He skips them most of the time because of Mallory and I know by the look in his eyes that he is here because Kian came. He doesn’t miss out on anything he considers fun. “I’m genuinely surprised you’re here.” Kian says and Cole snickers.“Don’t look at me like that, I’m family too.” He then sniffs
KIAN’S POVThe dishes clink softly, echoing through the small, cozy kitchen as I lean against the wall, watching Leslie. She’s laughing with Madam Annie and Mallory as they wash up, the three of them sharing inside jokes I’ll likely never understand. Each giggle and exchange between them is intimat
KIAN’S POVThroughout the drive back to her place, I find myself looking forward to the final thing she wants to show me. The night we just had is an indication that whatever Leslie wants to show me will be just as amazing as dinner with her family. We arrive at home and she leads the way, turning
LESLIE’S POV The look on Kian’s face as he reads through my résumé is priceless. His eyes dart between the lines, lingering on each detail as if he’s trying to grasp the reality of what I’m offering him. The disbelief, the shock—it's all there, etched across his face. He keeps looking from me to t
KIAN’S POV I’d always thought starting over would feel like failure, but after this month, I know it’s nothing like that. However, what I feel is also something as scary as failure. It feels like starting at the bottom of a mountain with no harness—no security to catch me if I slip.For a month, I’
KIAN'S POVThe wind carries a cold bite as I step out of the taxi, feeling a familiar tension creeping through my veins. I shouldn’t be here. Not because it doesn’t matter anymore—Andre could have said anything to reel me in—but because whatever he knows about Mike is a chapter I’ve already buried,
“So, I dug in and retraced his steps through every problem your company was faced with before it collapsed. Apparently, Mike’s been stirring the pot for a while now, carefully placing pawns where he needed them to be. He knew the people to talk to, the connections to exploit. It was almost an art f
LESLIE’S POV Kian’s words echo in my mind—“I think it’s time I return home.” For days, I’ve been unable to shake them off. Though he said them with an air of finality, there’s a vulnerability underneath, a silent plea for strength neither of us wants to admit.For as much as we’ve grown together in
CHAPTER 68 [Welcome Home ] ~SOPHIE~ “Please tell me you two didn’t fuck in here.” Celeste’s voice cut through the quiet like a whip, sharp and full of disbelief. I glanced over my shoulder, pausing mid-fold as I stuffed another sweater into my bag. She was standing above me, her arms crossed, a
CHAPTER 67 [ Whenever, wherever ] ~TRAVIS~ Having fallen for Sophie’s schemes more than once, I guess it was normal for my brain to process every unusual thing she does as a trick to lure me in. Perhaps, that was why I imagined her smirking when in truth, she was just as stunned as I was to fi
CHAPTER 66 [ In The Flesh ] ~TRAVIS~ They were still under the harsh glare of my headlights. While Justin didn’t exactly look his best, Sophie was…worse. An ugly sweater hung loosely over her upper frame, her hair was in a messy bun and was close to tumbling all over her face as she took Justin by
CHAPTER 65 [ The Real Deal ] ~TRAVIS~ The past week has been nothing short of exhausting. I had barely stepped foot into my office before I was bombarded with calls and meetings, my inbox flooded with contracts and reports that had piled up during the engagement trip. If it wasn’t work, it was
CHAPTER 64 [ Caged, Not Sheltered ] ~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, wo
CHAPTER 63 [ Edge of Insanity ] ~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
CHAPTER 62 [ Sugar Daddy ] ~SEBASTIAN~ (2) I’ll be damned if I have to suffer because my father was trying to correct his misdeeds. “Do you have a better plan?” My mother faced me squarely, an unimpressed look in her eyes. “Can’t we just ignore him? He’s too weak to do anything by himself any
CHAPTER 61 [ Daddy Dearest ] ~SEBASTIAN~ (1) “I am going to move into the estate with Sophie.” Daddy Dearest knew how to drop a bombshell—the kind that takes a while to recover from. It was also the kind that makes me wonder if all the drugs he’s been pumped full of in the past month have made
CHAPTER 60 [ The Hell for Bad Fathers ] ~SOPHIE~ I stared at him, convinced I’d misheard. “You want me to what?” My voice came out sharper than I intended, but I couldn’t help it. “Move back in,” my father repeated, his tone calm, as if he hadn’t just said something insane. Did he even hear