Raven sat quietly at the breakfast table, picking at the corner of her toast. The chatter around her felt distant as if she were inside a bubble. Julie, who was sitting beside her, was laughing with her friends, Kyle and Emily. It was Julie's idea to come here after the chaos yesterday, and Raven had no energy to refuse. Julie turned to Raven, pulling her from her trance. "Raven, I didn’t get the chance to properly introduce you to my friends yesterday." She said, smiling apologetically. "This is Kyle, and this is Kyle's sister, Emily. Yesterday was a bit, huh?" Raven forced a smile. "Yeah, just a little." Kyle, a tall guy with blonde hair, reached across the table, offering his hand. "Nice to officially meet you, Raven. Julie’s told us a bit about you." "Umm, you mean a lot. Julie won't shut up about you." Emily said. "I guess I can't blame her for that, you're... pretty." Emily sounded a bit off to Raven, but she didn't comment on it. Raven shook Kyle's hand and nodded. "It's n
Charles chuckled softly. "I knew you've been wanting to ask that for a long time. It's something our families have wanted for generations. The Prescotts and the Barretts have been friends since I can remember. I can't remember a time when there ever was a Barrett without a Prescott." Charles continued. "But neither of us had daughters for the longest time, but when your father told me that his wife was having a girl, we saw it as an opportunity to unite our families. Your father wanted to ensure your safety and happiness, Raven. He wanted to secure your future. And he trusted me to keep you safe." "I think you mean Blair’s happiness and future," Raven said, smiling sadly. "There were complications that even I don't understand," Charles replied. "But that’s a story for another time." Raven listened quietly, trying to process his words. "What if I don't want this alliance, and I just want to be free?" Raven said, her heart ached in her chest. Charles furrowed his brow. "Free? What
Mason sat in his mini bar, staring at the divorce papers in disbelief. It had been two weeks since Raven left, and though he tried to convince himself she just needed some space, seeing her signature on those documents shattered every hope he had left. His heart broke as he flipped through the pages, seeing her signature at the bottom of every document was a cruel reminder that she truly had left him. He reached for his phone and dialed his father’s number. Charles picked up after a few rings. "Tell me you didn't know about this, Dad." Mason's voice was filled with desperation. "Raven just served me with divorce papers. She's left me for good, I don't know what to do anymore." There was a brief pause on the other end before Charles spoke. "All I can say now, Mason, is that you need to let her go. Raven has made her decision. She signed her part, and now it's time for you to sign yours." "You knew about this. How could you let this happen, Dad? You knew and you didn't try to stop h
Raven's POV The sound of passengers exiting the plane surrounded me as I stepped into the terminal at Perth International Airport. The long flight left me feeling drained, but as soon as I stepped out of the plane, the unfamiliar air of Australia made me suddenly excited. It was warmer than I had expected, even with all the reading I had done about the place. But there was something fresh in the air that surprised me for a city as busy as Perth – but then again, it wouldn’t have been New York, it would be too loud and too smoky. But this? This was a new start, away from all the troubles behind me. Finally some peace of mind. It was exciting, starting up in a place where nobody knew anything about me. I could be whoever I wanted to be! I could finally live my life without any expectations, without any resentment that filled any room I moved into. As I pushed my luggage cart, my eyes scanned the crowd for a sign. Charles had told me someone would pick me up, and I was expecting a driv
Brian chuckled, parking the car and stepping out. "Yep. Penthouse suite, courtesy of Charles. I can’t believe you expected anything less from him." "I just thought, since I'm staying alone, it wouldn't be so... big." My jaw dropped as we walked into the lobby, and by the time I stepped into the penthouse, I was speechless. The place was massive! It didn’t have a key, it had a fingerprint scanner! And a key, but only for emergencies. I've never lived alone before, but I could get used to this. "This place is incredible," I whispered, still in awe. I've lived in a mansion all my life but this, this is different. It's a place I could call home. Just a drama-free life. My eyes widened when I saw an entertaining area outside – with a swimming pool! Brian grinned. "Charles wanted to make sure you were comfortable. He said you needed a fresh start.” Brian told her, putting my luggage beside the most beautiful, clearly comfortable, couch I have ever seen. “Speaking of fresh starts, there
Julie lay restless in bed, staring at the ceiling, her father had asked her to spend a few days with her brother. He didn’t like how they rarely spoke to each other anymore. From the moment she arrived, she's been irritated by Candice’s presence. It wasn't like she could sleep, not with so much going on in her head. Julie wanted Candice out of the picture for good. She couldn’t stand the sight of her. It was almost midnight when she heard a knock. Startled, Julie sat up, frowning. Who would be up at this hour? She slipped out of bed, walked barefoot towards her door, and looked out. Across the hallway, she saw Candice, knocking on Mason's bedroom door, not even concerned that she was disrupting everyone's sleep. Julie stepped out angrily. "What are you doing, Candice?" She demanded. "Can't you see it's late?" "Mind your business, pest." Candice turned to her and said. "You should be thankful you're pregnant, or else I’d make sure your mouth went behind your head." Candice didn't
Mason's POV I didn't dare to open the letter Julie gave me yesterday. And right now, I'm here in my room, holding onto the letter. I took a deep breath and opened it; I recognized Raven’s handwriting, and hope filled my chest as I sat down to read it. ~~~~ My Dearest Friend, You are one of the most important people in my life, the only one I can truly trust. I hate that, after we’ve been apart for so long, I’ve had to leave. I hope you’re not too angry with me. I don’t want to abandon you, I’ll be thinking of you always and missing you so much. I just have to get away, away from all this drama. I don’t think I can handle seeing Mason and Candice together, especially once their baby is born. How am I supposed to deal with that? Seeing him so happy with her, in a way I can never be a part of. Even if I had his baby, I would always be second in his life. When I decided to marry him, I had promised myself that I wasn't going to fall in love. I only cared about our arrangement, but
Justin walked into Charles’s study, and he found his cousin Mason already there, sitting quietly by his father's desk. Justin made his way in without hesitation, his eyes locked with Mason's and he smirked. "Well, look who it is," Justin sneered. "The cheating husband. I knew you'd blow it, and now Raven left. She was too caught up in her feelings to know that she would have been better off with me." Mason didn’t respond; their mind was in a complete mess, and he wasn't in the mood to banter words, especially with Justin. Charles narrowed his eyes at Justin. "Justin," he warned, his tone firm. "This is not the time to be childish." "Childish?" Justin turned fully to Mason, his grin widening. "Uncle was so quick to hand over the company to you. Why? Because he thought you were responsible and stable. But look at you... your wife left you because you went back to fooling around with that Candice. Not only did you fool around, but you also got her pregnant. Now you're having a chil