I leaned back in my chair, the papers trembling slightly in my hand as I read the report. A raid on an illegal gambling operation—and my mother’s name tangled in it. Of course. Another day, another scandal tied to the Dawson name. I tossed the folder onto my desk, rubbing my temples. She never learns. Her business might be legitimate on the surface, but it’s always what lurks beneath that drags everything into chaos. And now, it’s my problem to clean up. Again. My jaw clenched as I flipped through the detailed accounts from the private investigator. Names, locations, bribes—it was all there. Everything the authorities would need to bury her, if they weren’t already in her pocket. "How does she always manage to pull me into her mess?" I muttered under my breath. I leaned forward, running a hand down my face. This wasn’t just about her reputation; it was about mine. If this blows up, the fallout won’t just hit her—it’ll hit me, my business, and everyone under the Dawson umbrella
The car was quiet, save for the low hum of the engine and the occasional rustle of paper as I handed over the pills. I glanced at the man beside me—tall, stoic, and expressionless as always. My private investigator. I hadn’t contacted him in years, but if there was anyone I trusted with this, it was him. “These,” I said simply, placing the small bag of pills in his gloved hand. “I need you to find out what they are and why he’s taking them.” He nodded once, his movements precise and mechanical, before slipping the bag into his coat pocket. Not a single word, not a single unnecessary gesture. That was what I liked about him—obedience without question. “And don’t let anyone trace this back to me. I want answers, but I don’t want complications.” Another nod. His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror for a moment before returning to me. “Good,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair. “You’ll report back to me in person. No emails, no calls. You know the drill.” As the car pu
I glared at him sharply, pulling my dress back into place, my movements deliberate and precise. Before I could say anything, I heard him mutter a crisp curse under his breath. "You kissed me..." he said, his voice low, almost incredulous. I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. "So?" His jaw clenched as he pointed at me. "You kissed me with tongue, Eloise! What the hell was that?" I smirked, tilting my head. "Oh, relax. It was just a little experiment. I was proving a point—you're drunk." "I'm not drunk!" he barked, running a hand through his hair. "You—you can’t just do that!" "Why not?" I challenged, my tone calm but defiant. His eyes widened, his expression a mix of disbelief and frustration, as if I’d just cursed him to his core. "Why not?! You don’t know the hell I went through this whole day, Eloise—" "So what?" I snapped, cutting him off. "Does kissing you make it worse? Does it add to your so-called hell, Elijah?" He stared at me, his lips pressed into a t
ELIJAH I couldn’t move. I stood there, frozen, exactly where Eloise had left me. The rain poured down, soaking me to the bone, but I didn’t care. It was as if the heavens were trying to comfort me—or mock me—I couldn’t tell anymore. My hands clenched into fists at my sides. The cold didn’t bother me, but the ache in my chest did. Her words replayed in my head over and over again, stabbing me deeper every time. "You can never afford me in this lifetime, billionaire." I let out a bitter laugh, my voice cracking. “Afford you? Hell, I’ve already lost everything trying to have you.” The rain kept coming, but I didn’t move. I didn’t even try to shield myself. What was the point? For the first time in years, I felt completely empty. Eloise didn’t just leave me; she took every ounce of hope I had left.Confessing to her wasn’t part of my plan tonight—hell, it was never in my plans at all. I swore I’d take this secret to my grave. But the frustration, the anger, and the overwhelming
ELOISE I woke up to the loud, relentless banging on my door. The noise echoed through the room, and all I could do was groan in frustration. I pulled the pillow over my ears, hoping to drown it out, but it was no use. Edmund's booming, angry voice cut through like a knife. "Eloise! Open this door right now!" I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could just disappear. "Not today, old man," I muttered under my breath, pulling the pillow tighter over my head as if it could shield me from his booming voice. From outside, I heard one of the maids speak up, her voice soft but firm. "Sir, Ms. Eloise is still unwell. Perhaps it would be best to let her rest for now." My father’s response came sharp and impatient. "Unwell? She’s just making excuses! Tell her I won’t tolerate this laziness anymore! She needs to work for my company!" Their voices began to blur, fading into muffled echoes as I pressed the pillow harder against my ears. But it wasn’t enough to drown out the pounding in my
ELIJAHI couldn’t help but whistle, a triumphant smirk playing on my lips as one of the interns I bribed texted me: She ate it.“See? Told you it would work,” I muttered to myself, leaning back in my chair. My mind instantly pictured Eloise’s annoyed expression as she begrudgingly ate the food I sent her.I knew it wasn’t about the food itself—no, it was never that simple with Eloise. It was about getting under her skin, reminding her that I’m still here, no matter how hard she tries to push me away.“Mr. Dawson, your 2 PM meeting is about to start,” my assistant reminded me, poking her head through the door.I nodded, grabbing my tablet, but my thoughts lingered on Eloise. I couldn’t deny that I was petty sometimes, but damn, the satisfaction I felt knowing she couldn’t completely ignore me was worth it.As I walked to the conference room, I checked my phone again, half-hoping for a text from her—maybe a complaint, maybe a sarcastic thank-you, anything. But my screen remained blank.
I could still feel his lips on my forehead. Not that I wanted to. It lingered like an unwelcome shadow, a reminder of something I didn’t ask for.The car slowed to a stop outside my office building, and I climbed in without much thought, tossing my bag onto the seat beside me. My sister's driver greeted me politely, but I barely nodded in response, my attention elsewhere. I was tired, my mind dulled by the weight of unfinished tasks and Elijah's unexpected gesture.I glanced at the blazer beside me. It was neatly folded, its rich fabric a stark contrast to the mess of papers and files I’d crammed into my bag. The faint scent of Elijah’s cologne clung to it, sharp and deliberate, much like the man himself.I leaned back against the seat, arms crossed. "I knew it—he has too much time to create drama," I muttered to myself, my tone dry.The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror, but I ignored him. Elijah’s blazer sat there like it had its own presence, heavy and unavoidable. I
Three days. Three damn days of silence from Eloise. She had blocked my number again, for how many times, leaving me with no other option but to send her lunch—my only way of reminding her that I’m still here, no matter how hard she tries to push me away. For three straight days, I’d bribed the same intern to make sure the food reached her desk. But did she even eat it? Did she appreciate it? Or was she throwing it out just to spite me? “Are you even listening, Elijah?” Michelle’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I blinked, shifting my focus to the woman sitting across from me in the conference room. Michelle had been going on and on about the new collaborative project we were working on. Something about strategies, partnerships—hell if I knew. “Of course,” I lied, giving her a small nod. Michelle narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced. “Right. Then what did I just say?” I sighed, leaning back in my chair. “Something about... leveraging assets?” She groaned, tossi
I never really thought about what it would be like to give birth. I mean, it’s just one push, right? The baby comes out just like that—simple, like… pooping.Well, I was fucking wrong. This was nothing like pooping. The pain was unbearable—like my body was being ripped apart from the inside. I was sweating, panting, gripping the hospital bed so hard my knuckles turned white. I wanted to scream, curse, throw something—anything to make this stop. "You're doing great, Eloise!" one of the nurses said, her voice way too cheerful for my liking. "Great?!" I snapped, glaring at her. "If this is great, I don't want to know what bad feels like!" Farah was beside me, holding my hand, her face pale but determined. "El, you can do this." "I can't!" I groaned as another wave of pain hit me. "Just knock me out! Get this baby out of me already!" And where the hell was Elijah?! "He's on his way," Farah assured me, reading my mind. He better be, because if I was suffering through this
The moment her lips left mine, I smirked. “I didn’t know you already suck at kissing.” Eloise shot me a glare, still slightly breathless. “Excuse me?” I leaned in again, my lips barely brushing her ear as I whispered, “You pulled away first.” She scoffed and crossed her arms. “Because I need energy. Unlike you, I’m carrying a whole human inside me.” I chuckled, reaching for her waist, but she stepped back and grabbed her coffee like I wasn’t just kissing her senseless a few seconds ago. Damn, this woman. “You’re really just gonna act like that didn’t happen?” I teased, watching as she took a slow sip from her mug. Eloise raised a brow. “Act like what didn’t happen?” I narrowed my eyes on her. “Unbelievable.” She shrugged, turning away as if she wasn’t affected, but I didn’t miss the way her fingers slightly trembled against the mug. She was so full of it. I smirked, stepping closer behind her. “You can deny it all you want, Eloise…” I leaned in, my voice low. “But
I was laughing at another ridiculous scene from Friends when Elijah suddenly placed a glass of milk on the vanity table beside me.I glanced at him, raising a brow. “What’s this for?”He shrugged, sitting down next to me. “For you. You need it.”I rolled my eyes but took a sip anyway. “You act like I don’t drink enough milk.”“You don’t,” he said flatly, making me laugh.Elijah leaned back, watching the TV with mild interest before turning to me. “You’ve seen this show a million times. It’s, what? Twenty years old?”“More than twenty,” I corrected with a grin.He shook his head. “So why do you still love it?”I sighed, hugging a pillow. “Because it’s comforting. It’s funny, lighthearted… and no matter how many times I watch it, it still makes me happy.”Elijah hummed, considering my words. “So it’s like your comfort food, but in TV form?”“Exactly.”He smirked. “So if Friends is your comfort show, what does that make me?”“The father of my child.”Elijah went completely silent, and I
ELOISEWithin three months, a lot of things happened.I can't say our situation is really okay now, but at least it was far from before. The weight on my chest wasn’t as heavy, the nightmares weren’t as constant, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I could breathe again. Victoria was sent to a mental hospital.It was inevitable. After everything she had done, after the chaos she left behind, there was no other place for her to go. The last time I saw her, she was sitting in a quiet corner of the facility, staring blankly at the wall. Her once sharp, calculating eyes now seemed distant—empty.A part of me wanted to hate her, to curse her for every wound she inflicted on me, on Elijah, on Noel. But standing there, watching her so lost in her own mind, I felt… nothing. No anger. No satisfaction. Just an eerie sense of finality.Edmund, on the other hand, was in prison.Justice was swift, and there was no escaping what he had done. The trial had been exhausting, dragging o
It has always been me. Those words hit me harder than any bullet ever could. I stared at her, my mind refusing to process what she just said. After everything—after years of regret, after watching her slip through my fingers, after forcing myself to accept that I had lost her—she was telling me this now. I clenched my jaw, my hands curling into fists. “Eloise…” My voice was hoarse, like I had been drowning for years and was finally gasping for air. She loved him. She admitted it. But all this time, it was me. I was the one she gave away when I walked away first. I let out a shaky breath, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. “Then why…” I swallowed, trying to steady myself. “Why did you never tell me?” Why did you let me believe I had already lost you?She smirked before lowering her head. "I was scared… but then again, what is life without a little fear?" I watched her, my chest tightening. Fear? Was that what kept her from telling me? From reaching out? "Eloise..." My v
For years, I carried the weight of unanswered questions. Why did he leave me? Why did he let Matthew take his place? Why did he make me feel like I was never enough to fight for? I never got the answers—not from him, not from anyone. Just assumptions, just pain. The airport buzzed around us—people rushing, announcements echoing, luggage wheels rolling against the floor—but it all faded into the background.We sat on the cold metal bench, side by side, facing the massive glass wall that overlooked the runway. Planes took off and landed, coming and going, just like everything in my life."Elijah," I whispered, steady but firm. "No more lies. No more excuses. Just tell me… why?”The orange light from the sun reflected on his face, casting soft shadows over his sharp features. He looked tired—drained—but there was something else in his eyes. Something raw.He smiled… I stared at him, waiting—needing—to hear more. Elijah leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his finger
I smirked. I needed to compose myself. There was no room for fucking drama right now, Elijah. We needed to focus. We needed to prioritize Eloise. Even with the gun pointed at me, I took a deep breath and let my smirk widen. "Go ahead, Eloise," I taunted. "Shoot me." Her grip on the gun was steady. Her expression was cold—unwavering. "You think I won’t?" she asked, voice sharp as a blade. "I know you can," I said, stepping forward. "But will you?" She didn't move. Didn't even blink. "You're standing beside the man who destroyed your life—”"But also," she continued, her voice unwavering, "the man in front of me pointing his gun is the brother of the woman who killed my brother and husband!"She was talking about Veronica.My fingers tightened around my gun, but I didn't move."And don't forget, dear, the reason why he distanced himself away from you it's because he choose Veronica than you—" “Shut the fuck up you old man!” I couldn't help it anymore. I feel like I lose
In this lifetime, I was never given the privilege to just exist.I had to fight for every damn thing—my name, my place, my worth, and even my love for Eloise.God really humbled me. I used to be so damn proud of myself, thinking that my success was solely because of my hard work. And yes, I did work hard. I bled for the life I built. But now, I realized that no amount of power, no amount of wealth, can protect the things I truly care about. Because in the end, the truth still came crashing down on me. Edmund Hart’s words that night never left my mind. You’re not a Dawson, Elijah. That one sentence ruined everything I thought I knew about myself. I remembered the way he looked at me—calm, collected, like he had been holding onto that secret for years, waiting for the right moment to shatter me. You are the product of your mother’s betrayal. The man you call your father? He knew the truth all along. He just loved your mother too damn much to let her go. I laughed bitterly, shaki
Two weeks. Fourteen fucking days, and still—nothing.No signs of Eloise. No leads. Nothing but dead ends and frustration.I ran a hand down my face, exhaustion creeping into my bones, but I couldn’t afford to rest. Not when she was still out there, not when I didn’t even know if she was—I swallowed hard, shoving the thought away.Jace and the others were doing everything they could, but it wasn’t enough. Every hour that passed without news was another hour of hell. And as if that wasn’t enough, my family was falling apart.Victoria was getting worse.She refused to take her meds, spiraling deeper into whatever darkness consumed her. She kept muttering Eloise’s name, her obsession bleeding into full-blown delusions. I had known she hated Eloise, but I didn’t think she’d actually—No.I should have known.I should have seen it coming, should have stopped it before it ever reached this point. But I was too blind, too fucking wrapped up in my own world to notice the signs. And now… now,