ALEXMy soul left my body when I saw him fall. I had been so happy to see him, impatient to show him all I had planned for the date that I didn't even fucking check out the surroundings. I didn't think anyone would make an attempt on his life since no one knew our location. Wrong. I was mistaken about that. Whoever did this must have followed me, carefully staying in the shadows without detection, something that wouldn't have been possible if I wasn't that eager to meet Ly. I would have known someone was tailing me had I not been too focused on the date. It was my bad for not paying attention. I carried Ly up from the ground after making certain we were alone. Whoever shot him must have been confident in their skills. Why else would they disappear after two shots without checking to know if he was dead? I carried him towards my car and gently placed him in the back seat. Just when I was about to rise so I could go over to the driver's side, he called out to me. “Take me home,” he
“Is there any problem?” The last I checked, there wasn't any reason he would ask me to meet him. I had already told him about the shooting, hadn't I? It wasn't as if I had anything else to talk to him about. Well, unless it was about Aithan. “You will know when you meet him. He asked me to bring you over." “Oh. I see.”I nodded, feeling a sense of uncertainty. What did Viktor want to talk to me about? Could he be suspecting me of harming Aithan? That wasn't possible, right? I wouldn't have brought him back to the house if I was the one who shot him. But you could never tell the heart of another, especially an angry father.“Lead the way then.” I forced a smile at the man, gesturing for him to start walking.“Don't worry, he won't do anything to you with Aithan in the house. That's not his way," the man whispered, his words trying to reassure me I had nothing to fear before he turned and started for the stairs. Choosing to believe those words, I followed him up the stairs and throug
I didn't know how I left the house. After those words, I didn't get the strength to argue with him. He was right. Aithan would always choose him should it come to that. He had proven countlessly that his loyalty was with Viktor. While I didn't have any issues defying my father for him, Aithan would never do that for me. He loves his father too much to disobey him. He might have agreed to date me secretly, but that didn't mean he wouldn't go back on his promise should Viktor ask him to do that. I walked back to my car with my shoulders hunched. I wasn't giving up; you see. I was just too hung up on the words Viktor said to me. A knock on the window brought my mind back to the present. Frowning, I looked up at the person standing outside my window. It was the same man who had been helping me. The platinum blonde man. His honey-brown eyes stared at me, waiting for me to roll down the window, and I did. “What's wrong? Don't tell me Viktor still had things he wishes to discuss?” I lift
AITHANI slowly opened my eyes, groggily taking in my surroundings. I was in my bedroom, lying in my bed. But how did I get here? The last thing I recalled was…Pain rushed through my head, making me wince from the onslaught. I tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over me, forcing me back onto the pillows.What the hell happened to me? I thought back to my date with Alex, and then…and then someone shot me. I remembered feeling a searing burn in my arm, and then everything went black. I could only recall fragments of conversation with Alex when I asked him to take me home, despite his reluctance to do that. He wanted to take me to the hospital, but I insisted on going home. As we didn't know who shot me or why they did that, my house was the safest place at that moment. I looked down at my arm, seeing that it was bandaged and wrapped in a sling. They must have shot me there, I thought, trying to piece together the events of the last time I was awake.As I lay there, tryin
Viktor didn't show up in my room throughout that day. Pink was the one who came to help me with my bath and food. It was from him that I knew how upset Viktor was.“He's furious, isn't he?”“I haven't seen your father as pissed as he was when he asked me to take care of you.” Pink sat on my bed, looking at me with a concerned look. “Are you okay?”“I guess.” I let out a sigh. I wasn't okay. Not with Viktor this angry at me. It made me feel like such a failure…if only I could stop loving Alex. It would be better for us. “How do you stop loving someone?” I asked Pink before I could stop myself. "How can I get my heart to stop beating fast each time I see him?" It would be better if I could return to those days when he felt like a thorn in my side.Pink's expression softened, and he reached out to gently brush a strand of hair out of my face. He held my hand and pressed lightly, his eyes gently smiling with his lips. “I don't think you can." He smiled sadly, his expression distant. “L
ALEXI wiped the blood on my face as my gaze took in the bodies on the ground. I was exhausted. For two days I had been on the road, tracing the men who hurt my Ly.It wasn't challenging to trace them as the bastard left his ID behind. It went to show how careless they were. With the ID, it wasn't difficult to trace them. I discovered they lived in the state next to ours and left to find them.Their hideouts, just like the info about them, aren't that problematic to find. All I needed was to say the name, and they got pointed out. Looking down at the pile of bodies on the ground, I felt no remorse. The only thing I felt was regret. They died too easily. If only I could have drawn out their death, it would have been better.“Please don't kill me!” the only one I left alive pleaded, raising his hands towards me. “We only did what they sent us to. It was just a job!”I stalked towards him, wiping the blood on my lips. The fear in his eyes as I advanced towards him was enough to make me
AITHAN “Are you certain about this?” Pink asked for the third time since we left the house. “You can't do anything reckless, and you know that. Your father will only —”“If you didn't want to do this with me, you are free to leave. It's not as if I'm forcing you to go with me.” I would have glared down at him if I wasn't that focused on where we were going. Pink was frustrating me with his endless questions and his unnecessary fear.“I didn't force you to come with me, did I? You did that on your accord.”“Because I care for you, damn it!”Heaving a sigh, I stopped the car, almost sending us out of our seats from how hard I hit the brakes. Our seatbelts were the only thing that kept us from leaping out of the car, through the front window.“Are you trying to bloody kill us?!”“If you don't want to go with me, you are free to return home. I won't blame you for this.” I gestured with my eyes at his door, letting him see he could leave if he wanted. “I planned to do this alone. You we
ALEX That bastard Maximo must have known I was coming for him. He wasn't in his home, and the lady in charge of the building informed me he left a few days ago after his rent expired. I checked the gay bar, but none of them recognized who he was. For the entire day, I drove around the city, hoping to get any news or lead that would point me towards his current location, but it seemed like he never existed. None of the men I met knew who he was. Max was the only person I knew who could help me, so I had to drive home to meet him. The new phone I got didn't have his number. The only number I had was Aithan's. As for the number that blonde man gave me, I didn't intend to add it to my contact. As for calling with it, I just wanted to give Aithan some time before doing so. The gates swung open after the sensor on it did a check of the car. It must have recognized me because it made a beep and the gates opened. I drove into the compound I hadn't been to since I left on a mission to hu
I never imagined that such a day would come, and faster at that. I wouldn't have believed that I would tie the knot with the person of my choice someday. I had always resolved I would get married to a girl Viktor picked, but Alex showed up and changed my mind. “You look handsome,” Pink said, standing behind me. “You are the most beautiful groom in the entire world.”“Oh, spare me that.” I rolled my eyes. I had gotten enough compliments from Viktor and Sophia, who thought I needed to hear how good I looked, for my ego. I smoothed my suit even though it wasn't necessary, staring into the mirror as a small smile crept up. They were right. I had never looked as good as I did today. It being my wedding made it the best. The black suit fitted me more than I thought it would even though it was custom-made.I paired my black jacket with a crisp white shirt and a black tie, a gift I got from Viktor. He didn't want me to match with the tie that came with my suit. He wanted something of his on
But I wanted more. I wanted him. I tugged him up, kissing him fiercely, then rolled us so I could straddle him.“My turn.” I licked down his chest, tasting salt and heat, then lingering on his nipples until he groaned my name.“Ly, you’re driving me crazy.”I went lower, sucking him slowly and deeply, savouring every shudder he gave me.I moved lower some more and gagged, and Alex’s hand pushed my head back down when I tried to escape, his fingers tangling gently in my hair.“Easy, Ly,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble, his eyes locking onto mine, soft but insistent. I groaned around him, the stretch of my lips around his thick cock sending a shiver through me. I held his gaze, determined to please him, to make him see how beautiful this was.The moonlight spilt over us, catching the gold in his hair, and I felt my chest tighten with how damn beautiful he looked, all raw and open for me.“Fuck, Aithan, you’re so good at this.” He kept brushing my cheek, guiding me as I took him dee
AITHANIt has been a month since the encounter with that bastard rapist, and things had gotten back on track. Ryder like I had suspected wasn't as bad as they made him out to be. Marcus was the one who pulled the string, controlling him with his position as the head of the family. With Ryder gone, the rest of the family united. We got rid of the mafia families that tried to challenge us. After a long day of work, Alex suggested we take a walk in the spring close to his cabin.The spring glittered under the full moon. The surface was a mirror of silver light that stretched across the clearing.I sat beside Alex, my bare feet brushing the cool grass, my eyes fixed on the sky.His golden hair caught the moonlight, shimmering like a halo, and I couldn’t help but steal a glance at him. His eyes were soft yet intense as he stared upward too.He could feel it as much as I could do, the beauty of this moment.The air was crisp, laced with the scent of pine and damp earth, and the night felt
ALEXMy heart left my body when I heard Sophia's words. I leapt from my chair and reached for her, ripping the phone off her hand. My blood grew cold as I read the text. “Did they say what they want?” Ryder asked behind me, reaching my side in a few strides. “Yes, they —”I passed the phone back to Sophia before she could complete her words and headed out, almost ripping the door off its hinges from the force I tore through it with. I heard echoing footsteps behind me as I headed for my car, but before I could open the door, Ryder placed his hand on the doorknob, stopping me. “Get your hands off!” I growled. “This isn't the fucking time to play!”“Do I look like I'm playing?” He glared, matching my tone. “You can't drive in your state. Let me do that. I promise I will take you there in time.”“Fuck off! This doesn't concern you.” I ripped his hand off, but he was persistent, holding me before I could open the door. “It concerns me, Alex. Now that I have decided to forgo the past
AITHANI know I was such a fool when I left the house without telling Alex the truth of where I was heading. I lied to him that I was going over to my bar when I wasn't. Today made it 2 days and close to 48 hours since I received the letter, and I was on my way to meet whoever sent it. On the back of the letter, they had written how to meet them. One of the specific requirements was for me to come alone else they would send the video to Alex. To keep my lover from discovering my past from them, I had to do something stupid.I know I can fight should it get to that, but there was no way of knowing what I would be up against. What if they had a gun? What if they had other people with them? I couldn't risk it. I had to play it safe, no matter how much it pained me to do so.I didn't take my car with me, as that would make it difficult for me to keep Alex in the dark. He has a tracker in my car and would know wherever I am. To be on the safer side, I had to leave my car at home and take
ALEX“Can I have a chat with you?” Ryder said when he walked into my study. He knocked before he stepped in, though. What I didn't like was how he looked like it was his right to speak to me, even if I didn't want that. “What do you want to talk about?” I closed the laptop to face him. He lifted a brow. “Won't you offer me a seat?”I gritted my teeth, keeping my anger in check. So he wouldn't gloat that he had won. I gestured to the seat across from mine. “Have a seat.”“Now that's more like.” Grinning, he sat on the chair and crossed his legs, watching me. He didn't say a word for a long time. He just watched me. “What is it you wish to discuss? Don't tell me you came in here to stare at me?” I broke the silence between us, irritated. “What if I did?” I narrowed my eyes. “I don't have all the time in the world for your shenanigans, Ryder. Why are you here?”“Where is Aithan? Your lover?”“Why? What's with you asking about him?” If I was suspicious about him from the time he step
AITHAN Ryder was lucky I was in the sitting room with Alex when he arrived, else his blood would have decorated the floor. Alex would have had his head for just looking at me, but I stopped him. My lover just doesn't seem to know his stepbrother was baiting him. Ryder, despite knowing what would have gone down if I didn't stop Alex, smiled, winked at me, turned on his steps and walked towards the stairs with his small bag. We watched him leave, humming under his breath and with a slight swag to his steps. It wasn't until he was out of earshot that I heard Sophia exhale. “Thank fuck," she whispered, looking at me with a sad smile. He didn't even look at her. What a brother he was. I bet he only wanted Sophia to return with him to the city, so she wouldn't be near Alex. “I hate him,” Alex muttered under his breath. “He's not —” I swallowed down the word I wanted to say. Letting it out would infuriate my lover, who looked like he was losing it. Ryder wasn't bad, though. I didn't
ALEX I would be a damned liar if I said I didn't feel there was something Aithan was keeping from me. I knew he didn't tell me everything, but there was no way to confirm that. He hid that letter, and I couldn't find it in the room when I searched for it. I couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right, but Aithan kept on insisting that he was okay and that the letter was just from someone who might have seen him killing those men. I asked if it was the same man he thought he saw at the restaurant. He hesitated before he denied it. I didn't believe that, but who was I to argue with him?I couldn't just afford to be given cold shoulders, as that was something Aithan was excellent at. Any minor argument, he will keep a long face, and make me grovel on my feet just to get back with him. Not like I was complaining or anything. “Good morning,” he whispered, rubbing his eyes. I had been long awake, staring at the ceiling, while he slept. I didn't just want to disturb him
“Open the letter and check. You might get an inkling of who sent it,” Alex said, his voice breaking the silence.I hesitated for a moment, my heart racing with anxiety. What if it was something bad? What if it were someone from my past, come to haunt me? I didn't want to open it. I wanted to throw the letter as far away from me as I could, but Alex's encouraging gaze gave me the courage to open the envelope. I slid my finger under the flap and pulled out the letter inside.As I unfolded the paper, my eyes scanned the page, my heart sinking with every word. It was a letter, all right. But it wasn't from a friend or a bill collector. It was from someone who knew my darkest secrets, someone who threatened to expose me to the world.My hands shook as I read it, my mind reeling with fear. How did they know? Who told them? And what did they want from me?Blinking, I reread the letter. "Aithan,I know what happened that night. I know what those men did to you. And I know what you did to the