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
TRAVIS' POVTwo days. That’s how long it’s been since Beverly collapsed in front of me, her eyes wide with shock, staring at that old picture that seemed to unlock something buried deep within her mind. Since then, she hasn’t stirred. I stand in her hospital room, my heart heavy. The sound of the m
TRAVIS' POVHer words shock me to near death. I blink a few times, mouth opening and closing with no words. The woman just watches me until I slowly recover from her shock. “And you are?” I ask.“Not that it concerns you anyway but well, I’m her daughter and I manage the house now. I don’t know why
TRAVIS' POVI take the phone from her and zoom in on Mike’s picture this time before handing it over to her.“Was it this boy?” She stares down at it for a while and nods eagerly. “Yes, yes. That’s Joe, short for Joseph. His sister was Josephine.” “Wait? Joe? Not Mike?”Mrs Hargroves shakes her he
CHAPTER 106 [A Rebound] ~SOPHIE~ I stared at my reflection in the mirror, tilting my head to the left, then the right. My dress fit like a second skin—black, sleeveless, simple but elegant. It wasn’t over-the-top, but it hugged me in all the right places. Still, I felt uncertain. “Do I look l
CHAPTER 106 [A Rebound] ~SOPHIE~ I stared at my reflection in the mirror, tilting my head to the left, then the right. My dress fit like a second skin—black, sleeveless, simple but elegant. It wasn’t over-the-top, but it hugged me in all the right places. Still, I felt uncertain. “Do I look like
CHAPTER 105 [Erasing Him] ~SOPHIE~ I’d made up my mind to erase Travis totally. In my thoughts, in my future and even in my memories if I could help it. I had decided, and now, I was beginning the painful process of erasing him. The first conversation I had that morning was with my father. I’d ti
CHAPTER 104 [ Another lost kid] ~ELAINE~ (8) I kept my gaze locked on the food, my hands gripping the edge of the blanket wrapped around me. My stomach twisted painfully, but the fear in my chest held my body in place. I didn't trust it. I didn’t trust him. He didn’t look like he was trying to
CHAPTER 103 [The Lesser Evil ] ~ELAINE~ (7) I curled up tighter on my bed, pulling the covers around my frail body even though I wasn’t cold. It wasn’t the temperature that made me tremble—it was the growling in my stomach and the pounding in my head. Hunger had a way of distorting everything, e
CHAPTER 102 [No String and a Billionaire’s Name] ~SEBASTIAN~ (3) The moment I stepped into the house, silence greeted me like a sneer to the face. No voices, no footsteps, no Sophie playing the dutiful daughter as I ordered her to do. Just silence and the faint creak of floorboards as I shut the
CHAPTER 101 ~TRAVIS~ I didn’t know what it was or what to call it exactly; that feeling that curled in my chest the moment Sophie looked at me like a stranger and walked away with an actual one. But whatever it was, it was familiar. I’d felt it before on the very night she ended things. That
CHAPTER 99 [You Heard The Lady ] ~SOPHIE~ The can of juice in my hand was already warm. I hadn’t taken more than two sips, but I tossed it into the nearest trash can like it had personally offended me. Coming here was a mistake—again. I shouldn’t have let my father’s excited words or Travis’ i
AUTHOR’S NOTE 📝 Hi, everyone. I know. I have done the unforgivable—leaving without a word and not updating for a long period of time. I sincerely apologize to everyone of you who has dedicated your time to reading my book. I didn’t intend to but I was in a terrible place last month—mentally—