I stepped into Caspian's office, the door clicking softly behind me as he closed it. The office felt colder than usual as I stood by his desk, pretending to focus on the framed photograph of Derek and all the seven brothers on the wall.I shifted on my feet, waiting for him to speak because I couldn't dare to turn around to look at him. My heart pounded louder than my thoughts as my eyes found the wooden panel behind which the secret door was, and I wondered if the others knew about it. My thoughts stopped and I tried not to move when I sensed him standing behind me, his presence undeniable, consuming the space. I was used to his intensity by now, but this was different. The air between us was charged, electric, and I could feel the shift in him—more commanding, more determined.“I lied,” he finally said, his voice low but firm, an edge to it that made my pulse race. “There isn’t anything about your college that I needed to talk about.”My stomach flipped when his warm breath touched
As I left Caspian’s office, my head was a mix of adrenaline and questions. I wasn’t unhappy with what had happened—far from it. I had wanted that kiss, the heat, the rush that came with him. But the idea of giving up control, of letting him dominate me in ways I hadn’t even thought about, was where the uncertainty crept in. ‘Could I really do that? Could I trust him enough to let go completely?’ I asked myself as I walked down the hallway, trying to ground myself, my fingers trailing lightly against the cool wall.It was different between me and Lucas because I was the one taking charge. I knew where the line was and how far I could press him for my pleasure. I knew when to stop, and the biggest fear in my head was what if Caspian didn't know when to stop. Lucas was much stronger than me, if I pushed him too much he could have thrown me away anytime he wanted, but I couldn't do the same with Caspian. He was probably ten times stronger than me. I found my way to the kitchen, my thr
Dinner was a lively affair, but the tension that had been brewing in my head was impossible to ignore. The smell of the food Dev and I had prepared filled the room, but even that comforting aroma couldn’t mask the weight of the silence that sometimes settled between bursts of conversation. From across the table, Lucas gave me a questioning look, and I shook my head. The last thing I wanted was to get him involved too. Though, I knew I had to tell him eventually. Harry, as usual, was in his element, cracking jokes and telling stories that lightened the mood. I found myself watching him, grateful for the easy energy he brought, even as I felt my own nerves still pulsing beneath the surface. “So, get this,” Harry started, grinning as he leaned forward. “Last week, in School, we pulled off the best prank yet. You know that professor who’s always going on about discipline and professionalism to be successful?” Neel raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “The one with the really
After dinner, as the others began to disperse—Lucas and Harry disappeared to watch a football game, and Neel excused himself to work on an essay—I stayed back to help Dev clean up. The truth was, I was avoiding the inevitable, the tension in the air thick enough to choke me. Caspian remained seated at the dining table, his eyes lingering on me as I moved around the kitchen, loading the dishwasher, cleaning the countertops, and helping Dev with some breakfast prep. Even after an hour had passed, he was still there. I was drying the plates while Dev put them in the cupboard. Nothing interesting was going on. He had his iPhone in hand, pretending to look busy, but I could see through his facade. He was there for me, waiting for the right moment to approach, knowing he couldn’t confront me in front of Dev. I scrubbed a plate harder than necessary when Dev leaned in again, his voice low but playful. “You know, Caspian’s still out there, probably waiting for you. Any thoughts on that?” “
The morning sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains of my room, bathing the space in warm, golden light. I blinked awake slowly, the quiet stillness of the morning easing me into consciousness. As I lay there, my mind wandered to the events of the last few days—Leo’s struggle with bullying, the conversation with Caspian, and the strange pull I felt toward Lucas. It was a lot to untangle.I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I glanced at the clock. It was 9:15 a.m. Not too early or too late. I had some time before my afternoon class, but I still needed to get up and move. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and checked for new messages. A quick scan of my phone told me that others had already begun their day. There was one single text from Camilia, a picture of her and Phineas in a movie theater. I shot her a quick reply about how much I was missing the two of them and got out of the bed, pulling a loose shirt and jeans before heading downstairs. The house was quieter
After a few minutes of lying on my bed and scrolling through Instagram, I forced myself out of bed and went to the bathroom. I thought that warm shower could help clear my head, at least for a little while. I stepped into the bathroom and turned the water on as hot as I could stand it, letting the steam fill the small space. The warmth enveloped me as I stepped under the spray, washing away the tension in my muscles. As the water cascaded over me, I let out a slow breath, trying to release the worry that had built up overnight.After washing my hair, I lingered for a bit longer, enjoying the sensation of the hot water, before finally stepping out and wrapping myself in a towel. I wiped the steam off the mirror and stared at my reflection. My eyes looked tired—dark circles that wouldn’t go away no matter how much sleep I got.I dried off quickly and slipped into a pair of dark jeans and a cozy hoodie, something comfortable for the day ahead. I debated skipping makeup but decided to ap
The roar of Neel’s motorcycle vibrated beneath me as we weaved through the streets, heading toward the college. The wind whipped past, tousling my hair despite the helmet I was wearing, and I gripped his waist just a little tighter as we leaned into a turn. It wasn’t the first time I’d ridden with him, but there was still that initial thrill that came with being on a bike. Neel had joked about it earlier, when I climbed on the back, saying, “Hold tight on my waist or else I won't be taking the blame if you fly away. That would completely fall on you.” He wasn't wrong. The way Neel flirted with me earlier was lighthearted, like something out of a novel—charming and full of wit—and that's how I realized he didn’t mean anything serious by it. He loved literature, after all, and that meant quoting from his favourite books or playing into a character wasn’t unusual for him. It felt like a game, one that I didn’t mind playing along with. Even my heart didn’t skip a beat the way it
The rest of the day dragged on, my thoughts endlessly looping around the text from dad and my reply to him. I was in my Chemistry class, staring at the equations on the whiteboard, but none of them made sense. Covalent bonds, molecular structures—I usually enjoyed this part of the class, but today, the words blurred into one another, and I could barely concentrate. I found myself doodling mindlessly on the corner of my notebook, my mind somewhere else entirely. The professor's voice became background noise as I replayed that message over and over in my head. ‘Come live with me in London. It’s time we talk. Stop being a gold digger.’ The initial texts sounded like something straight out of a formal letter, not a father reaching out to his daughter after years of silence, and the end was something fathers with sound mind shouldn't ever tell their daughters. He hadn’t called or messaged in so long, not since I blocked his old number after one too many hurtful arguments. So why no
The sky was cloudless, the bright light of the moon covered the Salvatore property. We just had dinner, and it wasn't like the regular Salvatore family dinner. It hasn't been so ever since we returned to the mansion. Lucas was in Chicago, meeting with some of the investors whereas Caspian had himself locked in his room. Mom was back in Texas, and the twins went to their grandparents (mother's parents). We were all scattered, and the frustration over the situation was torturing us. The news about the Salvatores reached my dad in London and he had been calling and texting me constantly. He wanted me to leave them and come back to London. I almost laughed when he suggested that, but I controlled myself and told him that I would pay a visit soon.He wasn't satisfied with the answer, so I reminded him that I was an adult and he couldn't force me to leave. That shut him up for the moment, and I hung up the phone soon after. He had been texting me ever since, apologizing and asking me if
The Salvatore mansion didn't feel like home anymore.As I walked through the mansion once again, I felt the same way I did the first time—cold and out of place. The strange environment loomed around me, and with each step I took inside, I sensed a profound emptiness, the lingering ghosts of everything that had happened. Perhaps we changed while we were in the safe house, or maybe it was the mansion that had endured too much destruction in a very short period of time. The mansion was still recovering from the nightmares, and the gloom was maybe its way of narrating the pain. Not long ago secrets had been unraveled, trusts were shattered between the family members, and blood was spilled in the very entrance hall I was standing inside. In just a month, it was just a house again—not a home like it used to be. The brothers felt the changes, too; it was apparent on their faces. They could hear the silence everywhere inside the house, and the winds of winter that seemed to fill every corn
Caspian barely slept in a week and it was showing. None of us really got any sleep, but it was a little different with Caspian. The lack of sleep wasn't the only reason for the permanent exhaustion in his eyes like us, it was the weight of everything he was letting press down on him—crushing him, consuming his thoughts. It had been a whole week since the news about Derek's involvement in the money laundering was aired all across the country. Everything had only gotten worse after that. The Salvatore name was plastered across every news outlet—big or small. Everyone had their own take on the case, be it the editors of the Washington Post or The New York Times, anchors from CNN or Fox News, and even the social media influencers who were reporting the controversy in the hope of getting views and likes.In no time it became one of the biggest scandals in recent times. And Caspian being the oldest, took it all upon himself. Although we knew it was the politicians and businessmen whose
The main purpose of us getting a safe house was to be safe, but the FBI made it feel anything but safe for us. The air inside the house felt suffocating to me, thick with an unspoken fear that we all felt, but none of us dared to voice. In the last three days, the FBI has visited us five times. The first day they took statements from us and collected evidence—the standard protocol—nothing more than that. We thought it was all, but Caspian warned us that it was just the beginning, and just like he said, they came back once again. This time they took our individual statements and cross-examined us. Since we were already prepared with our answers, nothing felt out of the ordinary. However, I noticed the way some of the officers were looking at us. They knew we were hiding something, but they had no proof. Caspian made sure that everything in the house was how it was supposed to be after Derek left. It was their sixth visit that day. The FBI agents sat across from us in the living ro
They weren’t kissing, but they were about to, I was sure of that. Matthew called just a few seconds ago, to update on the situation. It wasn't looking good for us and we needed to plan our next move. I went into the room Dev was staying to call them both so that we could discuss the problem and try to come up with a solution together. However, I didn't expect to catch them just as they were about to kiss. I saw the way Dev hesitated and pulled away from Kat when I pushed the door open, the way Kat looked utterly lost as if she didn’t know how to process what had just happened between them. I was heartbroken by that but hid my feelings because it wasn't the right time to have that conversation. Instead, I focused on my brother and noticed the slight flush on his face. His fingers were twitching at his sides like he was debating whether to reach for her again or not. And Kat… she was frozen. It looked like she hadn’t yet decided if what happened was a mistake or not.And for a secon
Kat was never mine to fall for, to hold, to kiss, or to even dream about. She was in love with Caspian even if she didn't realize it herself, or was too afraid to accept the truth. Everyone in the house knew it, and I tried to convince myself the same thing a thousand times, that she wasn’t mine to love, that she had never been mine. The moments that we shared together were the prize for the good deeds I'd done in my life. There couldn't be any other reason for someone as beautiful as her to be interested in someone like me. Someone who is predictable, obsessed with things that don't matter, and lacks any social skills. I had nothing to offer her and I knew I was just another fool caught in her gravity, nothing more. It wasn't her fault or mine, it's just the universe forcing the likes of me to orbit around her. Each one of us was attracted by her warmth and kindness at first but couldn't break free after because leaving her meant spending eons in darkness. In her heart, there ha
Silence filled the room as Lucas finally exhaled and nodded in agreement with Caspian. “I don’t like this plan,” he admitted truthfully, rubbing his temples. I knew it was a hard decision for him because he did blame Derek for the things that were happening to the family. And neither of us could disagree with him. We knew he was right, but the actual issue was Derek's safety. “But… I don’t want Dad in prison with Alaric either. You are right, Alaric would make friends inside if he didn't already have one.”“Not just Alaric, the politicians and businessmen whose names are on the list would also try to have Dad killed,” Harry added, scratching his head. “You know the legal system of our country, one can pay to get anything done. We have to find a solution for them too.”“True, they are going to be troublesome in the future,” Neel agreed with Harry, bringing another pressing matter in front of our eyes. They made many new enemies in order to get rid of Alaric from their lives. “We have
By the time we arrived at the safe house, exhaustion and anxiety had settled deep into my bones. The thing we dreaded for so long finally happened and there was no taking it back. Mom confessed, Matthew showed the cops a file about money laundering and fake charities and officially lodged a complaint against Alaric. We did everything we could have done, there wasn't anything else in our hand. It was now on the cops and Matthew to move things forward. All we could do was wait for the things to unfold and hope they would go how we wanted them, and not in the opposite direction. The drive from the police station had been quiet, aside from Caspian’s occasional instructions about what needed to be done next. It was the same old thing, but I knew he was terrified and needed to say it, so I played along and kept nodding my head whenever he looked at me. My mom was in the back seat, staring out of the window, lost in her own thoughts after everything that had transpired that morning. Even
Before I could wrap my head around it all, the car stopped and we were in the parking lot of the police station. It was nothing like I expected. The inside was sterile, buzzing with incoherent movement. Officers moved briskly through the halls with a serious expression on their faces. Not a smile or light-hearted conversations like they showed in those TV shows. Phones rang in the background, and the permanent smell of coffee and printer ink lingered in the air.We approached the front desk, where a uniformed officer looked up at us. She was middle-aged, and her dark brown hair was tied in a tight bun. Her eyes flicked over the three of us before settling on my mom.“Can I help you?” she asked, trying not to come off as intermediating, seeing the fear in mom's eyes. “I-I need to speak with Sergeant Grayson,” she was able to speak out. “It’s about Derek Salvatore’s case. It's important and quite urgent.”The officer’s eyes sharpened slightly, but she nodded her head. “Do you have an