LOGINLara’s POV The jet door opened and warm ocean air hit me first. Then I saw the island, and everything else — the flight, the noise of the last few weeks — just fell away. "You own this," I said, not really a question, more like I was trying to make it real by saying it out loud. "I do." He said it simply, like it wasn't strange at all. "How does someone even end up owning an island, Aiden?" "Slowly. And with very good lawyers." He held out his hand. "Come see the rest before it gets dark." I let him lead me down, still staring past him at the water, at the palm trees moving lazily in the wind, at all of it. "Where's everyone? The staff, the—" "I sent them home before we landed." I stopped walking. "You did?" "I wanted it to be just us." He glanced back at me, unbothered by how big a thing that was to say. "Is that a problem?" "No," I said, quieter than I meant to. "No, that's — that's nice." He smiled like he already knew that's what I'd say, and kept walking,
Lara’s POV Almost forty minutes later, I realized we were nowhere near the city anymore. I frowned slightly while looking outside the window. “Aiden.” “Hm?” “Where are we going?” “You’ll see.” I rolled my eyes. “You’ve said that five times already.” “And yet you’re still here.” Unfortunately, he had a point. I crossed my arms dramatically and looked back outside. Then suddenly— The large gates ahead opened. I straightened immediately. My confusion slowly turned into shock as the private airstrip came into view. And then I saw the jet. My mouth fell open. “…No way.” Aiden parked calmly like this was completely normal. Meanwhile, I was sitting there trying to process the fact that there was an actual private jet in front of me. I slowly turned toward him. “Aiden.” “Hm?” “Tell me that’s not yours.” A faint smirk appeared on his face. “It’s partially mine.” I stared at him. “You own a jet?” “You sound offended.” “You own a jet,” I
Aiden’s Pov I drove through the city, traffic lights turning from red to green without really registering. My hands were steady on the wheel, but my mind wasn’t. It felt strange—leaving work in the middle of the day, ignoring meetings that would usually chain me to that office. Still, for once, I didn’t feel guilty. At the next red light, I pulled out my phone and dialed Lara’s number. She answered on the second ring. “Aiden?” Her voice was soft, warm, like it always was. It did something to my chest every time. “I’m on my way home,” I said. There was a brief pause. “Home? This early?” she asked, surprised. “Did something happen?” “No,” I replied, a faint smile tugging at my lips. “Just get ready.” “Get ready for what?” she asked, curiosity slipping into her tone. “I want to take you out,” I said. “We’re spending time together today.” Another pause—shorter this time—but I could almost hear her smile through the phone. “And where exactly are we going?” “You’ll see,”
Aiden’s POV Kailin studied me for a long moment, his gaze steady, almost too steady. “If you knew all this,” he asked finally, “then why did you wait until now?” I let out a slow breath, leaning back in my chair. The answer had always been there. I just never bothered to say it out loud. “Because I didn’t care,” I said. Not enough to fight it. He frowned slightly. So I went on. “For a long time, marriage was just… another arrangement. Another decision made on my behalf that I didn’t bother to question.” I shrugged. “Elena, someone else—it wouldn’t have mattered. I was taking whatever came my way without complaints because it was easier that way.” Kailin’s lips parted, like he wanted to interrupt, but I didn’t stop. “I didn’t want a reason to break the proposal,” I added quietly. “Having one would mean I’d have to face what I actually wanted. And I wasn’t interested in doing that.” He watched me carefully. “But now?” he asked. I nodded. “But now I do care.” The w
Aiden’s POV I stared at the edge of my desk, jaw tight, my fingers tapping once… twice… then stopping. No. That couldn’t be it. Not after everything. “That’s it?” I asked quietly, lifting my head to look at him. My voice didn’t rise, but there was something sharp underneath it. “That’s all the information you got from him?” Kailin met my eyes, his expression serious. “That’s all he was willing to say,” he replied. “I pushed where I could.” I exhaled slowly through my nose and stood up, walking away from the desk toward the window. The city looked the same as always—busy, loud, alive—but inside me, things were shifting. Too many pieces didn’t fit. My father. His past. The things that never made sense growing up. I’d lived with questions for years without even knowing they were questions. Now that they were right in front of me, I wasn’t about to let them slip away. “That’s not enough,” I said, more to myself than to Kailin. I turned back to him, my resolve settling in. “Anto
Aiden’s POV Kailin shifted in his seat, the humor draining from his face, replaced by something more focused. That was the version of him I trusted—the one who didn’t joke, didn’t waste time, didn’t let emotion cloud judgment. He took a slow breath before speaking. “I was supposed to meet Anton Varek last night,” he began. My fingers stilled on the edge of the desk. “At the club?” He nodded. “Our usual spot.” That alone made my stomach tighten. That club had been safe for years. Neutral ground. No cameras. No leaks. No loose mouths. If something had gone wrong there, it meant a serious breach. “I got there early,” Kailin continued, leaning forward slightly, forearms resting on his thighs. “Too early to blend in. And that’s when I noticed it.” “Noticed what?” I asked. “Eyes,” he said simply. “Too many. In the wrong places. People pretending to drink, pretending to flirt, pretending to gamble—badly.” I exhaled through my nose. “So we’ve been compromised.” “Tracked,
Lara’s POV Two weeks into this internship, and I already felt drained. Every day it was the same—get to work, dive straight into sketches, corrections, endless briefs. Sometimes, I even skipped lunch without realizing it. By the time I got home, I was too tired to even bother with dinner. I would
Rose’s POV I couldn’t help it—I was way too excited. Lara had gone upstairs to meet Aiden, but me? I wanted to see everything. This was Aiden’s company, the famous Heritage Jewelry House. Just being here felt unreal. Nathan had taken our application letters, promising to handle them, and I used
Lara’s POV After lunch with Aiden and Kailin, the house fell quiet again. The clatter of dishes had faded as the maids cleared the dining table, and soon after, Aiden and Kailin left for the office. I lingered in the silence for a moment before heading upstairs. A warm shower helped me shake o
Lara’s POV By the time we finally dragged ourselves out of the jewelry design studio, I felt like my brain had been polished, hammered, and melted down right along with the metals we’d been sketching all day. I groaned, clutching my bag. “I swear I hate design class. Who even cares if a necklac







