The sterile scent of antiseptic welcomed me as I walked down the familiar corridors of the hospital, for what felt like the hundredth time. It had been five days since dad woke up, six days since we’d watched him slip between the realm of living and dead, yet it felt like yesterday. The weight of Alaric’s betrayal was still fresh in the back of all our minds, but there wasn't much we could do against him. He was being extra cautious after learning that the cops were involved. Thanks to that we hardly saw him around the house. Most of the time, he stayed out, doing God knows what. The day dad woke up, cops showed up to take our statements but weren't doing much with the investigation. In a way, it was a good thing—even when others disagreed with me—because it helped us keep the accident away from the media. And the fact that dad was not in the public eye for months also helped with it. Most of his friends and associates assumed he was out for another trip. “Hello, sir. Can I he
“What's going on here?” The nurse from before rushed inside the room, and seeing dad, he pushed me away from him. “Get back!”I followed his order and stood at the foot of the bed as he tried to find out what had happened with dad. He checked the monitor while trying to keep him on the bed. Thankfully, he wasn't shaking like before, but it was evident that he was having trouble breathing. The beeping of the machine was still rapid and intense. I was afraid and couldn't dare to look at dad. So, I kept my eyes on the young nurse as he injected dad with something that instantly calmed him down. He stopped shaking and started to breathe normally again. The nurse was still by his side, reading his pulse and trying to talk to him. Dad answered his questions, but I could see that his words weren't clear and his voice started to get lower and lower with each word. After a few seconds, the beeping of the machine went back to normal. “I didn't mean this when I said you should talk to your d
The house felt like a tomb, specially built for me ever since Derek was admitted into the hospital. The entire place felt silent and cold as if the house itself was holding its breath, waiting for the inevitable collapse. I knew it was near, and I also knew that I was going down with it, no matter what I did. I had already told Kat that I would confess, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I was still looking for alternative ways, but ever since the cops got involved, my mind stopped working. Alaric was being very cautious, trying to wipe out all the prints he had left behind. He had already ordered me to stay away from him, that the cops shouldn't find out about our past. He had a story ready and had assured me that Derek would verify the story if the cops were able to connect us together. Too much was happening too fast and I didn't know how to react. I sat in the dimly lit living room downstairs, the jasmine tea in my hands long forgotten, and the ceramic mug was
I finally found something important. I couldn't believe that it actually happened. I paced the length of my office to cover my excitement because I finally had something that we could use against Alaric to make sure he was gone from our life for good. I stopped right in front of my desk to check the reports once again. The soft glow of my computer screen was casting a long shadow across the room, glaring directly at me. And that made my mind race, each new discovery into Alaric's lies sent a fresh wave of anxiety through my chest. I couldn't believe my luck, and the thought of it all being a hoax stayed in my head, no matter how hard I was trying to get rid of it. I told myself that the information was gathered by my juniors from the company—the people I trust—yet it was hard to believe that they found so much against him. I checked the files once again—to convince myself that things were finally in our favour—along with the links associated with every one of them. The deeper I du
The days blended together right in front of my eyes, but I had no idea about it. Between gathering more evidence about Alaric, going through his fake charities, and trying to piece together a case that would stick and free us from his dark, twisted shadow, time had become irrelevant. I couldn't even separate events based on the days it happened that week. After learning the whole truth about Alaric's illegal activities, Caspian and I had been working non-stop for over a week. We spent countless hours together in his office, sorting through files and building a solid argument against him, while also doing background research on the people Alaric was associated with. We knew the case would become a national headline and would be the word of the mouth of common people for months. Even International media would talk about it for a few days, given the involvement of so many big names. It was going to be a thrilling journey, and I prepared myself for it. Lucas had left for Austin a
“Are you going to see him again?” Alaric asked when he saw me getting ready for the hospital. “Don't you get tired of running around him like a faithful little bitch? At this point, I am not sure if it's acting for the cops or you have actually accepted the role of a trophy wife.” It had been two weeks since Derek had been hospitalized, and the guilt of not telling him about Alaric was eating me alive. That's why I was going to tell him the truth that day. Even though I didn't know exactly what he was planning, I knew he had something in mind. If I had warned Derek, none of it would have happened. “Get out of the room; others might see us together,” I warned him without moving from my place. “I don't think additional drama would do us any good in this situation.”“I have been away from you for a long time now, I can't control myself anymore.” He walked into the room and shut the door behind himself. “The cops are testing my patience at this point—calling me every other day with more
When I stepped into his room, Derek was seated by the window with an open book in his hands. He looked healthier and more cheerful than before; the colour was returning to his face. But there was a hint of heaviness in his expression, a lilting shadow that lingered even in the soft light streaming through the glass window. “Derek,” I called his name, and he looked up when he heard my voice. His guarded gaze turned soft and he smiled at me. “Jenny,” he said with such tenderness that I had to control my sobs from breaking free. I didn't deserve his love and care. I never did. Yet, I couldn't help but let it engulf me. “You are late, I was waiting for a very long time.” “I am sorry,” I apologized hesitantly, standing at the edge of the room. My heart was pounding so loudly that I was sure he could hear it from where he was sitting. “I... I just had to take care of something and there was traffic on the way.” He laughed, “You took it seriously, I was kidding. Anyway, come here and le
Jenny’s face was the first thing I noticed as Lucas and I entered the hospital corridor. She was rushing toward the exit with her head down. But for a second, as we crossed each other, I was able to see her face streaked with tears and wondered what happened. Her shoulders were hunched as if the weight of the world rested on them. And she looked hopeless and defeated. She didn’t even notice us as she passed by the entrance lobby. We were just a few steps away, entering from the door next to the exit from where she left. For the most part, her head was down, and she was clutching her purse tightly, desperate to leave everything behind. “Jenny?” Lucas called after her, but she didn’t stop or look behind to check. I wondered if she heard him at all. Lucas turned to me and asked, “That's her right? That's Jenny.” I looked at Lucas, nodding my head, and he returned the confused look he might have seen on my face. As we watched her—through the glass door—going towards the parking lo
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