EpilogueSadie – One Year LaterI gazed down at my baby, my son, in absolute wonder. My heart swelled in my chest with so much love, I thought it would burst. I was exhausted, and my whole body hurt, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was my little boy, that he was healthy and whole.“Are you feeling up to visitors?” the nurse attending to me asked in a soft voice, careful as to not disturb my sleeping baby.I smiled at her and nodded. “I am.”“I’ll let them in, then,” she replied with a grin.Turning, she made her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. I turned my gaze back down to my little boy and couldn’t help the smile that curled my lips.He was so beautiful. Tiny and pink and perfect.I couldn’t wait for his daddy and sister to meet him.At that moment, the door to my room opened back up, and the nurse returned with Cyrus and Megan in tow. Cyrus had been with me during the labor, but had gone out to wait with Megan while the baby was cleaned up so he could bring h
Chapter 1 [Kendall] “Thanks for inviting me,” I say, smiling at Elora as I nudge her with my shoulder. She laughs, lifting her champagne glass. “You needed a break, Kendall. It’s about time.” I wiggle my toes in the clear, saltwater pool and glance at her perfectly manicured feet. “Yeah, I don’t get out much.” Elora tilts her head knowingly. “Because you’re always at home taking care of your dad.” I nod, the usual heaviness settling in. “He’s not been the same since the heart attack. I’ve taken over most of the household stuff. Lucky he made enough money as a low-level guy before getting sick to take care of us. I owe him everything.” “You’re a good daughter,” she says sincerely before grinning again. “But today’s about mimosas and sunshine, so drink up.” I smile, taking another sip of my drink. Elora’s been my best friend since we were twelve, always dragging me into fun I didn’t know I needed. Sometimes I think she tries to live enough for both of us. When Marco Barone’s voi
[Camden] I can think of about five things I’d rather be doing (three of them women) that isn’t standing around at Bruno Esposito’s stupid party. It isn’t even really a wiseguy party, just something that Bruno has thrown together for his birthday. I ended up driving Elora here early because she couldn’t wait, which left Kendall to finish getting ready on her own.Elora bolted the second we arrived, no doubt hunting down Bruno or stirring up trouble somewhere else. The mansion is huge, probably bigger even than Dante’s-my capo. The Espositos are an old family, and Bruno is the next in line. I guess that’s part of the reason that Elora likes him so much. She’s attracted to power, that’s for sure. I’m the guy that works for the men in power, and I like it that way. There’s too much responsibility in being a made man to be honest. Too many people trying to take what you have. I’m glad I’m under the radar and don’t have to worry about looking over my shoulder at every turn. I jus
[Kendall] I’ve never been particularly popular, but there must be something to this dress, because men keep coming up to me, introducing themselves. Alessandro Barone, Marco’s younger brother, walks up to me, looking me up and down. “What’s your name, pretty girl?” he asks in a low tone, and I snort out a laugh. “You’ve known me since high school, Alessandro. I was the year ahead of you? We were in choir together?” He just looks at me blankly. “Kendall Risi,” I say, sighing, and his eyes widen. “No fucking way,” he says in a mumble, and for the first time I notice his eyes are a bit glassy. I don’t smell booze, though, so I suspect drugs. “You’ve been hanging out with Bruno too much,” I accuse, and Alessandro shrugs, smirking. “Maybe. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you,” he says, stepping closer. I back away, not wanting to get cornered by him. “I guess that’s a compliment?” I say dryly. “Of course it is. Look at you,” he says, licking his lips. “I never noticed you be
[Camden]I’m still outside smoking, not paying much attention to the rest of the party, when a blood-curdling scream cuts through the night. It takes me only a second to realize that it’s Elora , and my heart begins to pound as I run down the hallway. I have to push people out of my way, most of the party had started to move upstairs and everyone was in the way. Now that Elora had screamed, people were all going that way and I all but elbowed everyone out of my way as I approached Bruno’s office.Elora is standing in the doorway, shivering all over and I put my hands on her shoulders, turning her away from Bruno’s dead body.“Shit,” I curse.Elora clutches on to me, making me look at her. “It was Marco,” she whispers. “You have to get to Kendall. She saw everything.”Fuck.Apparently, there’s a witness to this murder, and it’s my little sister’s best friend. I’m going to have a long night ahead of me, clearly. I take Elora ’s shoulders in my hands and look at her fiercely.“Find Dant
[Kendall]I wake up with Camden's arms wrapped around me, and it takes me a long moment to figure out where I am and what’s going on.Then I remember last night—a flash across my memory of Bruno’s face—and I gasp.Camden murmurs something in his sleep and rocks against me, his morning erection pressing against my ass.I swallow hard.My teenage self would be over the moon right now, lying in bed with Camden, feeling his arms around me, his body pressed against mine—but I have no idea how to handle it.My mind is spinning between the confusion of this intimate closeness and the aching emptiness inside me. Part of me wants to cling to him and let myself forget, even if just for a little while.I just don’t want to think anymore. I don’t want to see Bruno’s dead body, think about the fact that he’s just...gone.I don’t want to think about Marco’s heavy breaths as he chased me through the woods.Or how I was only able to get rid of him by climbing over a rose bush that cut along my legs,
[Kendall]My pulse races, anticipation thrumming through me like a live wire, and he watches me with a smirk that’s both reassuring and maddeningly confident. His eyes are dark with desire, but there’s something else beneath the surface, something I can’t quite place.“You’re so beautiful, Kendall,” he murmurs, his voice thick with need. He slides a hand down my thigh, the roughness of his fingertips sending shivers along my skin, as if he’s marking me, leaving traces of his touch everywhere. My body trembles under the weight of it, a hunger igniting deep inside.His words send a strange, warm ache through my chest, and I reach up, pulling him back down to me, desperate to feel his weight, his warmth, against me. The heat of his body presses into mine, each inch of him a reminder of how badly I’ve wanted this, how long I’ve been fighting this pull between us. His breath, hot and ragged, dances across my neck as he moves, making me dizzy.He cups his hand against my pussy, and the he
[Kendall] “You said you didn’t want to think. Did it help?” His words carry a weight, a quiet sincerity that makes my heart ache in a way I wasn’t prepared for. “I’m not thinking anything,” I whisper, my voice raw, as I look away, my fingers brushing over the marks he left on my skin. Camden laughs softly, rubbing a hand over his face. “Then it did work,” he chuckles, his laughter warm and somehow comforting, like a balm on my scattered nerves. I have no idea what to do with myself now. My body feels heavy and weightless at the same time, like I’m floating in some strange, blissful limbo. I stand up on shaky legs, unsure of what happens next, and mumble, “I think I’ll take a shower.” Camden nods, throwing a forearm over his eyes as if he, too, is processing what just happened, giving me space. I leave the room, the cool air of the hallway hitting me like a shock, and head to the bathroom. I stare at myself in the mirror for a long time, at the marks Camden left on my throat
EpilogueSadie – One Year LaterI gazed down at my baby, my son, in absolute wonder. My heart swelled in my chest with so much love, I thought it would burst. I was exhausted, and my whole body hurt, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was my little boy, that he was healthy and whole.“Are you feeling up to visitors?” the nurse attending to me asked in a soft voice, careful as to not disturb my sleeping baby.I smiled at her and nodded. “I am.”“I’ll let them in, then,” she replied with a grin.Turning, she made her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. I turned my gaze back down to my little boy and couldn’t help the smile that curled my lips.He was so beautiful. Tiny and pink and perfect.I couldn’t wait for his daddy and sister to meet him.At that moment, the door to my room opened back up, and the nurse returned with Cyrus and Megan in tow. Cyrus had been with me during the labor, but had gone out to wait with Megan while the baby was cleaned up so he could bring h
CyrusThe silence stretched between us for several long moments, and with each second that passed, I grew more and more nervous that she was going to say no.Her expression flickered between so many emotions so quickly, I couldn’t fully decipher what she was thinking.At length, she slowly said, “Are…are you asking me to marry you because you genuinely love me and want to…or are you just afraid of losing me after everything that happened with Ralph?”“Oh, baby, no,” I assured her with a firm shake of my head. “I love you with my entire being, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want us to raise Megan together and be a family. I swear to you, this has nothing to do with Ralph.”I held her gaze, praying she believed me. I was ready to do whatever I had to in order to convince her I was being entirely serious.To my complete relief, though, her lips curled into a smile, and she blurted, “Yes! Yes, Cyrus, I’ll marry you!”I surged to my feet, pulling her from her chair. Wr
Sadie It was hard to break that bond between a child and parent, and no matter what Ralph did, I think there would always be a part of Megan that wanted that connection with him.“I hope so,” Cyrus told her. “He’s going to try. That’s what’s important.”Megan regarded him a long moment before saying, “I’m glad he’s going to try.”Cyrus smiled softly. “Me, too. I promise you, Megan, I’m going to take care of you and protect you no matter what. Okay?”The corners of her lips curled up at that. “Okay. I love you, Uncle Cyrus.”“I love you, too, Megan,” he replied. Then, he looked up at me. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. My heart swelled, and I fell even more in love with him at that moment. I wanted to explain my feelings to him in more depth, but we needed to talk away from Megan. I didn’t want to confuse her even more as Cyrus and I tried to figure out the stuff between us.“All right, is there anything else you want to talk about?” Cyrus asked, turning back to Megan.She blin
SadieA week after Ralph’s arrest, things finally felt as though they were getting back to normal. Ralph was charged with breaking the restraining order. True to his word, Cyrus didn’t press any other charges. Ralph would spend a little time in jail before his trial, and then, it was up to the courts to decide his fate.I didn’t worry about him, though. I focused on Megan and helping her overcome the latest trauma she’d been through. I hated that she’d gone through so much at such a young age. It wasn’t fair. She deserved so much better. I wanted to make it my mission in life to make up for all that she’d suffered. I wanted all this mess with Ralph to fade into distant memories for her. I wanted her to be happy. More than anything else in the world, I wanted her to just be a normal, six-year-old girl.We were out on the terrace one day, coloring, when she looked up at me and asked, “Sadie? Is my daddy gone forever?”I frowned at her and replied, “What do you mean, sweetie?”She hesita
Ralph stared at me. I could tell he wanted to argue.I waited for him to say something, anything, that I could use to shut down any chance he had left of getting close to Megan.To my surprise, though, he reluctantly nodded. “All right…all right. I’ll…I’ll do what you say. So long as you promise you won’t stand in Megan’s way if she wants to see me someday.”I regarded him a long moment before releasing a long sigh. “I promise. I won’t stand in her way. And I promise that I will take excellent care of her.”Ralph dropped his head, looking defeated.“I know you will,” he whispered.At that moment, I heard Sadie rushing back to us.“The cops are on their way,” she gasped when she reached me. She looked between me and Ralph and then gave me a relieved smile. “I’m glad to see everyone is still in one piece.”“Barely,” I grumbled.She wrapped her arm around mine and hugged it.“Thank you,” she whispered.I smiled down at her, but I then caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning
CyrusI was at the very end of my control. My temper was about to snap. I kept reminding myself of Sadie’s words. Of my promise to her, but it was getting damn difficult to hold myself back. Ralph would just not give up. He kept pushing and pushing, bringing up Kate’s name and claiming Megan as his.It was infuriating. He kept saying he was a changed man, but he wasn’t taking responsibility for what he’d done. He wasn’t owning the fact that Kate wouldn’t have driven off the road that day if he hadn’t chased after her. I didn’t care that it was an accident. I didn’t care that he thought he loved her.In the end, it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because Kate was still gone. And she was gone because of him.“You know what, Cyrus?” Ralph growled. “You think you’re so high and mighty. You think you’re so much better than I am, but the truth is, you failed Kate just as much as I did.”My whole body went cold. “What the hell are you saying?”Ralph had the gall to glare at me. “If you thou
I couldn’t comprehend that. It made no sense.“How could you claim to love her and yet hurt her as much as you did?” I asked in a soft, cold voice. “How could you love her, but you put your hands on her? Hit her and scare her? Manipulate her, so she remained submissive and broken?”“I was messed up,” he answered in a pathetic tone. “I know I was. I know what I did to Kate was wrong. If I could go back and redo everything, I would. I’d love her the way she deserved to be loved. I wouldn’t lay a hand on her, and I’d do everything I could to make her happy. There is nothing I want more than the chance to undo all that I did, but I can’t. It’s too late for me to make things right with Kate, but it’s not too late for me to make things right with Megan!”I stared down at him, debating whether or not I believed him. To be honest, he did seem to be truly remorseful. I didn’t think anyone could truly fake this kind of emotion.Still, just b
CyrusI waited until Sadie and Megan were out of the maze and out of sight before I turned back to Ralph. He hadn’t moved, which was smart of him. If he’d tried to go after them, things would have gotten bloody. I didn’t want to break my promise to Sadie, though. She’d been right about needing to keep my temper in check and not attack Ralph. I couldn’t risk Megan’s wellbeing or her placement with me.I also didn’t want Sadie to look at me like I was a monster. I didn’t want to disappoint her. She was counting on me to take care of this matter and protect our…family.Our family.I couldn’t believe she’d said that. It made my chest swell with eagerness, pride, and hope. She wanted us all to be together. She was staking her claim on me and Megan, and it made me happier than I could have imagined. However, that happiness was overshadowed by my anger toward Ralph, who appeared as the only remaining obstacle in the way of the happy and whole life that I knew I could have with Sadie and Mega
CyrusIt felt like an eternity before I reached the estate. Ralph had several hours of a head start, at least, and Sadie wasn’t answering her phone.“Pick up, damn it,” I said, clenching my phone so hard I was surprised I didn’t crack it. “Why aren’t you answering?”I tried one more time, but still, she didn’t pick up.A million thoughts were running through my head, and none of them were good. I couldn’t stop imagining all sorts of terrible scenarios. I was growing more and more afraid that I was going to be too late. What would Ralph do to them if he got to them first? I didn’t want to believe that he’d actually hurt Megan, but Sadie? Ralph had no reason not to hurt her if he thought she was in his way.When I finally reached the estate, I was in a state of utter panic. I sped up the driveway and came to a screeching stop in front of the house. Throwing open the car door, I bolted to the front door and burst into the house.“Sadie!” I called out. “Megan?”When there was no answer, I