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
The backyard was quiet, except for the occasional rustling of leaves under the gentle breeze. I was crouching beside the small vegetable patch, absentmindedly plucking away the weeds sprouting between the growing tomato plants. The task was simple and repetitive—exactly what I needed to keep myself distracted because my thoughts were anything but simple. The closer we got to the end, the more I started to worry about the whole thing blowing up on our faces. My fears threatened to take over my thoughts, and I wasn't able to push them away. I was anxious every second. Maybe it was because somewhere deep down I had accepted that we were going to fail, even before the trials. Things were going way too smoothly, and the way Lucas found the evidence against Alaric, I wasn't able to assure myself that it could be so easy. “Nothing has happened, and nothing will happen,” I repeated the words Dev had told me the night before when he saw me crying in the kitchen. “Nothing has happened, and
I wiped my eyes, and for a moment, neither of us said anything. The silence that settled between us wasn’t uncomfortable, though. It was… comforting. And standing next to him, with his hand on my arms, I felt safe. I wanted to be like that forever, but I pushed that thought as soon as it came. ‘Don't do this to me, please!’ I told myself, tightening my grip on his hands. ‘You can't fall for him, not now. You can't be in love when you aren't even sure about your future. Think practically.’ “You’ve been spending a lot of time out here lately,” he said, his tone was lighter now. He was trying to cheer me up, I could feel it in my heart even before he started. “Are you planning to become a full-time gardener or something?” I laughed, the sound surprised even me because I already knew what he was doing, yet the way he said it was somewhat funny. It's weird to say it out loud, but I started to pick up on a few things or habits of his. I didn't like it, mostly because of what it might
Caspian’s office had turned into the Salvatore family's war room over the past few weeks. It was a room that once felt intimidating—lined with tall bookshelves, mahogany furniture, dark leather chairs, and the history it contained of me and Caspian. Now, it was a place where heavy discussions were taking place, to reach decisions that could alter the family’s fate. I was sitting in the corner of the room, feeling like an intruder in their world of business and law. Yet, as I watched Lucas and Caspian argue over the papers spread across the desk, I realized I wasn’t exactly an outsider anymore. I was part of the mess, whether I liked it or not.Matthew, the Salvatores’ lawyer, sat across from me. He was calm and collected despite the storm brewing in the room, trying to hear both sides. His neatly pressed suit and calm demeanour gave him an air of professionalism that felt out of place amidst the storm of words. Dev was pacing near the window, his hands were shoved deep into his po
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