The massive doors to the entrance of the banquet hall slammed shut after Liam left. I got up from the table then and Aaron reached over it, grabbing my hand, “Ella, please wait, I have to talk to you about something.”But I pulled my hand out of Aaron’s grasp. There was nothing more for us to talk a
In the days that followed my meeting with Aaron, I was feeling so all over the place. How could Aaron make that ask of me. He wanted me to keep this secret relationship that Aaron and could enter into. He wanted to me to try to convince Liam to join the family.It all felt like such a betrayal becau
That fucking bastard. I couldn’t believe what Ella had told me. Aaron was trying to use her as a pawn to get to me. I was furious that Ella had even considered joining him. Of course I was. Ella and I were a team and here she was trying to break us apart.How could she not know that even entertainin
I stormed out of the Winslow mansion, my mind a chaotic mess of anger and frustration. Every word Aaron had said echoed in my ears, fueling the rage that burned inside me. Who the fuck did he think he was, really?I had come there to tell him to stay the hell out of my life. I’d come there to tell h
The next day, I found myself standing outside the Winslow mansion, a mixture of anxiety and determination swirling inside me. Even though the last time I was at the mansion, I’d left pissed off with a promise to myself never to come back, here I was, again. I had agreed to meet with Aaron, to hear
I still hadn’t talked to Liam for almost a week. He wasn’t picking up my calls. He refused to stay after class so that we could walk together. I understood why he did this though. He was still hurt over how I had gone behind his back to talk to Aaron.My mind buzzed with everything that had happened
Even though I had tried to believe mom’s words, tried to believe the story that I was telling in my head about the positive sides of attending Royal Imperial University, deep down, I know that I was just lying to myself.I couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease. Even after talking to Mom, the idea
His eyes flashed with frustration. “Do you really think I’m that weak? Do you think I can’t protect you?”I knew that I had hit a button but I didn’t care. I had to be honest for the both of us, even if Liam refused to see the truth in my words.“That’s not what I’m saying,” I replied, my voice risi
Without so much as an arguing word, the men moved. Indeed, Arthur had inherited my ability to compel. I was quick to spot Cecilia standing in the center of the large, main room. She looked anxious and eager to see her son. When she spotted Arthur, her eyes lit up with pure excitement. “I knew
[Ella’s POV] I felt like I was floating on a cloud. At first, it seemed like I was being torn to pieces. The pain that resonated within me—it was like a fire had been set to burn beneath my skin. Every nerve was spiraling and coiling beyond control. I almost begged them both to stop. But then,
But that chance was almost taken from me tonight. Had we not gone to see him, the man would have been dead. I can’t let Ella’s mother face the same fate. It needs to stop. All of it. “Alright,” I said firmly. I reached down to grasp Ella’s hand. “I know I kept saying that we needed to wait unti
The car ride back to campus was kept in complete silence. What was there to say? Aaron had been brutally attacked by his own wife and was basically left there to bleed out...That, in itself, was proof that Cecilia had truly lost her mind. What’s even scarier was that apparently, she’s lost contr
They narrowed their eyes. “Well, see about that.” “I just had a very bizarre meeting with Cecilia.” All the blood drained from their faces. Their jaws had all collectively hit the ground and I was certain one of them was going to shout. Liam growled under his breath. “...Ella.” I urged the
I had to do my best to not show fear. The very thought of my mom being put at risk over something that had nothing to do with her was enough to cause my anger and stress levels to rise. I fought to keep my voice as even as possible even though I wanted nothing more than to hurl myself over the t
It didn’t seem like Cecilia was the type to give up. Aaron had certainly warned us all enough times that the woman wasn’t to be underestimated. Yet, it seemed like she had dropped off the face of the earth. With something as big as the Winslow name and reputation at stake, there was no way that sh
[Arthur’s POV] I stared back at the man who, for the better part of my life, was never really present. I suppose in a way, Aaron was just as much absent in my life as he was for Liam. I hadn’t ever really considered that we shared something so personal in common. Something in my gut was tellin
Liam shook his head. “None whatsoever,” he stated. “I told Aaron that my true interests lie in professional hockey.” Wow. Why had I always thought that Liam wanted the title the same way I thought that I wanted it? Then again, it took me a long time to realize that I didn’t much want the positio