Fifteen minutes later I pulled the car up in front of the great Kevin Rivera's office. His assistant looked up, startled, as Luca and I rushed past her desk.
"Mr. Rivera, you can't go in there! Your father has asked not to be disturbed! Mr. Rivera!"
He was typing away on his laptop as we walked in and barely looked up before returning his gaze to the screen before him. Dressed in one of his power suits, one of the ones I know he usually reserved for days when he expected to be in the media's eye, with a red tie knotted perfectly around his neck and hair recently cropped short, every shiny strand in place, it was apparent that he had big plans for today.
So, while he sat straight as an arrow, with no remorse or apprehension for the blatant lie, for the slanderous garbage he had just released marking his features, I tried to gather some semblance of control. But fury pounded wildly through my veins; the pressure of it throbbed painfully between my temple. My jaw c
"Oh, I know exactly who else was involved, and you're going to stay the hell out of it while I handle it. As much as you may think that I haven't, I have learned a lot from you. You and your friends will stay out of my private and public affairs from now on or the whole world will know the entire story you've all been trying to cover up all these years," I warned.“I was only trying to protect you,” he said once more.I chuckled bitterly. You of all people should know that those are famous last words.” I thrust the file clutched in my hands in his face. “And if there is more of this somewhere, you better make sure it all gets destroyed. Because if any of this ever sees the light of day, the scandal you’re about to face will seem like a happy photo opportunity compared to what I am going to do to you. I will use every ounce of influence I have to dig you into a hole so deep that you will never be able to climb out of it.”He kn
Kai arrived back in the city three days later. Eric sent a couple of the bodyguards to pick him up from the airport, while he and a couple of others stayed behind with us.When they arrived, Kaiden and I were standing at the front lobby of the building, peaking through the drawn blinders and watching the black car park along the street. I held Kaiden’s arm firmly in my grasp so that he didn’t run out the way I knew he wanted to. The way both of us wanted to, frankly. My entire body vibrated with the need to run—though I was not sure in which direction. I was anxious and terrified all at once.Kaiden gasped when he saw his father emerge from the reasonably sized car. Two guards flanked him on either side.“It’s Dad!” he jumped, trying to free himself from my grasp. “I want to go to him.”“He’s coming right in, sweetheart,” I tried to soothe him, running my hand down his hair as we watched a
"Kai… as I said, I appreciate what you did during that press conference." I drew in a deep breath and exhaled it quickly. "But I wish you wouldn't have to incur losses for it. I wish you wouldn't have, for all intents and purposes, asked the current President to kiss your ass."Kai snorted and dipped his head down to my eye level. Frowning, he gazed at me in total bewilderment. “I don’t understand you.”“That makes the two of us,” I shrugged.He chuckled and dropped his hands and despite it all, I chuckled along with it.“I only did what I should have done all those years ago.” He studied me carefully. Though he had let go of my face, he was still so close that his breath warmed me.“I am still in business,” he murmured. “I am still a billionaire. And who knows, maybe in the future, people will understand what really happened and my business will grow a hundred-fold.” His eyes
We ended up talking all night that night.In the wee hours of the morning, Kai leaned over and caught my lips so quickly that I didn’t have time to protest. If that was what I was going to do. I allowed him to kiss me, to take my top lip between his, and to make those soft noises he made when he kissed me. I sighed helplessly into his mouth. He was going to kiss me often, I knew he was. He knew what it did to me, what it had always done to me and besides, he was good at it.“Good morning, kids,” Emma called out.I broke away from Kai quickly, my face flaming at having been caught by his mother. By the grin on her face, she didn’t seem too surprised or objectionable.“Lilith, darling, my son can only make bad food. He is especially bad with breakfast. Would you like a nice English breakfast made by me?” she asked.Kai grinned cheekily, his own face only slightly pink as he kept his eyes on me. “Thanks, mom!&
As expected, a few days later while Kai was in the headquarters, the media broke the story of the ongoing investigation of Kevin Rivera's involvement with shady private investigators. The media was buzzing with the information that his son, Kai, was cooperating with the authorities regarding the possibility that Kevin knew all along of his grandson's existence and abused his power at the time as the President to have a private investigator track me and my son.It only took a small leap for the media to wonder how the current President was involved.Dave and his team ushered Kaiden and me as well as my dad and Brit back and forth from everywhere we needed to go. Even Ken had been approached, though he refused to give any comment, for which I was extremely grateful.Kai and I spoke over the phone every day about what was going on and about Kaiden.“I miss you, Lilith.” His words made my heart jump with joy. “I should be there early Saturda
[Warning: Mild smutty content up ahead. Read at your own risk.]“Part of the security team told me and before you get upset, don’t worry. They don’t report your every move to me. I simply wondered and they responded.”His tone raised my hackles. This wasn’t the Kai I knew. This was the masked man people saw on the television.“So, what happened?” he repeated.“He wanted to meet me and ask if I wanted to publish the book I wrote shortly after leaving you.”He nodded. For the first time, I couldn’t read his expression and it was bothering me.“What do you think about that?” I asked after a couple of minutes of no response.“I don’t think it’s a smart business move. It would worsen the crap the tabloids are saying and your branding would be ruined.” Not that there was a semblance of it left in the first place.“It would make money
Late one night, Kai and I sat side by side in the living room. Everyone else in the house was asleep. The television was on in the background with the news playing. "…for the past couple of weeks, the country has been reeling over the announcement that businessman Kai Rivera recently discovered the existence of his son. The child's mother is Lilith Hill, the best-selling author. Apparently, the two met while Mr. Rivera was on vacation, and they had a love affair that resulted in the child. Different versions have arisen as to how Ms. Hill broke the news to Mr. Rivera, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the businessman's own father, former President Kevin Rivera, was somehow involved in a cover-up that kept his son from knowing of his son. “In addition, the current Presidential Administration has been on the defensive for the past couple of weeks, after Kai Rivera’s lightly veiled accusations. It's been a tough few weeks for his team, with rumors of a culture
We had a movie playing for a few hours and it was coming to an end when my phone started to ring. I glanced over at Kai and Kaiden and found them engrossed in the movie. I pulled away, angling away from Kai so that I could reach my pocket. As soon as I saw the Chief Editor’s name flash on the screen, my heart dropped to my feet. I felt slight panic even though I knew I had done nothing wrong. Still, as I answered, I glanced at Kai. He appeared to be still paying attention to the screen. But when I stood up, his eyes immediately moved to mine.“I will be right back,” I mouthed, quickly walking to the kitchen, feeling his eyes still on me.The Chief Editor and I shared some small talk before I heard the grin in his voice.“I just wanted to let you know how the sale of your book is going.”From what the news was reporting, the book had sold even more than the expected sales projected by the publishing house. In just the first da
KAI POV:I woke to the sound of vomiting— really loud vomiting. Eyes still closed, I reached over for my wife.My hand skimmed warm, soft sheets… before coming up empty.“Lilith?”More loud gagging erupted from the bathroom and it hit me that Lilith was, in all likelihood, the one in there puking."Shit," I muttered, raking a hand down my face. "Lilith!"I lunged out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom, where sure enough, I found my wife leaning over the toilet and expelling what seemed to be everything including her vital organs.Not knowing what else to do, I curled my hands around her shoulders, which rose and fell with each continuous heave. She stopped for about ten seconds, and I breathed a sigh of relief.Right before she started up again.“I am calling the doctor,” I admonished.Lilith grabbed my arm in a death grip, nails digging into my tendons."Wait," she man
The trees surrounding the dock were decked out in thousands of white, glowing lights that twinkled brightly and turned the night sky from pitch black to soft grey. The white tent set up on the small beach nearby was decorated with dozens of white and red flowers in large crystal vases.Outside, the winter wind blew cold but inside, the fireplace-shaped space heaters and the absolute happiness of the event kept all of us warm.Kai and I were anything but a traditional couple, and while I wished my mother could've been at my side today, I knew that she was watching from above, and so it was Kaiden and Dad who walked with me.My Kaiden looked like a prince in white in his suit. Dad wore a matching tuxedo. It was simple, yet on these two people whom I loved, it looked perfect.As for me… Well, the tent was set up beautifully, my dress was lovely, but it was the man waiting, whom I couldn't take my eyes off. He wore an immaculately fitting dark tux that
[WARNING: MORE SNU SNU UP AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.]LILITH POV:My eyes opened to the sun rising over skyscrapers, sparkling with dozens of silver lines of jewels, up and down as far as the eye could see. For a second, I was a bit disoriented, frowning at the bright, orange circle as it makes its ascent into the sky.The clock on the nightstand indicated that it was six a.m. I lay there for about ten minutes, watching each digit move up slowly, forcing my heart rate to remain steady, my shoulders to rise and fall in measured rhythm. He was sleeping, holding me spooned into him while his lips grazed my hair and soft breaths tickled the nape of my neck. His hands clutched my waist tightly, even in his slumber. I could feel his morning hard-on pressed up against my ass, rocking rhythmically against me every few seconds.Slowly but surely, the night came back to her. It had been spent in a surreal state.We had drifted in and out of the periphery
[WARNING: SNU SNU UP AHEAD. SKIP IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH ABOUT IT.]With the renovations complete, we moved into the condo soon after. The following three nights were a lesson in how to get your son to sleep in his own bed.After the first night, Kaiden managed to keep himself in his own bed - for most of the night. It wasn't until the early hours of the morning, Lilith informed me, that Kaiden tip-toed into her bedroom, snuggling in next to her.The following night, my mother helped Kaiden get ready for bed and told him stories until he fell asleep. It seemed to do the trick because Kaiden stayed in his bed the entire night. With just Lilith and I popping in to bid him goodbye, he seemed happy.Unfortunately, by the next night, he was back to sneaking into Lilith’s bedroom in the early hour.That week, the government’s case against my father continued to build, the current President’s popularity continued to plummet, and with every
That night, Lilith and I put Kaiden to bed and then half-closed the door before walking out. In the end, we were out in front of the pool, staring at the sky as I spoke about the project I was currently working on.It was rare to look at the stars without the interference from skyscrapers and street lamps. The sound of the pool filled the background.“And that one there is the Cassiopeia,” I informed Lilith, pointing out some of the constellations I remembered from when I was a kid and in the astronomy club. “See? You can recognize it… The one to the south of it is Andromeda, and the one to the east is Perseus. According to mythology, Cassiopeia bragged that her daughter Andromeda was more beautiful than the sea nymphs, so as punishment her daughter was to be sacrificed to a sea monster. But Perseus, the demigod saved her from that fate and then claimed her as his.”I felt Lilith’s eyes on me, so I turned to her.She l
KAI POV:When I was younger, my mom used to sing this song. It was a story about a beggar who fell in love with a princess but turned out to be a prince. She got so into it that it was fun.At times, my father would join in too, hard to ignore.“Do you understand the song?” He had asked me once.I had shrugged. “It’s about two people falling in love.”He smirked, laughing at me. “It is about more than that. It’s about a boy who grew up struggling and turned out to be a great man. He grew up and upheld his legacy and his responsibility to the people and his family.”I blinked in confusion. Mom was holding Eric in her lap as she chuckled. “Kevin, he is too small. Don’t turn everything into a lesson for him. Let him have fun!”Father mumbled something about teaching me when I was impressionable but mom scoffed. I didn’t heart the rest of their conversation, but I alm
We had a movie playing for a few hours and it was coming to an end when my phone started to ring. I glanced over at Kai and Kaiden and found them engrossed in the movie. I pulled away, angling away from Kai so that I could reach my pocket. As soon as I saw the Chief Editor’s name flash on the screen, my heart dropped to my feet. I felt slight panic even though I knew I had done nothing wrong. Still, as I answered, I glanced at Kai. He appeared to be still paying attention to the screen. But when I stood up, his eyes immediately moved to mine.“I will be right back,” I mouthed, quickly walking to the kitchen, feeling his eyes still on me.The Chief Editor and I shared some small talk before I heard the grin in his voice.“I just wanted to let you know how the sale of your book is going.”From what the news was reporting, the book had sold even more than the expected sales projected by the publishing house. In just the first da
Late one night, Kai and I sat side by side in the living room. Everyone else in the house was asleep. The television was on in the background with the news playing. "…for the past couple of weeks, the country has been reeling over the announcement that businessman Kai Rivera recently discovered the existence of his son. The child's mother is Lilith Hill, the best-selling author. Apparently, the two met while Mr. Rivera was on vacation, and they had a love affair that resulted in the child. Different versions have arisen as to how Ms. Hill broke the news to Mr. Rivera, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the businessman's own father, former President Kevin Rivera, was somehow involved in a cover-up that kept his son from knowing of his son. “In addition, the current Presidential Administration has been on the defensive for the past couple of weeks, after Kai Rivera’s lightly veiled accusations. It's been a tough few weeks for his team, with rumors of a culture
[Warning: Mild smutty content up ahead. Read at your own risk.]“Part of the security team told me and before you get upset, don’t worry. They don’t report your every move to me. I simply wondered and they responded.”His tone raised my hackles. This wasn’t the Kai I knew. This was the masked man people saw on the television.“So, what happened?” he repeated.“He wanted to meet me and ask if I wanted to publish the book I wrote shortly after leaving you.”He nodded. For the first time, I couldn’t read his expression and it was bothering me.“What do you think about that?” I asked after a couple of minutes of no response.“I don’t think it’s a smart business move. It would worsen the crap the tabloids are saying and your branding would be ruined.” Not that there was a semblance of it left in the first place.“It would make money