LESLIE’S POVI watch with immense pleasure as giant cardboard packages get lifted off delivery trucks and loaded into the company’s storage. Dianne stands with the men doing the heavy lifting, notepad in hand as she takes inventory of the packages getting loaded into our storage. The thud of the p
********************Home. What a joke. It’s the only joke bigger than me who came back here and who still can’t leave even after finding out it was all a part of Kian’s plan to have me back in the palm of his hands. I have realized that whether consciously or not, I must have also used grandfathe
KIAN’S POVGrandfather is leaving.That should make me happy, right? Because it means I won’t have to constantly worry about his health or worry about him finding out about the divorce. It means I finally get to breathe in my own house. But it also means having absolutely no reason to keep Leslie a
KIAN'S POVThe idea of going on a camping trip didn’t sit well with me not only because of the awkward air between Leslie and I but also because of grandfather's health. He has always had this overly obsessed love for the beach, frankly just any huge body of water so it’s not a surprise that he chos
“Kian, that is great! I’m invited, aren’t I?” My uncle sounds ecstatic. Before I can reply, the door opens and my secretary walks in, a tray with a mug in hand. She bows slightly in a greeting before moving closer into the room. I return my attention back to Travis, shrugging. “I guess you are.”
LESLIE'S POVPRESENTI struggle with a tent, twisting and folding. Unable to tell where it starts or ends. Somewhere, Kian talks his grandfather’s ear off about how this whole sleeping outside in a tent near the beach thing is a terrible idea. Well for the first time, Kian and I agree on something.
LESLIE'S POVMy excitement somewhat dampens when she mentions that one bit of information. I hate to think about it but it is always there at the back of my mind. It never leaves. My boss is prickly to everyone but not to the one woman who manages to break a smile from him. Beverly is everything I’m
KIAN’S POVGod, I hate surprises. And everything else attached to it; the shock, the confusion, the momentary loss of control, the fight to get that control back and the aftermath of losing it. It’s all a fucking mess wrapped together in a thing called surprises. I can’t emphasise enough about how
CHAPTER 99 ~SOPHIE~ The moment Sebastian disappeared down the street, a crushing silence fell over me, broken only by the unsteady rhythm of my breathing. My fingers twitched at my sides, my entire body locked in place as if moving would make the moment real, as if accepting that he had been
CHAPTER 98 ~SOPHIE~ In between the endless nightmares that were triggered by the events of the past week and waiting for Travis to reach out to me again, I had been pushed to the edge of insanity. I thought it couldn’t get any worse, but it did. It got worse. And now I was bolting out
CHAPTER 97 ~JUSTIN~ I’ve never been anyone’s first choice. Never. No matter how hard I tried, Jac always had the spotlight. He was the golden boy, the prodigy, the one with all the medals and accolades. Meanwhile, I was the kid bringing home crayon sketches and piano recitals that no one car
CHAPTER 96 ~SOPHIE~ There were many questions; like how on earth she was in a place that was at least an hour's drive from her family’s mansion, and why she was chugging down cheap beer when I have only ever seen her enjoy the finest wine. The longer we stood there, wordlessly staring at ea
CHAPTER 95 [ Punching Bag ] ~ELAINE~ (6) The moment I slipped through the gates and caught sight of my father’s car parked neatly in the driveway, dread curled deep in the pit of my stomach. I stopped dead in my tracks, my pulse quickening. They were home. They were never supposed to be hom
CHAPTER 94 [ The One Who Needs Saving ] ~SOPHIE~ I didn’t even blink when the words fell out of Justin’s mouth like he'd been holding them in for years. I just sat there, watching him like he had told me the most obvious thing in the world. If I felt remotely surprised, it was simply because I
CHAPTER 93 [ I’m Gay ] ~SOPHIE~ My scream echoed down the street, loud enough to wake the dead or at least give someone a mild heart attack. But the hand gripping my shoulder was barely even settled before instinct took over. I spun around, grabbing the wrist tightly and twisting it with all the
CHAPTER 92 [ Little Contradictions ] ~SOPHIE~ The faint neon lights from the cinema flickered on and off as I stood by the curb, watching the stream of people moving in and out of the building. I couldn’t remember the last time I watched a movie—couldn’t even remember the last time I did somethi
CHAPTER 91 [ The Man I thought I knew ] ~SOPHIE~ He said no. I never imagined that would be his answer. I sat there, stunned into silence, blinking at him like I hadn't heard him right. His fingers were still wrapped around my wrist, firm and unyielding as if he could anchor me to him by sheer