"You're dressed to impress, aren't you?" Sande asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at Eds."I don't know what you're talking about," Eds murmured, turning away to hide her pink cheeks. "You don't expect me to wear rags, do you?""Of course not." Sande shot her friend a secretive smile. "Pretend you don't know what I'm talking about all you like.""That's exactly what I'm doing," Eds assured her."He's here!" Tristan announced excitedly from the living room. "And he's got... gifts!""Really?" Sande rushed over to the window and whistled when she saw the bouquets. "Roses!""I'm sure he was expecting those gifts to be a surprise," Eds said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now, he'll be the one surprised.""We can still act surprised." Tristan said.Eds smoothed down her blue sheath dress, wondering if Sande was indeed right about her wanting to impress Sinjin. She briefly considered going upstairs to change, but the sound of the doorbell ringing stopped her. She watched as Troy a
Sinjin, sitting smack dab in the middle of the upscale restaurant with several other people, felt awkward. His mother had reserved a private room for him and Brittany, but he had requested a table where they could be seen by others, a decision he now regretted.Just as he was beginning to wonder if Brittany would make an appearance or not, he wanted to make his escape. He could lie and come up with a very convincing excuse for bailing on his date to his mother, but he knew she'd just reschedule the date and he'd have to go through this again. As he looked up, he saw her being escorted to their table by the hostess, prompting him to stand up. Brittany apologized for keeping him waiting due to traffic."It's fine," he replied, forcing a smile as he pulled out her chair, gestured for her to sit, and then pushed it closer to the table before retaking his seat. "I just arrived five minutes ago.""You look very handsome," she remarked. "But then, you've always been very handsome.""Thank yo
Sinjin woke up disoriented, feeling like hell with his head aching and his arm burdened as though an elephant sat upon it. Gradually, he realized he was in the hospital as memories of the previous night flashed through his mind like scenes from a film: dinner with Brittany, her unhinged ex arriving, going berserk, and shooting him."Fuck," he muttered."Sinjin?" called his mother's anxious voice from somewhere in the room. In an instant, she appeared beside him and smiled with relief upon seeing him awake. "Oh, thank goodness. You're awake."Sinjin stared at his mother for a long time without saying anything, making her uncomfortable. She was happy he was awake despite knowing it was her fault he was in the hospital. Was she serious? Sometimes, he resented his mother for who she was and how she treated him, but there were moments when he loved her despite her flaws. This wasn't one of those moments."Are you okay, darling?" she asked."Do I look okay to you?" he snapped.Camilla flin
Sinjin stared impatiently out of the tinted window of his car, at the front door of the Aria Falls Police Department, wondering what was holding up Williams, whom he had sent to have Mark Reynolds released. Just as he decided to go in and take care of the matter himself, the door opened and Williams stepped out with Mark, who had a scowl on his face. He watched as they descended the steps and headed towards the car, but Mark hesitated, turning to say something to Williams.He pressed a button on his side of the door, and the window rolled down automatically. The car had been running for a few minutes, and it was making him irritable. His parents would flip if they knew he had gotten Mark released, but he didn't care about their opinions. All he knew was that he didn't have the time or energy to attend Mark's trial. Besides, Mark had helped him out of a situation that could have been sticky if things had gone differently that night."Get in, Mark," he ordered. "I don't have all day."
"Sir, we've found him," a gruff voice announced from the doorway."Really?" Camilla perked up, turning in her seat to stare at the bodyguard. "Where is he?""He's currently residing at Meadowbrook Apartments," the bodyguard responded."Thank you, Matthews," Brendan said, waving the bodyguard away."Why is Sinjin doing this to me?" Camilla lamented. "I don't understand.""He's still upset with you, Cam," Brendan assured her. "He'll come around. But for the meantime, let's be glad he's actually resting.""Are you sure?" She arched her brow. "He's been working his ass off for years without going on a vacation. It's like he has something to prove." Her brows furrowed in thought. "But it's not like he'll listen to me if I tell him to stop working so hard.""It's been a week," Emma muttered. "Isn't that enough time for him to get over his ire? Sometimes, he acts like a woman on her period." She huffed."You will show him some respect," Camilla admonished her. "He's your older brother.""Wel
Sinjin stroked his jaw and stared at his parents in silence for a few minutes. Letting out a sigh, he rose to his feet, chuckled darkly under his breath, and went upstairs to take a shower. After brushing his teeth, shaving, and dressing, he returned to the living room to find his parents and sister still seated."I'm heading out," he said. "I'll see you out.""Where are you going?" Camilla demanded. "You're just going to leave us hanging? What do you have to say for yourself?""Hanging?" he feigned ignorance. "I didn't know we were talking.""We want to know why you did what you did," she snapped. "You've been keeping secrets from us, Sin.""I don't have to give you an answer when you've already concluded that I did what I did," he said. "There's nothing left to say.""That man shot you. We saw the video on the internet, Sin. Brittany saved your life," Camilla reminded him. "You're just going to pretend that she didn't?""I sent her flowers. Are you happy?" he snapped. "Oh, you know w
A month laterSinjin growled, staring down at his phone screen. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." His dear, overbearing mother had resumed her habit of making a list of eligible females for him, but this time, she bypassed Adella and sent the list directly to his phone.She had even added the president's daughter to the top of her wishlist. The previous list had twenty women, but this one had thirty. Surprisingly, it included two Italian women, one Japanese woman, and one Chinese woman."Sir?" one of the board members spoke up.Sinjin looked up at the faces of the people in the conference room. He blinked, realizing he had spoken his thoughts aloud. They were all staring at him, waiting for him to say something."What?" he asked, stowing his phone."Barnes was just telling you about the prototype for the new safe that's being manufactured. You don't like the design?" Willard Schneider inquired."It's fine," Sinjin replied, looking down at the blueprint in front of him. "Are you a
Sinjin took Eds to a fancy beachfront seafood restaurant and reserved the most private room available. It was amusing to think that he had wanted to be in view of other people when he was with Brittany, yet now he preferred to be alone with Eds. He ordered marinated crab meat salad, and Eds had the same, accompanied by red wine.They ate in silence, which was quite unusual for them since they always had something to say. Both were aware of the awkwardness but had no idea how to break it."I recently acquired an airline," Sinjin said. "Seafare Airlines.""Really?" Eds was surprised. "I heard the company was struggling, and the CEO was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy.""I've always wanted to go into aviation," he said. "I was happy when Castillo approached me with the offer. I paid him twice what he was asking for.""Will you change the name? You won't lay off the employees, right?" she asked, looking worried."No, I won't change the name either," he assured her. "The company will