Chloe rubbed her temples, trying to push back the lingering headache left by Damien's presence. "What do you want, Sienna?" she asked, settling into her chair. Sienna stood in front of her desk, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "You have some nerve, you know that?" Chloe exhaled, already tired of whatever fight Sienna was trying to pick. "What are you talking about?" "Oh, don't play dumb Chloe, you went to see Mom." Of course. Their father must have gone home and put up a fit, spinning the narrative in his favour. Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yes, I went to see Mom. And?" "And," Sienna paused, her expression hardening, "you shouldn't have." Chloe let out a sharp breath, a humourless laugh escaping her lips. "Where do you get off saying shit like that?" Her voice was edged with irritation now, the initial restraint slipping. Sienna's eyes flinched, and she stepped closer to the desk. "You think you can just waltz her back into our life like nothing happened? After all
Ryan adjusted his cufflinks for the third time that evening, but no amount of straightening could steady his hands. His stomach twisted in knots, his mind racing through a hundred different excuses to get out of going to the Morelli auction. "Sienna, do we really have to go tonight?" He tried to keep his voice even, casual, as he watched her slip on a pair of diamond earrings. Sienna scoffed, rolling her eyes at his reflection in the mirror. "Ryan. It's one of the biggest nights in the industry. Everyone will be there." That was exactly the problem. Ryan swallowed hard. He had managed to stay out of Damien Cross's sight for years, always moving carefully, keeping his name under the radar. But tonight, there was no avoiding it. He had overheard the whispers—Damien was coming. He tried again. "I just think we could sit this one out. It's only day one, Maybe—" Sienna turned, her lips pressing together in annoyance. "You're acting weird. What's wrong with you?" "Nothing,"
The hall stood still as Damien made his way to the platform. The chattering, slurping of champagne, and whispers of his presence all came to an abrupt stop. He looked at the audience, carefully picking his next words. When he finally spoke, his voice was laced with just the right amount of confidence to keep the crowd entertained. "Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "It's a pleasure to welcome you all tonight. I see many familiar faces - some of you have been regulars at this event for years, yet still somehow manage to lose every major bid- your persistence is admirable." He said with a light chuckle. Soft laughter rippled through the audience. A few murmurs of mock protest rose, but Damien let them settle before continuing. "Of course, tonight isn't just about winning," he looked up straight at the crowd before his eyes rested on a particular section where Ryan was seated, still and pale. "It's about the thrill of the chase, about knowing when to strike…." He said, his v
Chloe stepped back into the grand room, smoothing her dress as she wove through the mingling guests. Damien didn’t matter, and Noah was overreacting, or so she told herself. Inside the hall, the auction had ended, the formalities settling into an air of celebration. The orchestra played a softer melody, couples swaying gracefully on the dance floor, laughter and the scent of rich wine settling beneath the dazzling chandeliers. She exhaled, steadying herself. She walked slowly to the middle of the room as she sat on the stool at the bar. The night was long, from nearly getting knocked over by Ryan to being left behind by Noah, she wasn’t sure she wanted to indulge in the after-party. “Something strong please,” Chloe ordered as she ran her hands through her blonde hair, then as her eyes lingered across the room. She saw him. Damien. Her gaze locked onto him before she could stop herself. And in that moment it felt like the night they met, only this time, he wasn’t alone,
The night air was thick, pressing down on Ryan like an unbearable weight as he stood on the empty sidewalk. His breathing was uneven, his pulse erratic. His thoughts weren’t his own anymore, just a jumbled mess of memories, fears, and the undeniable truth that he could no longer keep buried. He ran a hand through his hair, gripping the strands tightly at the roots as if the pain might anchor him or stop the spiral. But It didn’t. Sienna didn’t wait for the auction to end. She kept saying he humiliated her and little Miss Bennett doesn’t do well with humiliation. She walked out on him. He barely registered it, barely cared. The argument had ended with her slamming the door of the car in his face, and speeding off into the night, but Ryan wasn’t sure who had walked away from whom. Because he had left her long before tonight. His thoughts, his body, everything was gone ever since he came back. Damien Cross. Ryan held back a groan every time he thought of that name. The nam
A sharp tug at the blanket yanked Ryan out of the fog of sleep. His head pounded, a dull, insistent ache, and the grogginess clung to him like a second skin. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut against the dim morning light filtering through the blinds. “Get up.” The sharp bite in Sienna’s voice sliced through the haze. Ryan cracked an eye open, just in time to see her standing over him, arms folded, her expression a mixture of impatience and barely restrained irritation. “I said, get up.” She deepened her words with another tug, nearly ripping the blanket off the bed. Ryan exhaled through his nose, raking a hand down his face. “What the hell, Sienna?” His voice was raspy, his throat dry from whatever the hell he had downed last night. She scoffed. “You dare to ask me that? After the stunt, you pulled at the auction?” He sat up slowly, his body protesting the movement. A hangover wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but paired with the frustration radiating off Sienna in
Chloe spent the entire day trying to push thoughts of Damien out of her mind. It wasn’t easy, not after what happened at the auction. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the way he had kissed her. The way he had looked at her like he had done something terrible. She had buried herself in work, hoping that if she kept herself busy enough, she wouldn’t have the time to dwell on it. Chloe leaned back in her chair as she stared at her desktop screen. 12:36 pm, she jolted up, like the time sent electric waves through her body. “Oh shit….Nina’s gonna kill me” she groaned. She stepped out of her office building. The weather was hot and the air was thick with the scent of coffee and freshly baked bread from the café across the street. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, her phone pressed against her ear as she navigated through the lunchtime crowd. “I’m literally on my way, Nina,” she said, dodging a man carrying an overstuffed briefcase. “Just order me the usual.
The night had started well enough.Sienna sat on the edge of Ryan’s bed, one leg crossed over the other as she watched him try to knot a tie. He muttered a curse under his breath as his face tightened in frustration. She shook her head. “You’re hopeless.” “I don’t see you offering to help.” He grunted. Sienna pushed herself off the bed, strutting barefoot across the room. She plucked his wrist from his neck and expertly knotted the tie. “There, now you won’t look like a mess in front of all the rich folks we’re about to dine with tonight. Ryan snorted. “Right, because you’re not one of them.” “Oh, I am, but at least I’m fun.” Sienna was already dressed in a deep emerald silk gown that clung to her curves, she did one final check in the mirror before slipping into her heels. Ryan watched her as she painted her lips. “You’re going all out tonight.” “Well it has been a while since we did this, don’t you think?” He hummed, running his hand through his damp hair st
The air around Damien and Chloe stilled for a moment. He rubbed his fingers on his chin as he spoke through the tension in the room.“There’s something you need to know,” He muttered.Chloe’s hands dropped from where they’d been folded across her chest. Her eyes didn’t narrow. Her jaw didn’t tense. She just nodded once, quiet and open.“Okay,” she said softly. “Tell me.”Damien opened his mouth. The words hovered on the edge of his breath, heavy and bitter, ready to bleed out.But before he could say a word his thoughts were interrupted by the ding of the doorbell.The sound snapped between them like a crack in the air.Chloe flinched slightly, then looked toward the door. “Hold that thought,” she murmured, already moving.Damien stayed frozen for a beat, hands still curled at his sides. His heart pounded—not from nerves, but from the universe’s timing. He exhaled slowly, trying to shake it off, and turned just in time to catch the soft glow of her phone lighting up on the table.Ther
Sienna knocked on the white oak door in front of her. She stood tall on the familiar porch she walked away from years ago.She remembered the memories she had on that porch.The flowers she and Chloe used to decorate the doors. The muddy puddles they splashed in splattered on the walls.But her thoughts were interrupted by the subtle creaking of the door opening. She looked up to see the face of the woman she hadn’t seen in years.She had aged well but her grace hadn’t faded one bit.Miranda Bennett stared at her daughter like she had seen a ghost.“Sienna,” she said shortly—almost a whisper.Sienna nodded her head in confirmation. “Mom.”A moment of silence settled between the two women. Sienna gripped the strap of her purse tightly as if this could make the situation any less real.“Come in sweetheart.” Miranda gestured into her home.Sienna stepped in carefully. Every move was slow and calculated.Her eyes scanned the living room. “I see you did some renovating.” She said, runnin
The rain hadn’t stopped. It tapped gently on the windows like a lullaby that never ended. Chloe blinked awake, still wrapped in her robe, the soft cotton sticking slightly to her skin from where her damp hair had soaked into the fabric during the night. The room was dim, lit only by the grey morning light that crept through half-closed curtains. Her eyes drifted to the nightstand. Her phone lay there, the memory of Sienna’s message creeping in. It was just a line but it was just enough to pull her out of whatever fragile place Damien had coaxed her into. Chloe exhaled, pushing the thought away like she had all night. Not now. Not yet. Because Damien was still there. Slouched in the armchair by the fireplace, his long frame folded into something almost boyish in sleep. One arm hung over the side, fingers twitching faintly like he was still fighting something in a dream. His wet clothes were gone—his jacket hung on the back of a chair, his shirt wrinkled on the floor ne
The rain came down in sheets, soaking Damien to the skin. He stood outside Chloe’s building, his hair plastered to his forehead, water dripping from his lashes, but he didn’t move from the buzzer.“Chloe,” he said again, his voice heavy, gravelly from the cold and everything else weighing on him. “Please.”The intercom clicked on. Her voice came through, cold as the air around him.“I said talk. You wanted to talk, so go ahead. I’m listening.”Damien closed his eyes, exhaling a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.“Not like this.”He looked up at the speaker box as if it were her face.“Not through this damn thing.”“Well, I don’t care. You can yell through the rain for all I care. Maybe next time, bring a phone. That way you’d know I’ve been trying to reach you.”His throat tightened. “I know.”He stepped back slightly, rain streaking down his face like tears. “I saw the messages. I’m sorry.”“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Damien.” She snapped.“I know that too.” He says quickly.There w
Damien couldn’t take his eyes off his brother as he stood in the doorway. His shoulders were broader, his face sharper, but the resemblance still ran deep in their blood. He looked tired but not broken.“Four years, huh?” came the deep, rough voice.“You got taller.” He said chucking.Damien pursed his lips, he shifted in his seat.“You got older.”Marcel let out a dry, bitter chuckle as he approached the chair opposite him.He settled into the chair, his body opposing every movement.“Yeah, prison tends to do that.”They sat in silence that said too much. Damien looked at his brother, and for a second, guilt flickered in his eyes.“I didn’t know if you’d see me,” Damien said.“Didn’t think you’d come,” Marcel replied, folding his arms. “But I figured Sebastian got to you.”Damien gave a small nod.“He said it was time.”“It was time years ago.” Marcel leaned forward, elbows on the table. “But I guess now that the family name is burning, you all remember who you left behind.”Damien s
The night felt colder after he left.Chloe hadn’t moved from the spot by the door. She stood there for what felt like forever, her fingers still curled around the edge of the doorknob, like if she let go, something in her would unravel.The apartment was quiet. Too quiet.Even the hum of the fridge or the occasional creak of the building felt distant. Like background noise in a world that had suddenly stopped making sense.Sebastian’s voice was still echoing in her mind.“You’re not what he needs.”“He might love you. But that doesn’t mean he’ll choose you.”She swallowed hard, the burn of humiliation and heartbreak crawling slowly up her throat. She had faced a lot in her life—more than most—but something about the way he’d spoken to her, the cold authority in his tone, made her feel small in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time.Not weak.Just… uninvited. Like an outsider in a story, she thought she was part of.She walked slowly back toward the couch, Damien’s hoodie still wrapped
Chloe sat curled on the couch, wrapped in one of Damien’s oversized hoodies—the dark navy one that still smelled faintly like him. Her phone was clenched in her hand, the screen dim and lifeless. She hadn’t looked away from it in over an hour.She had called. Again. And again. And again.There were five missed calls. All from her.The last one was just twenty minutes ago.She hadn’t left another voicemail. What was the point? The first two had said enough. The second even ended with a weak laugh, one meant to cover the crack in her voice. She hated that she’d sounded needy. She hated even more that she was needy right now.Sighing, she unlocked the screen and stared at the call log. His name sat at the top like a ghost: Damien Cross.No returned call.No message.Not even a read receipt on the text she sent earlier. She opened it again:“Are we still on for tonight? Let me know when you’re close.”It was delivered. That was it.A lump formed in her throat. She tilted her head back aga
Ryan didn’t move. He couldn’t.Sebastian’s voice hung like a blade suspended inches from his throat.He couldn’t look away. He didn’t dare look at Damien either—who sat silently, watching like this had all been rehearsed. Because maybe it had.Sebastian stepped further into the room, every movement slow and scary. He didn’t rush. He didn’t need to.Ryan rose to his feet instinctively, but his legs felt unsteady. “You didn’t expect me, did you?” Sebastian asked, tilting his head like he was inspecting a bug beneath glass. “That’s Damien’s problem. He gives people hope they don’t deserve.”“Sebastian…” Ryan croaked, but even he didn’t know what he was trying to say. An apology? An explanation?Sebastian waved his hand. “Don’t embarrass yourself, Ryan. You’ve already done enough of that for a lifetime.”Ryan let out a sigh, his pulse ringing in his ears.“What’s the most important thing you were taught, Ryan?” Sebastian asked.Ryan’s voice came in low, almost a whisper.“That family is
Damien stood at the far end of the rooftop of CrossCorp wind cutting through his jacket as he lit a cigarette. He rarely smoked—but when he did, it meant something was gnawing at him. The city stretched out below in a blur of noise and colour, oblivious to the storm brewing within him.He didn’t flinch when he heard footsteps approaching from behind.“I thought you quit,” a familiar voice said.Damien turned his head slightly. Ethan stood there, hands in his coat pockets, looking every bit the calm centre Damien could never quite be.“I did,” Damien muttered, exhaling smoke. “Guess I’m backsliding.”“You should stop, smoking never looked good on you,” Ethan said.Damien shook his head slightly. “Took you long enough. I thought you’d finally left me to my family chaos.” “Well, ‘chaos’ is an understatement when it comes to your family. But luckily you’re a part of mine so I’ll keep you in check.”“Welcome back”. Damien said. A smile tugged at his lips.“It’s good to be back. Besides I