorce until forced
• Karys Hill — his former college roommate, who despises him and forces him to sign the divorce papers
• Jackie — his mistress and the secretary with whom he has been having an affair since month four; they are seen at prenatal appointments and baby shopping
• Yanieca — Karys's girlfriend; Karys's evidence says Damari had sex with Yanieca and Jackie
• Mr. Luther — notes that Damari's cheating violates the prenup
• Cyan Brooks — the prenup Cyan drafted governs Damari's divorce claim

Yanieca is Karys's on-again-off-again girlfriend and operations manager of H&H. She is jealous and possessive of Karys, especially around Cyanna, and tries to assert her place through hosting, a toast, and a drunken kiss. She later falsely claims pregnancy and is revealed to have cheated with Jackie and Damari.

Arc: She goes from Karys's girlfriend and gatekeeper at his birthday party to an ex after he confronts her about damaging Cyanna's house; she leaves after her lies and cheating are exposed.

• Karys Hill — her on-again-off-again boyfriend, who breaks up with her
• Cyanna — the woman she is jealous of and condescends to; she invites Cyanna to Karys's party while monitoring her
• Jackie — her friend and sexual partner, with whom she cheated on Karys
• Damari — someone she and Jackie were also with, according to Karys; she misnames him as Demarcus

Jackie is Cyanna's secretary at Brooks Haven Design Firm, nearly seven months pregnant and determined to work until she delivers. She reads Karys's card, assumes Damari sent lunch and flowers, and requests time off, prompting Cyanna to put a private investigator on her. She is later revealed to be Damari's mistress, appearing with him at prenatal appointments and baby shopping, and to have cheated with Yanieca and Damari.

Arc: She moves from trusted employee to suspected and exposed betrayer: Cyanna has her relieved of duty and her desk cleared after Luther's evidence shows her long affair with Damari.

• Cyanna — her employer at Brooks Haven Design Firm, who later suspects and removes her
• Damari — her affair partner, with whom she has been since month four and with whom she is seen at prenatal appointments and baby shopping
• Yanieca — her friend and sexual partner, with whom she cheated on Karys
• Karys Hill — she is mentioned in his evidence about Yanieca and Damari
• Mr. Luther — subject of the private investigator Luther places at Cyanna's request

Mr. Luther is Cyanna's late father's oldest friend and legal confidant, who calls her babygirl and handles her trust, assets, and divorce. He advises her to drop the deadweight and live for herself, and he offers to give her away. He also supplies the evidence of Damari's affair with Jackie.

Arc: He remains a steady legal and emotional support, helping Cyanna lock up her assets, find evidence, draft divorce papers, and move toward independence.

• Cyanna — her late father's oldest friend and legal confidant, who supports her through the divorce
• Damari — he notes Damari's cheating violates the prenup
• Cyan Brooks — Cyanna's late father and his oldest friend
• Jackie — subject of the private investigator he places at Cyanna's request

Dr. Shelby Yates is Cyanna's longtime doctor, who has seen her since Cyanna got her first period. She examines Cyanna at her yearly post-miscarriage checkup, confirms a positive pregnancy test, performs an ultrasound, and advises her to take it easy and return in four weeks.

Arc: She appears only as a supportive medical figure; she confirms Cyanna's new pregnancy, which changes Cyanna's path toward Karys and away from Damari.

• Cyanna — her longtime patient, whose post-miscarriage checkup reveals a new pregnancy

Cyan Brooks is Cyanna's late father and Karys's father's best friend. His constant words 'Pretty, perfect, princess' and the prenup he drafted shaped Cyanna's marriage; even from his grave, he controls her, since the prenup entitles Damari to half in the event of alienation of affection after three years. His influence also kept Karys on the straight and narrow.

Arc: He does not appear alive; his posthumous expectations and legal document continue to shape Cyanna's choices until she breaks free through divorce.

• Cyanna — her father, whose expectations and prenup shadow her marriage and divorce
• Karys Hill — his father's best friend, whose influence kept Karys on the straight and narrow
• Mr. Luther — his oldest friend and legal confidant
• Damari — the prenup Cyan drafted governs Damari's divorce claim