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
TRAVIS' POVThe drive to Northgate Orphanage is one I could almost do with my eyes closed. This place has been a constant in my life—a rare one, even as everything else has shifted and bent out of shape over the years. The orphanage is a solid part of not only my past as a young man but also that o
I shake the thoughts away, forcing myself back to the present. To Beverly. She still remembers nothing but sometimes, I feel like she’s better off not remembering at all. Just as we settle onto a bench, one of the other women from the orphanage approaches us. “Oh, Beverly! We were about to clean up
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