“Thank you, Leo, now help me with makeup and hair ” I requested, looking at the mirror once again to check the dress and I felt like something was missing. The dress hugged my body perfectly, there was no doubt about it and I could see the way it highlighted my curves. I turned from side to side, trying a few poses in the mirror. The golden embroidery shimmered with every breath I took and the thigh-high slit gave an edge of boldness to the overall look. However, my hair was an unruly mess, and my face looked far too mundane for such a fancy event. I sighed, running my fingers through my tangled waves. “Are you sure?” he inquired, trying to hide the happiness trying to surface. I could see it in his eyes. I laughed softly, feeling my cheeks warm. “Yes, I am very sure. Now, help me please.”His face brightened with a proud grin, but soon I saw the mischief behind his eyes and knew he was going to play. “You sure you want to entrust me with that power?”“I’m sure,” I said, smiling
The fairy lights covered the night sky of our stable, casting warm pools of gold over the arriving guests. I was happy with how things turned out, even though it wasn't the type of party I wanted to throw for Ian and Harry. In the crowd, I could spot only a few young faces, everyone else was double my age. I knew Ian and Harry had hardly met four or five of Dad's guests before. No one could have said it was a birthday party for two young boys turning twenty because it looked nothing like that. From music to decor, everything around me screamed corporate and formal. Even the conversations around me were about stocks and shares, while others tried to make contacts. Laughter and murmurs wove through the air, blending with the faint rustle of tree branches and the clink of champagne glasses. To everyone else, the party must seem flawless—another perfectly orchestrated event by Dad, a gleaming display of prestige and power. But all I could feel was the dull thud of unease in my
“Hey,” Kat’s smooth voice broke through the weight of my thoughts. Soft and concerned, her words slipped around me like a gentle breeze. “What are you—” “Thank you everyone for coming today,” Dad announced from where he was near the cocktail bar, surrounded by his friends. “I can't be more happy than I'm right now. I've such amazing sons and two of them are turning a year older, and I can't imagine anything better than what we have right now.” A cheer erupted from the crowd and I could see from the corner of my eyes that Ian was doing his best to disappear in the shadow. He knew they would be called in front anytime now, and it looked like he was preparing himself for that. “He is really enjoying it,” Leo commented, looking around, trying to find someone. “Thank you,” he then turned towards Kat's mom and planted a kiss on her cheeks. “Amd we will be cutting the cake soon, but till then, enjoy the party.” The song changed and a live band came to perform, it was one of dad's
I saw Diego standing near the entrance with a small bag in his hand as I tried not to look at the people checking me out. He had a tense smile on his lips and looked lost, I almost laughed seeing him looking for me. He pulled his phone out and stepped to the side, hiding away from the stolen glances he received from ladies near him. He looked sharp in the blue suit he was wearing and had his hair slicked back. My phone started to ring and I realised he was calling me. I was about to pick up the call when he looked in my direction, and our eyes met, I waved my hand, and with a faint smile, he walked towards me. He had a little jump in his steps that he was trying to hide, but when he looked at me completely, his jaw was on the grass. All the nervousness due to being in an event like that and the unease from before was gone. His eyes sparkled and I felt Caspian turning towards him. “Wow,” he said, mesmerized as he looked up and down. Weirdly, with Diego, I didn't feel creeped out li
“A surprise?” I nodded my head, forcing a small smile. “Yeah, a surprise for you and Harry. Come with us and I promise you, it will be better than this.” He laughed, “Anything in this world is going to be better than this.” Dev looked down to lock eyes with Ian and, in a soft, love-filled voice, said, “I am sorry for not doing anything and letting you go through all of this; let me and the others show how much we love you.” “Y-you don't have to show me anything, I know,” Ian took a shaky breath and nodded before wrapping his arms around Dev. Just then, Caspian and Lucas appeared with Harry in tow. They were laughing about something, but when they noticed Dev and Ian, they stopped. A veil of confusion covered their faces as they tried to figure out what happened. “What’s going on?” Harry’s brow furrowed, and his eyes flickered between us. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, it was Alaric, forget about him,” Ian said, pulling away from Dev and then turned towards the others. “Did they
I already knew about the surprise party; Harry did too. The way Kat, Dev and others had tried to be subtle, sneaking around and exchanging knowing glances, was almost comical. Leo couldn't be sneaky, even if it cost him his life. I heard him speaking about the surprise on the phone more than once, while Harry guessed it seeing the way others interacted with each other. Both me and Harry figured it out days ago, but neither of us said a word to anyone. Pretending not to know felt easier than watching their faces fall, realizing all their hard work would go to waste. They wanted the day to be special—for us. Despite everything—the strained dinner conversations and the silences that cut sharper than words—we didn’t want to ruin it for them. We didn’t want to ruin their mood and take away the one thing they thought would make our day special. They were already going against Dad by planning the surprise. As we walked toward the boathouse, the air was still dense due to the argument
The music from the sound system thumped gently in the background, blending with the laughter and chatter that floated through the cool, soothing air of Lake Willow.The fairy lights strung along the trees cast a warm, golden glow across the boathouse and the surrounding clearing. Everything was perfect, in a way I hadn’t expected it to be. But then again, it wasn’t the beautiful decorations or the tasty cake that made the night special. It was the people—my brothers, my family—finally feeling like they had a place to just be.I watched Harry moving through the dance floor, surrounded by his friends, with joy in his eyes. He was laughing; his arms were flailing in a carefree rhythm that made me smile despite the fear of what Dad might do tomorrow, eating away my brain cells. If he decided to throw us out, I had to take care of my brothers and provide them with necessities. To most of their cards, Dad still had access, and he could freeze their account whenever he wanted; thankfully,
Caspian’s hand was warm as he took mine in his own and led me through the creeping shadows of the forest. The branches of the trees above us whispered secrets to each other. And our only companion in that dark night was the faint glow of moonlight filtering through the branches that swayed under the spell of the wind. The sounds of the birthday party faded behind us; the hum of voices and the music became a distant murmur that we couldn't hear anymore. I felt a strange sense of anticipation, like we were sneaking away to a place that existed just for the two of us. He stopped in front of a large oak that stood tall near their house. Its branches stretched in all directions, and the trunk was so wide that it would require at least seven people standing hand in hand to fully encircle it. The bark of the tree was rough and weathered, telling stories of countless seasons that had passed. A ladder was nailed into it, and it disappeared into the darkness above. Caspian’s lips curled
It had been more than a year since Caspian confessed his feelings to me, and life was finally finding a sense of normalcy. Derek was safe, though he remained permanently in hiding. The Salvatores had not only survived the disaster but had emerged stronger than before. The PR team had worked wonders in reshaping their image, and those who had attempted to bring them down for their own gain were now behind bars. The money laundering case was no longer casting shadows over their name, it was a thing of the past. The FBI cleared their name from any involvement in the money laundering—the world saw them as victims of their dad's actions. The business was doing good; Caspian joined the company, while on the other side, our relationship got pretty strong. We found a balance that allowed us to grow separately as well, because I moved into an apartment with my mom, helping her build a new life for herself. Meanwhile, Caspian remained at the mansion with his brothers. They asked me to stay,
I was always good at fixing things, maybe because I was broken from the inside and knew I couldn't be fixed. I became a lawyer to help my family, to help my brothers. I thought if I knew the ways of law and legal system, I could use it to my advantage, to protect them in any way needed. Yet, it had been more than a month and I was still fighting a battle with no end in sight. I gave up on too many things in my life, thinking I never deserved them. There was always a reason to hold myself back from being truly happy, about something or with someone. There were these little voices in my head that would make me question everything. For years, they had been silent, but ever since I learned the truth about Dad's involvement in the money laundering, they came back. ‘How could you let yourself be happy when your brothers are in trouble?’‘How could you be that selfish?’I couldn't rub my love for Kat on my brothers' faces, especially when most of them wanted her, too. It was not fair to
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 c
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