RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV "I apologize, Victor. We were negligent and that led to you losing a lot of money, but rest assured, we will make sure to compensate with more than that which you have lost" The old man grimaced, the lines on his face deepening and making him look much uglier than before. I knew the words he was about to utter were going to piss me off, so I steeled myself."And why should I wait around to be compensated when I can take the matter into my own hands and find some other supplier? A more reliable supplier. Do you know what this means for my business? Do you know how much I am losing because of this" he got out, the anger in his voice palpable. I let out a sigh and raked my fingers through my hair. His narcotics order had been hijacked so I was sure he was beyond pissed, but he needed to watch his mouth.It was aggravating to listen to him whine, but Victor Vex was a major client and one of Father's close allies. Losing him wasn't going to be good for business. "Br
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV "And you're so sure Hazel is going to fall for you" I grinned then turned to leave. "You can't go back just yet. Father wants to have dinner together tonight" I groaned. "Why?"Ethan shrugged. "How would I know? Maybe he heard about what happened with Victor's package, or maybe he just wants to have dinner""Does he have to do this every other night, though? If he has something to say, why does he not just use the goddamn phone he's always carrying around"Ethan gave me a tired smile as he walked past me. "Stop whining like a little boy, even though that's what you are"I grinned and bumped his shoulder. "Just because you're a year older than me doesn't mean I won't punch you in the face, Ethan""Like you did over Keira when Father made you the second in command and she commemorated it by letting me bend her over. You gave me a scar too," he said, pointing to where I'd slashed his face with a dagger. The scar was barely visible. That was because I hadn't cut as
HAZEL STYLES POV "Are you still getting creepy messages from that number?" Lena asked as we strolled through the clothing aisle. "Oh my, these dresses are gorgeous" "They are, aren't they?" I said as I felt the texture of a particular ivory-colored dress. "And no, I haven't gotten another message" Lena stopped in front of me. "You don't have to worry so much about it then. It was borderline stalkerish but since they already stopped, maybe they decided they were creepy after sending you that message" "I hope so. I really can't deal with any more problems. Riven is already plenty enough" Lena grinned. "True, but he's a hot problem," she said, adding a wink, and I shook my head."I see you've forgotten just how hard he tied you up the last time" Lena giggled. "I didn't forget, but since he's so generously offered you such a good deal, I think we should forgive him" "I still don't know his motive tho""I think he likes you and that's why he's doing all these. You said he told you h
HAZEL STYLES POV My gaze locked on those of Liam and he smirked, his smile stretching as he pulled the girl at his side closer, his hand splayed on her waist possessively. "Hi, Hazel. Fancy running into you here. Wait, don't tell me you're having one of your shopping episodes or did you miss me and decided to relieve old memories" "You mean those horrible shitty memories you ugly ass..." "Lena," I called warningly, and she glared at me. "He's the one being a dick" Lena pouted, her brows dipping in a frown."It's fine. I don't care, and you shouldn't either," I said, then took a deep breath. "We should go, or we are going to be late," I said, deciding to ignore him. I had been good to him but I could see that didn't mean shit to him. He wanted to hurt me. It was plain and simple. I was not going to give him the satisfaction."You don't have to be in a hurry to leave Hazel; you're just going to go back to your little prison, right, or to your therapist... You'll probably have a dr
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV ‘Help me’Those two words lurked in my mind, Hazel's blood-drenched face flickering in my memory.I could still remember the fear that had crept Into her eyes when she saw me through the car window, yet she'd still asked for me to save her.Witnessing the death of Styles and his family had been satisfying, especially after what they did to my family through Julian, but then I'd locked eyes with Hazel and she'd reached for me to save her.Even back then, she'd had a vicious hold on me that I was unable to shake no matter how hard I tried. Walking away despite her plea had made me feel as if I was suffocating, and the feeling only intensified with each step I took. In the end, I had to dash for the burning car like a maniac to rescue her.Despite the bad blood between the Styles and the Blackwood, to me, Hazel had always been innocent. Too bad it had to come to this. She was Julian's weakness, and I was going to exploit it to get my revenge.Did she remember me? I
HAZEL STYLES POV "Julian" I gasped, my breath catching in my throat. "Julian. Julian, what are you doing here?" I stuttered. "What the hell do you mean what am I doing here" he thundered, his spit flying. "I saw the fucking news. How dare you go behind my back and do something like this, and then I come here to see you kissing that bastard?" he shouted, as he stepped closer.My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, and I took a few steps back. "It's not what you think... I promise it's not what it looks like at all"His gaze was venomous, but they weren't trained on me, and before I could get another word out, he was throwing a punch at Riven. My eyes widened, a yelp escaping my lips as Riven grabbed his hand with ease and shoved him hard, a smirk on his lips."That's not a very nice way to say hi, Julian," he said, then suddenly punched him in the face. Julian roared and rushed at him; the sound of their fists driving into each other was sickening. I watched them fight in dread
HAZEL STYLES POV "How could you do this" Julian asked, then grimaced in pain. "I told you to stay away from Riven, and the second I looked the other way, you went straight to him," he said, then glanced at me before looking back at the road. "You told me to find a gig... You gave me an ultimatum, you said you were going to tear my studio down. What did you expect me to do" "I expected you to come to work for me at the company," he gritted, then let out a rough exhale before taking in a deep breath. "Of all the people In the world, you go for fucking Riven Blackwood" I went quiet, choosing to watch him seethe until he got the anger out of his system. I doubted he would, there was never a time Julian wasn't angry."You won't be working for him" he got out after a beat of silence. I glanced at him, my stomach twisting when I noticed the resolute look on his face. "I signed a contract for two years" "Break the fucking contract" he roared, his grip on the steering deathly. "I'll pay
RIVEN BLACKWOOD POV "Where is she?" Ethan asked, as soon as I stepped back into the hall. "Did Julian take his sister away? Your shirt is a bit out of order. Can I assume there was a bit of a scuffle? Is that a bruise on your face" "Fuck off Ethan, I am not in the mood for your shit""Look at that temper and yet you say that all you want to do is use Hazel... Too bad you were rejected before you could even start"My jaw ticked, the blood lust in my veins all-consuming. I clenched my fist, ready to unleash every bit of anger when someone tugged on my shirt."Riven. Oh my god, I've been wanting to talk to you all night," a soft voice chirped. My gaze snapped to hers.She froze, the smile on her lips slipping away. She slowly let go of my suit, her hands trembling in the process. "Oh, um, did I catch you at a bad time? It's just that you said you were going to call me, and I've been patiently waiting, but it's been a whole year, and then I got an invite for this party, so I ..." I in
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