ETHAN BlACKWOOD POV "You shouldn't have pulled a stunt, Keira. You just ended up making yourself Riven's target and don't think he's not going to come for you just because you two used to date"Keira's hands clenched around the drink she was holding. "Shut your fucking mouth, you coward," she gritted out, then downed the shot in her hand, slammed the glass on the table, and screamed like a mad woman, her hand banging against the counter repeatedly."You're going to fucking hurt yourself" I snapped and tried to grab her hand. She shoved at my arm hard, her chest heaving from her outburst."Don't fucking touch me! We had a deal. You were supposed to be on my side but when it came down to it, you couldn't even stand up to your brother, you fucking coward."I was so done with her. "If you stuck to the plan maybe I would have kept to my end of the deal. You were supposed to pretend that we were back together, but what did you do? You let your stupid jealousy get the best of you," I said a
ETHAN BlACKWOOD POV "Home sweet home," I got out as I stumbled into the house and hit the light switch. Light flooded the whole space, the painting of Hazel I'd bought catching my attention from where it hung on the wall.I walked toward it, stopping when I got close enough."So beautiful," I said and started to trace the vivid colors with my fingertips."Today was so shitty Hazel. I had to sit and watch you and Riven be together and as if that was not enough, I had to deal with that crazy woman. Can you believe she threatened me? She threatened that she was going to tell Riven that I have feelings for you," I groaned, suddenly feeling sick. Hunching over, I took in a deep breath and stumbled to the floor as I lost strength in my legs. A wave of nausea washed over me, cold chills breaking out all over my body."Fuck, I shouldn't have drank so much," I groaned, waiting for the horrible feeling to pass. Seconds ticked by, and once I felt more steady, I pushed myself to my feet. "This
JULIAN STYLES POV "You look like shit," Ksar said, the scar on his face bunching as his face scrunched up in disgust. "I can't believe you let that bastard get the best of you"I groaned, my face furrowing in pain as the wound on my stomach pulled when I tried to sit up. "Don't move around too much, or you're going to get infected," Ksar warned then came to sit in front of me. "How are you feeling? You've been passed out for two days"I glanced around the sparsely furnished room. "Where am I?""A shitty motel" he answered, then smirked. "You lost everything, so you don't get to be picky." "Fuck off, Ksar"He smirked. "So, Hazel is in charge of the company now, huh?" he said, then scoffed. "I mean it was hers in the first place, so I guess this was just everything going back to its proper place""Are you going to be like this?" I asked and jerked when he suddenly leaned close."I'll be however I want to," he growled, then pulled back, his narrowed eyes digging into me. "So, how are
JULIAN STYLES POV "You chose such a shitty place as a hideout, Julian; I had more faith in you," he said, his eyes darting around the room. He looked disappointed. "You should have just stayed where Ethan was keeping you," he said, and I met his gaze. How the hell did he know that Ethan had been keeping me? Was it just a guess to see how I would react?If he was just baiting, he wasn't going to get anything from me. Yes, Ethan fucking betrayed me, but if Riven killed me, then he would be the only one left that could take him out. Dying sucked but I guess I would be able to rest easy knowing that Riven would be joining me soon enough. He would die at the hands of his own brother."What the hell are you going on about, Riven?" I let out a breath, my injuries flaring as my heart pumped hard in my chest. "If you're going to kill me, just do it"He smirked. "We will get to that part Julian, you don't need to be in such a hurry"I stared at him, my hands clenching at my side. If only I h
EARLIER ETHAN BlACKWOOD POV I got to my feet, my eyes bulging as I stared at David."What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean you got intel that Riven is going after Julian.""Exactly what it means, boss; I have a feeling that Riven has been keeping an eye on you, boss. It's no coincidence that he found Julian so soon after he escaped our hideout""Or maybe he has been keeping an eye on Ksar," I said, refusing to believe that he knew that I had been planning to betray him. "I told him to look into Ksar after the whole kidnap." "That could be the case but we can't rule out the possibility that Riven already knew everything before now and was just bidding his time to attack""I refuse to believe that. Riven would have had me killed if he knew what I'd been planning. Family means nothing to him, and what he despises the most is betrayers—" David's face was a grim mask. "—Except, this was all a game to him," I stated, realization dawning. He found out that I was planning t
HAZEL STYLES POV The sounds of waves crashing against the shore pulled me out of the dark fog I was in, and I slowly regained consciousness. My eyes opened, then I glanced in the direction the sound was coming from, but I was only met with a thick black curtain. Where the hell was I? I blinked hard to clear away the fogginess from my eyes, then slowly pulled myself into a sitting position.I winced, my head hurting all of a sudden. "Ugh. What the hell happened to me. Did we get into an accident or what" I muttered to myself, my gaze darting around the room I was in. I couldn't really see much because aside from the table lamp that looked like it was running out, there was no other source of lightning in the room.Where the hell did Ethan take me for me to be able to hear the sound of the waves so close?I grabbed my head, trying to recall what had happened and how I got here but it was all blank. "Ethan" I got out, my voice scratchy. I waited for a few seconds but no answer came.
HAZEL STYLES POV "This is not working" I glanced up from my food, my eyes widening a bit as my gaze met those of Liam. "What are you talking about? Don't you like the food pairing" I asked, my hands trembling a bit as I pointed to the food on the table. I knew he hated whatever I liked but I was starving and also a bit anxious so I'd ordered most of my comfort food."What do you think? Did you have to get all these dishes? You're always ordering like you're trying to add more fat to those you already have" My brows furrowed. "I just saw my therapist yesterday and he told me I was underweight... That's why I ordered..." "How could I forget," he said cutting me off with a roll of his eyes, "the baggage you have is endless. Aside from being an artist who doesn't have a career, you also have unresolved childhood trauma. Oh, Your brother is also out to get you." He let out an exasperated sigh. "Do you know how exhausting you are" His words hurt but I was already used to them, besides
HAZEL STYLES POV Blood. There was blood dripping down his face. The debris of the broken vase clattered on the floor, the flower that had been in it falling at his feet. The man beside him, stared at Riven, his eyes like saucers.I stood frozen, my heart pounding so hard, that I was sure I was going to pass out. Riven gingerly raised his hand and touched his head, his stoic face scrunching when he noticed the blood, and then his eyes moved from it in search of the culprit. I took a step backward, my hand hitting the decorative vase at my side. The shattering sound was deafening and when I glanced away from the damage, it was to clash gazes with those of Riven. Staring at him head-on was disorienting, but as our gaze met and held, I couldn't look away.He smirked, then walked toward me, and the closer he got, the more intimidating he looked. He was tall. I was sure he was six feet, six inches tall, if not more. The pictures I'd seen over the years didn't do him any justice at all.
HAZEL STYLES POV The sounds of waves crashing against the shore pulled me out of the dark fog I was in, and I slowly regained consciousness. My eyes opened, then I glanced in the direction the sound was coming from, but I was only met with a thick black curtain. Where the hell was I? I blinked hard to clear away the fogginess from my eyes, then slowly pulled myself into a sitting position.I winced, my head hurting all of a sudden. "Ugh. What the hell happened to me. Did we get into an accident or what" I muttered to myself, my gaze darting around the room I was in. I couldn't really see much because aside from the table lamp that looked like it was running out, there was no other source of lightning in the room.Where the hell did Ethan take me for me to be able to hear the sound of the waves so close?I grabbed my head, trying to recall what had happened and how I got here but it was all blank. "Ethan" I got out, my voice scratchy. I waited for a few seconds but no answer came.
EARLIER ETHAN BlACKWOOD POV I got to my feet, my eyes bulging as I stared at David."What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean you got intel that Riven is going after Julian.""Exactly what it means, boss; I have a feeling that Riven has been keeping an eye on you, boss. It's no coincidence that he found Julian so soon after he escaped our hideout""Or maybe he has been keeping an eye on Ksar," I said, refusing to believe that he knew that I had been planning to betray him. "I told him to look into Ksar after the whole kidnap." "That could be the case but we can't rule out the possibility that Riven already knew everything before now and was just bidding his time to attack""I refuse to believe that. Riven would have had me killed if he knew what I'd been planning. Family means nothing to him, and what he despises the most is betrayers—" David's face was a grim mask. "—Except, this was all a game to him," I stated, realization dawning. He found out that I was planning t
JULIAN STYLES POV "You chose such a shitty place as a hideout, Julian; I had more faith in you," he said, his eyes darting around the room. He looked disappointed. "You should have just stayed where Ethan was keeping you," he said, and I met his gaze. How the hell did he know that Ethan had been keeping me? Was it just a guess to see how I would react?If he was just baiting, he wasn't going to get anything from me. Yes, Ethan fucking betrayed me, but if Riven killed me, then he would be the only one left that could take him out. Dying sucked but I guess I would be able to rest easy knowing that Riven would be joining me soon enough. He would die at the hands of his own brother."What the hell are you going on about, Riven?" I let out a breath, my injuries flaring as my heart pumped hard in my chest. "If you're going to kill me, just do it"He smirked. "We will get to that part Julian, you don't need to be in such a hurry"I stared at him, my hands clenching at my side. If only I h
JULIAN STYLES POV "You look like shit," Ksar said, the scar on his face bunching as his face scrunched up in disgust. "I can't believe you let that bastard get the best of you"I groaned, my face furrowing in pain as the wound on my stomach pulled when I tried to sit up. "Don't move around too much, or you're going to get infected," Ksar warned then came to sit in front of me. "How are you feeling? You've been passed out for two days"I glanced around the sparsely furnished room. "Where am I?""A shitty motel" he answered, then smirked. "You lost everything, so you don't get to be picky." "Fuck off, Ksar"He smirked. "So, Hazel is in charge of the company now, huh?" he said, then scoffed. "I mean it was hers in the first place, so I guess this was just everything going back to its proper place""Are you going to be like this?" I asked and jerked when he suddenly leaned close."I'll be however I want to," he growled, then pulled back, his narrowed eyes digging into me. "So, how are
ETHAN BlACKWOOD POV "Home sweet home," I got out as I stumbled into the house and hit the light switch. Light flooded the whole space, the painting of Hazel I'd bought catching my attention from where it hung on the wall.I walked toward it, stopping when I got close enough."So beautiful," I said and started to trace the vivid colors with my fingertips."Today was so shitty Hazel. I had to sit and watch you and Riven be together and as if that was not enough, I had to deal with that crazy woman. Can you believe she threatened me? She threatened that she was going to tell Riven that I have feelings for you," I groaned, suddenly feeling sick. Hunching over, I took in a deep breath and stumbled to the floor as I lost strength in my legs. A wave of nausea washed over me, cold chills breaking out all over my body."Fuck, I shouldn't have drank so much," I groaned, waiting for the horrible feeling to pass. Seconds ticked by, and once I felt more steady, I pushed myself to my feet. "This
ETHAN BlACKWOOD POV "You shouldn't have pulled a stunt, Keira. You just ended up making yourself Riven's target and don't think he's not going to come for you just because you two used to date"Keira's hands clenched around the drink she was holding. "Shut your fucking mouth, you coward," she gritted out, then downed the shot in her hand, slammed the glass on the table, and screamed like a mad woman, her hand banging against the counter repeatedly."You're going to fucking hurt yourself" I snapped and tried to grab her hand. She shoved at my arm hard, her chest heaving from her outburst."Don't fucking touch me! We had a deal. You were supposed to be on my side but when it came down to it, you couldn't even stand up to your brother, you fucking coward."I was so done with her. "If you stuck to the plan maybe I would have kept to my end of the deal. You were supposed to pretend that we were back together, but what did you do? You let your stupid jealousy get the best of you," I said a
HAZEL STYLES POV "I'm sorry about tonight. It wasn't supposed to go like that"I turned to face him, my eyes lingering on his face. "I actually expected a little bit of animosity you know. I would have been very worried if everything went too well," I said, meaning it. He grinned, then took my hand and pressed a kiss to it. We walked in silence, the cold air comforting."You looked so hot asking her to leave, you know," he said, meeting my gaze. "I wanted to fucking kiss you""You did kiss me" I reminded him. After Keira had left he'd turned to me and kissed me without a care that his father and Ethan were watching.He grinned. "Well, I want to kiss you again," he said and yanked me close all of a sudden, his hands tangling in my hair.I drew my head back, my eyes widening. "What are you doing?""What do you think" he said, his breath fanning my face, his scent seductive. Ugh, why was it so hard to resist him.I shook my head and pushed at his chest but he didn't budge an inch."Ar
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV I cocked my head, my icy stare fixed on hers."Am I late? I made sure to set my alarm, so I'll be here on time."There was no way she was doing something so daring. "What are you doing here, Keira?" I asked, and she crossed her arms, her head tilting to the side, the sweet smile on her lips stretching."I came for dinner. Ethan invited me," she said, and my gaze cut to Ethan. Him again? God, everyone was testing my patience these days. It didn't take much for me to spiral out of control; they knew that, so why were they acting out all of a sudden?"Did you invite her, Ethan?"The corner of his mouth twitched. "I mentioned it in passing; I didn't actually think she would come,"Keira rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a coward Ethan. You wanted me here, and that's why you invited me."Father cleared his throat and smiled at her. "Well, we made a feast, so you're welcome to join us since you are already here. The more the merrier right"I glanced at Hazel, hating tha
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV THREE DAYS LATER "Are you nervous?" I asked as we stood in front of the door of my father's mansion.She glanced up at me, her smile faltering for a moment. "Shouldn't I be? I don't think your father is a big fan"I cupped her chin, my thumb grazing her cheek. I loved the way the simple contact had my heart racing."Well, you're mine, so he has no choice but to be a big fan. Besides anyone that does not like you must have some sort of brain disorder or something, because you're the most lovable person I know"She chuckled, the sound of her happiness making my heart twist. God, she was perfect, and I couldn't help but fall in love with her all over again."That's so reassuring," she said and slowly pulled her face away from my grip. I missed the contact almost instantly. It was hard to be in the same place with her and not touch her. She was like a magnet, always pulling me closer and closer, and no matter how many times I touched her, it never seemed to be enoug