Brayden's POVMy wife was a lightweight.I’d suspected it after she’d finished her second drink but by the time she was halfway through her third, it became painfully obvious. Larissa was drunk.Not tipsy. Not pleasantly buzzed. Drunk.The scene before me looked like a Renaissance painting come to life – soft, flushed, and utterly unconcerned with the world around her. She was sprawled on the couch, one leg tucked beneath her, her hair now free from all the pins that held it up. She held her glass loosely, swirling the whiskey in the crystal glass, oohing and aahing at how the light caught in the amber liquid.The most surprising aspect of all this, however, was the brothers who hadn’t left her side in the past hour. Pluto had his massive head resting on her lap, his tail thumping lazily against the carpet beneath him. Jupiter was content with just sitting beside her, letting her free hand stroke his fur. And Neptune, unwilling to let himself be left out of Larissa’s affection, was le
Brayden's POV“Horrible.” I answered. “When his mum got married to my dad, I wanted to like Benjamin, I really did. But he was a spoiled brat. And Tiffany didn’t make matters any better. She was a great mum, don’t get me wrong. And I was lucky that my dad didn’t get married to someone who turned out to be cruel to me simply because I wasn’t her biological son. But Benjamin…“Most of my friends were my age, so we were all older than him and left to them, they would have left him out of our games and teased him mercilessly. But Tiffany made it very clear to me that Benjamin was my baby brother and that it was my duty to protect him. I didn’t have a problem with that at first. I did more than protect him. I loved him, I stood up for him, I took the fall for him, I cleaned up his messes. Many times; too many times.“Then Benjamin started to act out. It went from little things like him breaking the chinaware and asking me to take the fall for him to him setting the entire west wing of the
Larissa’s POVI woke up feeling like absolute shit. My mouth was dry, my limbs were heavy, and my head throbbed continuously like I’d banged it against the wall a hundred times. At least the curtains were drawn so I didn’t have to deal with the blinding sunlight.I groaned, pressing the heels of my hands against my eyes before slowly sitting up. The room spun and it took everything for me not to lie back down on the bed.Flashes of last night flickered in my mind. I tried to piece everything together but it was like trying to grab smoke and mold it into something tangible and solid. All I had were disjointed fragments. Londyn demanded that Brayden and I kiss to prove our relationship. Benjamin confronts me on the way back from the bathroom. Brayden’s dogs trying to greet me when we got back home. And then… nothing.I did remember that I had planned to avoid drinking at the company’s quarterly dinner because I wanted to have my wits about me throughout the event and I remember sticking
Larissa's POV I stood there, motionless, staring at the empty kitchen doorway Brayden had just walked through. The silence in the kitchen was deafening, the only sound was the faint hum of the refrigerator and the ticking of the clock on the wall. The smell of burnt eggs and Brayden’s cologne hung heavy in the air.This wasn’t how I expected this confrontation to go. I should have felt justified. I should have felt right. Instead, all I felt was… unsettled.I don’t know how long I stood there, staring at nothing. Then a surge of anger shot through me. I shouldn’t be the one standing here feeling bad. Brayden had been the one who had done something to me, why did he get to walk out as if he was the victim here?I needed to do something. I needed to leave, not just the kitchen but the estate. I didn’t care what our agreement was. There was no way I was staying here after what had happened.I made my way out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and through the corridor. My hand was on the doo
Larissa's POV The car pulled up to the estate and passed through the golden gates.The first few times I had been here, I had felt dread at the sheer uncertainty of where my life was headed. Over time, the dread had faded away to an acceptance of my situation. Now that dread was back but for a different reason.I had spent the morning convinced Brayden had done something unforgivable. But the only unforgivable thing had been my accusation. He had done nothing. And now, I had to face him knowing that.The driver killed the engine and turned to me. “We’ve arrived, ma’am.”“Thank you.” I said my voice barely above a whisper. I slid out of the car, the slight sway of my feet reminding me that I was still very hungover. I made my way into the house feeling every bit like a prisoner on death row.The air inside felt colder than when I had left. The living room was empty. The kitchen was empty. Even the dogs, who were usually in a corner trying futilely to get me to pet them, were nowhere
Larissa's POV I woke up to sunlight streaming in through the windows, cutting through the heavy curtains I had pulled back while I had sat by the window watching and waiting for Brayden to get back home. I didn’t even remember falling asleep.I turned over, squinting at the clock on the nightstand.2:27 PM. I had slept through the entire morning.Thanks to the painkillers I had taken earlier, I no longer had a headache. But the guilt was understandably still there. I shut my eyes. I had wanted to fix things. I had wanted to try. But he had been so distant with me. He wanted nothing to do with me and I couldn’t blame him.I wanted to check my phone to see if I had gotten any texts from him – though I doubted it – but I stopped at the last moment. Turning on my phone’s screen meant having to come face-to-face with Brayden’s image as my new wallpaper. I couldn’t bring myself to look at it, and I couldn’t bring myself to change it either because that would mean having to look at it, even
Larissa's POV The next time I saw Brayden, he was back in formal wear. It was the next morning when I trudged into the kitchen looking for something to eat.A crisp white dress shirt, polished shoes, tailored navy slacks with the matching suit jacket hanging off one of the chairs in the kitchen – the picture of effortless sophistication.And he wasn’t alone.Gwen stood in front of him, her hands expertly working on the fabric of the tie, looping it into an intricate knot. She looked like she had stepped straight out of the 70s dressed in a sunflower print pinafore mini dress and white gogo boots. Gwen was chattering animatedly as she worked on his tie. Brayden responded with quiet grunts and hums and he stared down at her.I stopped short in the doorway not sure if I should step in or just head back upstairs. There was something about this scene that made me feel like I didn’t belong here. There was a sort of easy camaraderie between the two of them.Brayden was the first to notice m
Larisa's POV“Congratulations, Larisa,” one of the guests said as they walked in and shook my hands. “Benjamin’s about to make waves in the business world.”“Thank you,” I replied gingerly, barely able to contain my excitement. Tonight was the night Benjamin and I had worked so hard for, and I couldn't have been prouder.It had been a tough few weeks working so hard on that presentation, proving to Mr. Paterson why Benjamin deserved to take the reins instead of his elder brother, and everything had been worth it in the end. The announcement has been made already, and by Monday Benjamin would officially take over Paterson Financial Group.I turned to look across the hall and spotted Benjamin standing near the window, his face illuminated by the soft glow of his phone. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, and then, as if sensing my gaze, he looked up. He gave me a smile, no, not a real one, it looked forced, hollow. Just as I was about mouthing what's wrong? He turned around and h
Larissa's POV The next time I saw Brayden, he was back in formal wear. It was the next morning when I trudged into the kitchen looking for something to eat.A crisp white dress shirt, polished shoes, tailored navy slacks with the matching suit jacket hanging off one of the chairs in the kitchen – the picture of effortless sophistication.And he wasn’t alone.Gwen stood in front of him, her hands expertly working on the fabric of the tie, looping it into an intricate knot. She looked like she had stepped straight out of the 70s dressed in a sunflower print pinafore mini dress and white gogo boots. Gwen was chattering animatedly as she worked on his tie. Brayden responded with quiet grunts and hums and he stared down at her.I stopped short in the doorway not sure if I should step in or just head back upstairs. There was something about this scene that made me feel like I didn’t belong here. There was a sort of easy camaraderie between the two of them.Brayden was the first to notice m
Larissa's POV I woke up to sunlight streaming in through the windows, cutting through the heavy curtains I had pulled back while I had sat by the window watching and waiting for Brayden to get back home. I didn’t even remember falling asleep.I turned over, squinting at the clock on the nightstand.2:27 PM. I had slept through the entire morning.Thanks to the painkillers I had taken earlier, I no longer had a headache. But the guilt was understandably still there. I shut my eyes. I had wanted to fix things. I had wanted to try. But he had been so distant with me. He wanted nothing to do with me and I couldn’t blame him.I wanted to check my phone to see if I had gotten any texts from him – though I doubted it – but I stopped at the last moment. Turning on my phone’s screen meant having to come face-to-face with Brayden’s image as my new wallpaper. I couldn’t bring myself to look at it, and I couldn’t bring myself to change it either because that would mean having to look at it, even
Larissa's POV The car pulled up to the estate and passed through the golden gates.The first few times I had been here, I had felt dread at the sheer uncertainty of where my life was headed. Over time, the dread had faded away to an acceptance of my situation. Now that dread was back but for a different reason.I had spent the morning convinced Brayden had done something unforgivable. But the only unforgivable thing had been my accusation. He had done nothing. And now, I had to face him knowing that.The driver killed the engine and turned to me. “We’ve arrived, ma’am.”“Thank you.” I said my voice barely above a whisper. I slid out of the car, the slight sway of my feet reminding me that I was still very hungover. I made my way into the house feeling every bit like a prisoner on death row.The air inside felt colder than when I had left. The living room was empty. The kitchen was empty. Even the dogs, who were usually in a corner trying futilely to get me to pet them, were nowhere
Larissa's POV I stood there, motionless, staring at the empty kitchen doorway Brayden had just walked through. The silence in the kitchen was deafening, the only sound was the faint hum of the refrigerator and the ticking of the clock on the wall. The smell of burnt eggs and Brayden’s cologne hung heavy in the air.This wasn’t how I expected this confrontation to go. I should have felt justified. I should have felt right. Instead, all I felt was… unsettled.I don’t know how long I stood there, staring at nothing. Then a surge of anger shot through me. I shouldn’t be the one standing here feeling bad. Brayden had been the one who had done something to me, why did he get to walk out as if he was the victim here?I needed to do something. I needed to leave, not just the kitchen but the estate. I didn’t care what our agreement was. There was no way I was staying here after what had happened.I made my way out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and through the corridor. My hand was on the doo
Larissa’s POVI woke up feeling like absolute shit. My mouth was dry, my limbs were heavy, and my head throbbed continuously like I’d banged it against the wall a hundred times. At least the curtains were drawn so I didn’t have to deal with the blinding sunlight.I groaned, pressing the heels of my hands against my eyes before slowly sitting up. The room spun and it took everything for me not to lie back down on the bed.Flashes of last night flickered in my mind. I tried to piece everything together but it was like trying to grab smoke and mold it into something tangible and solid. All I had were disjointed fragments. Londyn demanded that Brayden and I kiss to prove our relationship. Benjamin confronts me on the way back from the bathroom. Brayden’s dogs trying to greet me when we got back home. And then… nothing.I did remember that I had planned to avoid drinking at the company’s quarterly dinner because I wanted to have my wits about me throughout the event and I remember sticking
Brayden's POV“Horrible.” I answered. “When his mum got married to my dad, I wanted to like Benjamin, I really did. But he was a spoiled brat. And Tiffany didn’t make matters any better. She was a great mum, don’t get me wrong. And I was lucky that my dad didn’t get married to someone who turned out to be cruel to me simply because I wasn’t her biological son. But Benjamin…“Most of my friends were my age, so we were all older than him and left to them, they would have left him out of our games and teased him mercilessly. But Tiffany made it very clear to me that Benjamin was my baby brother and that it was my duty to protect him. I didn’t have a problem with that at first. I did more than protect him. I loved him, I stood up for him, I took the fall for him, I cleaned up his messes. Many times; too many times.“Then Benjamin started to act out. It went from little things like him breaking the chinaware and asking me to take the fall for him to him setting the entire west wing of the
Brayden's POVMy wife was a lightweight.I’d suspected it after she’d finished her second drink but by the time she was halfway through her third, it became painfully obvious. Larissa was drunk.Not tipsy. Not pleasantly buzzed. Drunk.The scene before me looked like a Renaissance painting come to life – soft, flushed, and utterly unconcerned with the world around her. She was sprawled on the couch, one leg tucked beneath her, her hair now free from all the pins that held it up. She held her glass loosely, swirling the whiskey in the crystal glass, oohing and aahing at how the light caught in the amber liquid.The most surprising aspect of all this, however, was the brothers who hadn’t left her side in the past hour. Pluto had his massive head resting on her lap, his tail thumping lazily against the carpet beneath him. Jupiter was content with just sitting beside her, letting her free hand stroke his fur. And Neptune, unwilling to let himself be left out of Larissa’s affection, was le
Brayden's POVIt was a little past midnight when Larissa and I got back home. All throughout the drive home, Larissa was oddly quiet, alternating between staring out the window and tapping away on her phone. I didn’t press her for conversation. Tonight had been a lot and I understood her silence. Dinner hadn’t particularly been fun for her all because of Benjamin.Benjamin was dangerous.Not because he was drunk and reckless, but because he enjoyed pushing people’s limits. He had sat there, sipping his champagne, and watching Larissa like a predator waiting for any sign of weakness to strike. And I had no doubt that tonight was just the beginning.Neither of us spoke as we walked up the marble steps and through the massive front doors. Inside, the house was quiet, save for the faint ticking of a grandfather clock in the entryway. Larissa exhaled softly, slipping off her heels and setting them neatly by the door. Without a word, she walked into the living room and sank into the couch.
Larissa's POV I could feel the awkwardness when Brayden and I walked back into the dinner. It wrapped around me like a heavy, uncomfortable blanket. The hum of conversation and the glittering chandeliers felt suffocating now, and I struggled to keep my face neutral. My dress was suddenly too tight and the air was suddenly too hot. I wanted to bolt. And I would have, too, if not for Brayden’s steady grip at my side.Brayden’s hand rested lightly on the small of my back, a silent reassurance as he led me to our table. The long elegant table was already filled with various members of the Patterson family, their polished appearance and saccharine smiles a perfect match for the opulent setting.My eyes immediately landed on Londyn and Benjamin. They were seated together, bodies angled away from each other. Both of them scowled at Brayden and me as we walked in.“I’m sure you’ve all heard the news; I’m married.” Brayden announced. “This is my wife, Larissa.”His dad, Richard Patterson, rai