Damien's POV"She'll regret this," I muttered, pacing the length of my living room as my mind raced to come up with some form of a way in which to get her to crawl back. To think after everything I did for her, she had the nerve to just walk out on me? No. That wasn't happening. I wasn't going to let it happen.I picked up my phone off the nightstand and scrolled down the names until Chloe's came up on the screen. She seemed resourceful and the closest to Tessa. If there was one person who could help me turn this around, then it was her. So I dialed the number without too much thought."Damien," Chloe purred into the phone almost as though she'd been waiting for my call. "What's up?""I need a favor," I said, no-nonsense, because I utterly had no patience for games at that instant.There was a silent pause, and I could have sworn I heard the smile across the phone. "A favor? Interesting, what's in it for me?"I utterly ignored her question-interest in one thing and one thing alone: be
Aiden's POV"That went better than expected," I muttered, scrolling through the final numbers on my phone as I stood near the exit. Carson's company had agreed to every term we'd laid out and the deal was sealed. Tessa had been instrumental in getting the whole thing done smoothly-as always.I now turned sideways to her, and she was standing not more than a few feet away from me. She leant back now that finally the meeting was over; her eyes scanned the room as if she was already mentally checking off her tasks for the following day.We were just about to leave when Carson stopped us. He was donning that look on his face-that one, where he acted super casual, yet I knew that he wasn't done talking. The minute I saw him head right for Tessa, my teeth clenched."Tessa, can I talk to you for a minute?" Carson asked, stepping in her direction, completely disregarding me.I was too unmoving, my curiosity piqued by this brief interaction.She did not wait but one heartbeat before turning to
TESSA'S POVThe wide grin on my face was so well stuck-on when I walked into the office that morning. All this sounded unreal on paper, a business trip with Aiden, but it was just the feeling that we had our world, one so, so far removed from the real one. Once in my life, when I did not feel horrified coming to work, the soft brush against the waist, the manner in which he treated me, something worth counting, finally dissolved Monday blues.I could feel Chloe looking at me as I trudged over to my desk. Here it comes. I hadn't said anything to Chloe about Aiden, but then she wasn't stupid either. She'd always know something was up with me."Spill," Chloe said, wheeling her chair around as I sat down. "You're practically glowing. What happened on that trip?"I shrugged cool, but this stupid grin tugging my face in a hundred different directions was giving me away. "Nothing huge, just you know, business."One of Chloe's eyebrows arched upward as she obviously bought absolutely nothing.
AIDEN'S POVI sat and smiled across the office and watched Tessa. God, there was just something about her that made her glide through life, melting the background into a vague blur. The way she smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear when she was concentrating-it all just flowed together so smoothly, yet effortlessly captivating. And, dammit, if I'd only known just how fast I'd fall in love with her-this being an innocent attraction mushrooming into something else-it really wasn't what I had bargained for.It really was not about sneaking around the office anymore like we've been doing since we returned from the business trip; no, I wanted more than that. I wanted something real with her. I wanted her mine officially.This was supposed to be the day I knew that finally, I would garner the guts to ask her on a date for the first time-no more hiding and no more masquerading that nothing's happening between them, because it meant everything.I checked my time once more. In just a little
Aiden's POVAll that came to my mind was the sound of Damien's voice as I drove home.Son of a bitch, he came out of nowhere this evening, blindsided me with that smug little grin and that disgusting little revelation about Tessa-he'd been playing me this whole time, just biding his time until I finally let my guard down. Now? Now he had me right where he wanted me.I sat in the dark, staring at the ceiling. Before my eyes, images of that conversation kept replaying on a continuous loop."She wasn't exactly innocent when you met her, was she? Or didn't she tell you about us?"The hangman's noose ringing in my ears, fists clenched inside my pocket, trying to dissuade this bunching tenseness in my chest; pretty much, all that did was worsen it. He still stood as tall as I remembered him, but then at that instance, his face filled my vision, that smug self-satisfied smile when he drops the bomb on me, knowing he has got me cornered.I rolled onto my side and scowled at the noisemaker on
Tessa's P.O.V.I could tell that something was really wrong with Aiden, and that feeling in the deep of my bones was very hard to conceal.Out of reach, canceling plans at the very last minute for days on one end, telling me how busy he had been. Seriously, not a single word of it did I buy.I frowned down at my cell phone, the weight of that last text he'd sent-a noose-surrounding my chest. ‘Don't know yet. Let's see how today goes.’I let out a deep sigh and flipped my phone onto the desk. If it's because of work, why did it feel like he pulled away from me so much? Immediately, in the heart of hearts while finding the reason: had I said something wrong, say anything which made him pull away?Longer I couldn't bear that silence; I needed to know what happened.It was my determination overpowering me as I smartly grasped my purse in my hands right across the floor into Aiden's office. The walk across the floor was eternity, and at every step my heels clicked onto the shiny floors, ma
Damien's POV"Well, here's to making Aiden squirm like the pathetic little coward he is," Chloe said, glass forward and leading with a smug smile.I chinked my glass against hers, savored that bitter taste of the whiskey as it slid down my throat. There was some murmuring around us in the dimly lit bar, though the low hum of conversations didn't even register in my head. The only thing that had filled my head was the thrill of victory-or at least satisfaction that this time finally the upper hand was mine.“I have to hand it to you, Chloe. That camera idea? Brilliant," I said, leaning back in my chair as a smirk pulled on my lips.Chloe smiled, looking pretty proud of herself. "Well, someone had to think ahead. You were too busy fuming over Aiden and Tessa to see the bigger picture.""Fuming?" I replied with a dark chuckle. "Maybe. But now? Now I'm in control.And God, was it good. Aiden had always been the golden boy, always so damn perfect in everybody's eyes. But now? Now he was no
Aiden's POVOutside, the night tore the chill asunder, and I sat inside my car-my hands circling the wheel of my steering a bit too firmly. In front of me, Damien's building loomed dark, silent-the perfect foil to the storm raging inside my head. I cast a glance down at the dashboard clock: 10.32 PM. He should be back any moment now.It wasn't me, here now, folding to the whims of that sick son-of-a-bitch.I let my eyes fall back in my head, my skull hit the seat with a soft thud. Still neon sign of a memory that was, Damien's text just kept blinding me: 48 hours to end things or the video goes viral.Stupid video God. If Tessa ever saw it, no, I couldn't let that happen. Whatever it would take, I had to protect her from this-from him.It wasn't supposed to go down like this. Not today. Not in a few minutes, when I was going to make one of the biggest decisions of my life.Lights flashing behind me in the rearview mirror pulled me from my reverie. I turned to watch as a sleek black ca
TESSA'S POVSunlight streamed through the huge window panes of our house onto the invitations laid across the dining table. I sat with a pen in hand, writing down final guest names, while Aiden leaned against the counter sipping his coffee."We could just elope, you know," he joked, the corner of one lip tugging upwards with a mischievous smirk.I turned a mock glare his way. "After all this planning? Not in your life, Aiden GRAY. We're doing this properly."He laughed, setting his mug down as he ambled over to me. "Properly, huh? That's why you've been vetoing half my suggestions?""You wanted a firework display during the vows!" I reminded him, laughing.“And what’s wrong with that? It would’ve been epic.” He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my temple. “But fine, no fireworks. As long as you’re there, it’ll be perfect.”It was what he said that always made my heart flutter, and the words this time were not an exception. It was one of those weddings that put me into anticipation and j
AIDEN'S POVMonths melted away.Weirdly, life went on since it all came crashing down. It had been months since Damien's death, Chloe leaving the city, Tessa and me over his grave saying our goodbyes. Time didn't heal everything; that it never could. But the space it gave. to breathe, rebuild, and put pieces of our lives back into place-was something all of us had desperately needed.That, with me and Tessa, gradually slipped into rhythm, and whatever in our daily life had disappeared with time turned into the time worth living. The daily morning coffee on the balcony, the late evening lying on the couch curled up, making small talks about the future-this had become a routine thing with us. Indeed, chaos seemed to bypass us somehow, yet the shadows took one corner of my mind with the coming night.But as I watched Tessa, humming to herself and arranging flowers in the sitting room, it suddenly hit me-the ton of bricks they say are always used in such situations. I loved her; I had alw
AIDEN'S POVI did not want to come here. I had told myself that I wouldn't-that some things quite simply were not worth a second chance. But here we were. Tessa stood beside me, her hand in mine, as we walked through the cemetery toward Damien's grave. The wind was cold, a bite into my skin, but nothing compared to the chill now setting into my chest.There it lay, the newly turned soil, the headstone, and the blunt inscription stating his name: "Damien Gray." Seemed so … normal. No great sentences of poetically flowing verbiages, no flowery platitudes of an exaggerated regard. A plain, uneventful name to denote an end of the life so full of promise to me and torn by just so many things… in particular by myself.I had stopped in front of the grave, said nothing. All these emotions warred in my brain, jumbling anger, guilt, sorrow. And it wasn't just because of what happened to him. It was for everything, things that could have gone differently, which I should have done."Do you think
TESSA'S POVChloe sat up against the mountain of pillows that propped her back. Her skin was a dull white; those alert features dulled by exhaustion and pain. When her gaze locked with mine, something flickered over her face-shame, perhaps? Regret?"Tessa," she husked out, her voice husky, yet steady. "I didn't expect you to be here.”"I did," I said, stepping inside. The door clicked shut behind me, and the soft hum of machinery in the room served to fill the brief moment of silence.A minute swept by with neither of us speaking. I had absolutely no idea where to begin, while Chloe seemed to fish for the right words. Then she spoke.“I'm so sorry," Chloe said, her voice breaking. She looked down at her hands, which were twisting the hospital blanket over and over in a nervous fashion. "For everything. For what I did to you. For what I let Damien do.”Her words were like a wave, and all the anger and hurt I'd been trying to bury surfaced. I crossed my arms, my voice sharper than I mea
AIDEN'S POVIt all boiled down to me standing against cold brick outside of a hospital. The sharp night air almost nipped my skin but couldn't take away what had been brewing inside of me since the night Damien was finally gone.Dead.The word reverberated in my mind, hollow yet heavy. He had not reached the hospital. Just a few minutes later, when the ambulance had speedily gone away from the warehouse, the police confirmed that my brother was no longer alive. In the pit of my chest, a tussle between relief and guilt twisted itself into this sensation, which has made me so ill.I stared upwards, trying to make sense of the darkened sky. It was a path he'd chosen, wasn't it? He'd refused every olive branch, clung to his rage, and let it consume him. Still, a part of me couldn't help but ask: What if?The sound of footsteps pulled me from my reverie. Tessa came forward, her face ashen, eyes red-rimmed from crying. She wrapped her arms around her middle, as if holding herself to protect
AIDEN'S POVThe ropes chafing my wrists were heaved into the painfully darkened room by two of Damien's men. My rib cage was racing, pounding within me like a war drum, as my eyes coursed over every inch, scanning the space for her. The echoes of my footsteps rattled through this large, high-ceilinged area, joined by the smothering tension in the air.Then I see her.“Tessa!” screams my hoarse voice in desperation while seeing her tied around the chair, white faced, and tear streaks covering it, her arms bound behind her back, a gag over her mouth, muffling her cries while her big terrified eyes remained fixed on mine, imploring for help.It came finally with the breaking of the silence from Damien's cruel laughter. "Well, well, your Prince Charming is finally here.""Let her go, Damien," I said, shaking all over with anger mixed with fear.Damienne cocked his head to one side, his face a mockery. "And miss this little family reunion? I don't think so.”Damien started to circle me wit
TESSA'S POVThe stench of that dark room shredded through my senses. My wrists throbbed, sore where the coarse ropes had lacerated into the skin, and with each weak inhalation, it was like the final one that could break this tenuous will hanging by a thread.I was not going to back away from him, not from Damien after what he pulled on Aiden, on me, and our lives.Standing in the doorway was a mountain of a man, with a great scar running down his cheek, scraping his boots on the floor and yawning and weighing his weight on one side. He had been left to watch me; now or never was the time to try anything that came into my head.I pulled carefully, testing the looseness of the rope binding my hands, my heart racing in my chest. Hours of subtly working at this knot had finally paid off; it gave way just enough for me to slide my wrists free.I glanced over to the guard, who now had his head leaned back against the wall, his eyes shutting.Go, Tessa. Now.Summoning every last shred of cou
AIDEN'S POVThe house was creepily silent when I went in-the kind of silence that twisted my gut. Something was off because it was too still, too empty."Tessa?" I called out, dropping keys on the counter. Nobody answered.My eyes scanned around the living room, the kitchen-nothing. My chest had already tightened as I tried again, louder this time. "Tessa? Marcus? Garret?"No response.And then I saw it-her phone. It lay on the counter, cracked at the screen, looking like she had dropped it there in haste. Tessa would never leave her phone lying anywhere.Now dread set in as my heart began racing, strode toward the security room for some answers, though my gut already told me otherwise.I burst through the door into the room to find Marcus and two other guards huddled around the monitors."Where the hell is Tessa?" I growled low, an edge to my voice that could cut through glass.Marcus slowly turned to me, white as marble, and seemed to fish for his answer. "Sir… we were reviewing the
TESSA'S POVIt wasn't until we stopped before Aiden's building that the car came to rest; it was my safe refuge now turned into a sanctuary in which the fears inside my head seemed to nestle. Those were instances from two weeks ago, haunting in my mind like some unsavable storm-accusations which memory just didn't seem willing or able to rid itself of."You're home," Aiden whispered, and immediately his voice was an anchor of solace amidst my rioting thoughts.Turning back to him, I pushed a small smile. "Home," I echoed, though the word felt wrong. Was I ever again safe?Aiden climbed out first, coming around and pulling my door open. His firm hand reached inside toward me, steady and reassuringly strong. "Come on; got you.I hesitated, staring at his hand. For a moment, the hospital was safer. Out here, the world was too big, too dangerous. But I chased the fear away, telling myself Aiden would never let anything happen to me.I took his hand and he led me out of the car."Take it e