Novels by Still Iv

Ruby smiled up at me as soon as I walked back in and sat next to her.I was not going to tell her what I had just seen.....not yet.''Hey,'' she rubbed the back of my hand, ''Feeling any better?"''Yeah,'' I replied, ''I just needed some air. I feel a lot better''Ruby gestured to the food being served.''Well, since you're back, you might as well dig in''I nodded.''Of course but first,'' I gestured to a staff to come over and whispered a request in their ear.The staff turned to me with a stunned expression. Not that I could blame him, it was an odd request but it wasn't an impossible one.''Are you certain, Madam?"I smiled approvingly.''Yes, please. Three of those will be just fine'' I replied.The staff eventually nodded and went off to get me what I had asked for.''What did you tell him to get you?" Ruby asked and I shook my head.''You'll find out soon enough, babe''As if on cue, Orion walked back in, hand in hand with Lindsay.The way they looked now, with their fake smile

The dinning room was the perfect mirror of opulence.It literally exhaled luxury. A flawless masterpiece of glass and white marble where the chandeliers that hung above felt like private spotlights. The air was chilled to a precise 18°C, smelling faintly of expensive oud and Jo Malone candles that had been burning since noon.Every single Heldon royal and their plus ones looked absolutely stunning. I had gotten so used to seeing most of these people in their uniform and so seeing them look so exotic was surreal.We were seated around a single slab of polished obsidian stretched across the dining hall, seating all twenty-four of us. Each place setting featured a hand-calligraphed name card on cream cardstock.Mine was placed before me.I don't think I had ever seen my name written so beautifully.The Staff moved like ghosts in synchronized precision. Twelve servers in charcoal-grey tunics stood at a distance, eyes forward.They only stepped into the light to refill a glass of spar

"I might be wrong,'' Eloise began, ''But, I think Orion just hit Lindsay''I was stomped.Orion? Hit Lindsay?That did not make any sense to me. He was a royal asshole, always has been but would he really go as far as putting his hands on his girlfriend?An actual Heldon royal?The Lindsay Graham?He would not dare do something so incredibly idiotic.But then again, what reason would my girlfriend have to lie about something this serious?"Orion is doing what?" I asked just to be certain that I did not mishear her.Eloise sighed.''I did not see him hit her but I know that he did, Ruby. You have to believe me''I moved closer and held her hand.I knew that Eloise would not lie to me but I needed to be sure that this was not some grand misunderstanding.''El, you know that I would never doubt you right?''''But.....''It my turn to sigh.''Orion putting his hands on Lindsay is.....''''I know that you think that it's a stretch and I don't know why. You already said it yourself that Ori

I knew that I had to bump into one of Ruby's friends, I mean I was currently moving around in their domian. I was just hoping that I would run into them later than sooner. I wasn't looking when I bumped into Lindsay in the hallway.I was too busy gazing at the chandeliers. Never in my entire life had I been in a place this grand. If my old friends from my old life could see me now their jaws would never leave the floor.That being said, you can't exactly blame me for being distracted and not looking at where I'm supposed to be going.Lindsay, hyowever, did not seem to be in the mood to understand.My eyes were quick to catch the annoyed expression on her face.She always looked annoyed anytime I was around.Then she gave me a once over and call me crazy but I think she seemed impressed.I suppose there is a first for everything.We exchanged the world's most awkward greeting and she told me to say hi to Ruby; basically rubbing in the sad fact that me being in a relationship with

I didn’t bring a plus one.And there would be no point seeing as Orion and I are members of the royals. We did arrive seperately. The private jet had landed later than I expected but I knew that Orion was already here.I stood in front of the mirror in my room, adjusting the strap of my dress and smoothing the fabric down my hips. Everything looked perfect.My hair, my makeup, my posture. I looked myself up and down and smiled aprovingly at what I saw. All my life I had been the prettiest girl in the room.I think that won't be changing anytime soon.Good.I picked up my purse and stepped out into the hallway, heels clicking softly against the marble floor.I had barely taken three steps when I walked straight into someone.“Can you not watch where you're....'' I started, then stopped.Eloise Perkins.She looked really good. I was not silly enough to deny that she had always been a pretty girl but tonight she looked flawless. Comfortable in a place she used to look completely out

It didn't take as much convincing as I had thought to get Tristan and Alex let me attend the three day sleepover at the Palace.I don't think that either one of them were even in the correct headspace to try and dissuade me. Plus, I was right about them not wanting me to be around any kind of negativity.And right now, there was a lot of that going on.Alex and Tristan didn't even sleep in the same room anymore, didn't speak to each other and I was pretty sure that Marilyn was her at her wits end about the whole thing.Regardless of the energy in the house, everyone still did their best to be happy for me. Today was the day that Ruby was to pick me up but she had made the odd request that I don't pac any of my clothes and not to get ready yet until she arrived.So, here I was, in his sweatpants and crop top, waiting on my girlfriend.Eventually, she did arrive and like most times, Alex and Marilyn were around to greet her warmly. They had developed some type of bond over the time I w

115[ALEX'S POV]Cheers erupted from our friends as I knelt with him, pulling him into a fierce, breathless hug. The applause from Nico, Rita, Marilyn, and Mathew was thunderous, a joyous sound of love and support. We kissed, and in that moment, all the pain of Heldon, all the long, lonely nights in Australia, all the uncertainty of our future simply dissolved. It was just us, in a circle of love and celebration, finally home and finally whole. The ring felt impossibly light and impossibly heavy all at once on my finger.As our lips parted and the cheers reached their peak, the doorbell rang.The sound was a jarring, discordant note in the symphony of our joy. Marilyn, bless her heart, bustled to the door. I saw her open it to a girl who couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen. She was pretty in an unassuming way, with kind eyes and long, brown hair. She wore a simple, functional backpack and looked lost, a little out of place, and entirely unfamiliar."Hello dear," Marily

[Four years later....]The descent into the familiar sprawl of Los Angeles felt surreal. For four years, our lives had been framed by the endless blue of the Pacific from a different hemisphere, the sun rising on a new day while America slept. Now, the sprawling grid of city lights below us was a promise, a beacon of a life we had worked so hard to reclaim. I felt Tristan’s hand tighten around mine, his thumb tracing a slow, steady pattern on my knuckles."Home," he whispered, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through me.I just nodded, my throat tight. The last time we had left, it had been an escape. A frantic, humiliating flight from a life that had been ripped to shreds. The scandal that had consumed Heldon University—and our lives—had forced us to rebuild from the ground up. Tristan had lost his job, his reputation, his life's work. I had lost my scholarship, my future, and the trust of my friends that I had thankfully managed to regain before we left.Australia had been our

The sleep that had swallowed me was a heavy, dreamless blanket, a welcome oblivion from the crushing weight of reality. I woke slowly, the morning light filtering through Tristan's curtains feeling foreign and soft. The house was quiet, but as I made my way to the living room, I heard hushed voices.My heart immediately seized with panic. Tristan? Was he on the phone with his lawyer? With the university? I rounded the corner, expecting to see him pacing, but stopped dead in my tracks.Sitting on the sofa, looking small and exhausted but undeniably real, were Rita and Nico. Wait, how? Is this a dream? What were they doing here?Oh no, they came here to give me more of a tongue lashing? Well, I'm not going to stay and let that happen. I turned to run back into my bedroom when I heard his voice.Nico looked up first, his eyes wide with relief. "Alex," he breathed.Rita just stared, her face a complicated mess of shame and relief. I felt my legs quake under me but I fought to keep steady

The tranquil elegance of Samantha's home had been a temporary haven, but her words had been a catalyst. I drove away, my mind no longer held any resentment.In its stead was a storm of guilt and regret. Alex. Nico. My two best friends. I had turned my back on them when they needed me most, all because of a truth I had completely misunderstood. Even if I had misunderstood it, I was right to be angry. Tristan had broken my sister's heart but he had done his best to make up for it with her and had given her a shot at happiness.Samantha had let go of the anger and pain that I was still stubbornly holding on to all these years. It was the reason that Alex must have been so scared to tell me the truth about what was happening.I thought back to the way that I had come at him that day. The awful names that I had called him. It made me flinch the more I dwelled on it. I was angry and I had said some very cruel things.I wish I could take them back.I wish that I could take care of Alex now.

The dorm room, the campus, my friendships—it all felt like a battlefield. The only person I could think to go to was my sister, Samantha. I drove to her house, a sprawling, modern-gothic marvel tucked away in a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood. My own family's wealth meant I was used to this kind of luxury, but Samantha's home was a masterpiece of taste and refinement. At least that was how I felt. Our mother, on the other hand, felt it was too morbid.It reminded her of a horror movie and she hated it. Samantha didn't care about our mother's feelings. She liked to do what she liked.As I walked up the marble steps, past the impeccably manicured lawn and the fountains that whispered rather than splashed, my chaotic emotions felt completely out of place. The floor-to-ceiling windows seemed to look out on a world of perfect order, and the air inside smelled of expensive lilies and quiet wealth. It was all so serene, a stark contrast to the storm raging inside me.I found Samantha in her

The quiet of the house felt deafening, usually it would have been punctured by laughter and stories but not today.Today, we were dragged into the storm that our lives had become all of a sudden. Alex was asleep, finally, a deep, heavy quiet emanating from the bedroom. I’d watched him collapse onto the bed, pulling the comforter over his head like a child seeking shelter from a monster. I had said nothing. All I could do was watch from the doorway.His raw pain, the way he’d flinched from Nico, the primal scream he’d let out at Caleb—my Alex. My poor darling was utterly shattered and it was all because of me.My own email, the cold, curt termination notice, felt like a branding iron against my skin. Professor Tristan Walker. Archeology Department Head. Gone. Just a few lines of corporate jargon, severing years of dedication, research, and passion. It was swift, brutal, and completely absolute. The university, in its infinite wisdom and self-preservation, had acted with ruthless ef

The flash of the cameras was still dancing behind my eyelids as I stepped out of my car.One of the ones that Elias had bought for me during the very early stages of our relationship. It had been a grueling twelve-hour shoot for Vogue.It would be an understatement to say my my neck ached from the weight of the statement emeralds I had to wear all day.The price of being rich and beautiful. Usually, this was the part of the night I lived for.Finally getting off work and returning to the luxury penthouse that I shared with Elias,shedding the designer layers, and having him worship the ground I walk on.We were the "It" couple of the industry. The golden duo. People go crazy when two highly attractive people, top models for that matter get into relationships.Unsurprisingly, our faces sold watches, perfume, and the very idea of a perfect life. But as I stepped into the foyer, the air in the apartment felt heavy.The lights were dimmed low, and the sharp, smell of expensive bourbon

I stood frozen at the end of the executive corridor, my hand gripping a stack of files so hard the edges crinkled. My heart was thundering against my ribs.I had seen it all.I had seen it all and was lucky as hell that I did not get caught spying on my boss.Avery Mane?How was this even possible? Did she really own 40% shares or was that just my ears playing tricks on me?As if that was not shocking enough, Vincent Roland,the god of the music industry, a man whose face is plastered on every magazine from here to London.He just seemed to waltz in and out of Avery’s office with a smirk that could melt stone. He had actually tapped Mr. Greyhound’s shoulder like they were old pals. The same man that everyone knows, hates him?The disrespect was breathtaking.And it was all because of her?But what happened next was even more unbelievable.I saw Mr. Greyhound, the feared ice-king who usually treats emotions like a weakness clasping a ruby necklace around Avery’s neck. And then... the

The door hadn't even fully clicked shut behind Vincent Roland before the silence in the room became unbearable.My brain was still struggling to accept that I had just walked in to see that fool in my territory and even worse, around Avery.I stood frozen, the phantom sensation of his hand on my shoulder feeling like a brand. Every instinct I possessed was screaming at me to go after him, to drag him back and beat the living daylight out of him.Beat him for disrespecting me.Beat him for putting his filthy hands on Avery.I forced a breath into my lungs, my fingers curling into tight fists at my sides. I am a Greyhound. I needed to remind myself of that.It was imperative that I do not lose my composure. I do not let a man like Roland get under my skin and make me beahve poorly in front of Avery.But looking at her, standing there with her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright from his attention, I felt like my entire world was tilting on its axis.Did she also feel attracted to Vinc

I leaned back in the plush leather seat of my Maybach, on the outside, I am relaxed but there is an inexplicable storm brewing on the inside. Usually, my mind is a fortress of contracts, talent acquisitions, and tour schedules. As the CEO of Indigo Records, I don’t just manage stars; I create them and that mostly meant that I had a one track mind.Nothing could shake me.I could not have been more wrong.In my lifetime as the owner of the biggest record label on the planet, I’ve seen the most beautiful women in the world.I have seen and even sometimes dated, supermodels, pop icons, screen sirens even.And I can say with confidence that none of them have ever made me lose my bearings.But Avery Mane? She was a haunting.Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the phantom pressure of her small, delicate hands in mine. It was also insane to say the least, the way that she carries herself.Never have I met a woman who could snub a man like Dominic Greyhound and then look me in the eye wi

Get a hold of yourself, Avery.I was trying but it was like I had forgotten how to breathe. This man standing before me, Vincent Roland, had taken the literal air out of my lungs.Was it this possible to be this good looking?He took a few steps closer, his eyes never leaving mine. It took all my will power to not squirm.I had to get myself in order.Clearing my throat, I forced myself to wear a steel expression and look Vincent in the eye with as much false confidence as I could muster.''It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Roland''''Vincent'' He corrected.''Right. Vincent''He took my hand, turned it and kissed it. His lips brushing my fingers in a way that made my stomach drop.What was this reaction?Why was my body responding to this stranger this way?It was Dominic that I cared about. I was supposed to be attracted to just him but here was Vincent making my heart race faster that I believed was safe.''It's an honor to meet you, miss....''''Let's leave that for another time, V

The ballroom of the Grand Metropole is a sea of shifting silk and suffocating wealth. A week ago, I would have been a shadow here. Tonight, in a dress of shimmering liquid gold, I might as well have been the sun. I see him immediately which isn’t shocking seeing as he was the first person I walked in looking for. Dominic is standing near the center of the room, in his perfect, designer suit, he looks like the undisputed king of this world. The moment our eyes meet, his conversation with the people he’s talking to vanishes. A slow, genuine smile spreads across his handsome face, and he begins to excuse himself, his intent clear. He is coming for me and I can’t wait to be in his arms. My face beaming, I start to take a step toward him when the blue screen flickers, cold and unforgiving out of nowhere. [ NEW TASK: THE GHOST ] [OBJECTIVE: IGNORE DOMINIC GREYHOUND FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENT.] [CRITERIA: NO EYE CONTACT. NO CONVERSATION. ACT AS IF HE DOES NOT EXIS

It had been a year since Hannah and Honey had helped to take down Theodore.After his arrest, Hannah had made sure to leak the photos and videos of her abuse to different media outlets as well as proof that he was the father of Serena's baby.Everything that Honey had said in his video now even appeared to be even more solid. Other women had even come out to talk about their experiences with Theodore.It was not surprising that Hannah was not the first woman that he had been violent with but she was the first to speak up. This was the push that they needed to speak their minds.The situation had gotten so bad that nobody wanted to be associated with him and his business. That also meant that his political ambition had been flushed down the toilet.Eventually, Hannah had testified against Theodore in court and Isabelle had testified against him as well. She mentioned all the times that she had witnessed the abuse and aggression first hand and how he had been violent with her as well.T

Hannah was sure that she had broken at least three traffic laws but she needed to go get her man. Her heart was pounding at an incredible rate and all that I could think of was getting to Ramon and Theresa and getting them away from Theodore. She watched Harriet grab hold of her seatbelt. Hannah was sorry that her driving was scaring the woman. Soon, Ramon's house came into view. The lights were still on and the door was still busted. Hannah parked the car haphazardly and ran out of the car into the house. Harriet followed right behind her. "Ramon! Ramon!" Hannah screamed as she searched the house but could not find him anywhere. "Madam" Harriet called out to Hannah. "He said that they would drop him off here. That bastard lied to me" "Perhaps, they just haven't arrived yet" Hannah thought about it and then suddenly remembered Gina. She ran to Theresa's room and used her phone to call Gina. "Oh dear lord, Theresa is that you? Where are you? Where is your brother?" Gina b

The slap was expected but that didn't mean that it hurt any less. She held her face and let the worst of the stinging sensation pass. The workers stood still and avoided looking in her direction. This was a scene that they hated to watch but had grown accustomed to over the years. Theodore let go of Hannah's arm roughly. "Looks like dating that fool had made you forget your manners," He spat, "You will learn how to respect me again even if I have to beat you into submission all over again" Hannah remembered the last time that he had put his hands on her. The only thing that she could think of at that time was running away. This time was different. This time, she was ready to show him why messing with her was such a terrible idea. She grabbed the empty, metal candle stand and hit him on the back of the head with it. Theodore fell to the ground and she kept hitting him over and over again. "Don't you ever put your filthy hands on me again!! You ugly piece of shit!" She kept

"My name is Honey and today, I'm here to expose Theodore Hills for the man that he truly is" Hannah watched the rest of the video that had gone viral barely an hour after it had been released. Honey had gone into detail about Theodore's antics; including his abusive nature, promiscusity and the role he played that led to the death of Serena. It had gathered hundreds of thousands of views and people were weighing in on the things that Honey had said. Many of them agreed that this was most likely the reasons that Hannah had left. They also realized that he was no longer seen with Isabelle which probably meant that she had broken up with him as well. This was the second major issue that was throwing Theodore into the bad light of the public. It was not looking well for his political career. It also did not make it any easier that people online had begun calling for a reinvestigation into the death of Serena. They were hell bent on believing that he had killed her. The entire

It had been five days since Hannah had returned to the Hills mansion. She had locked herself in her room and had refused to see anayone but Harriet. Theodore had tried to come see her but Harriet had calmed him into being a bit more patient with Hannah. She knew that he was simply in a hurry to tell everyone that his wife had come back crawling to him and he had forgiven her like the kind soul that he was. He would tell everyone that Isabelle had been a mistake and a means to get back at Hannah for hurting him the way that she did. He would also do his best to make sure that he and Hannah portrayed themselves as the perfect, happy couple. He was not willing to have anything get in the way of his mayoral ambitions. Hannah on the other hand, was depressed. She cried night and day for Ramon and Theresa. She thought about Gina. Surely, she would know that something was wrong and would inform the police. She wished that she had her phone with her when Theodore had taken her away

Earlier in the day, Theodore had called a staff meeting and announced that he was going out that night and would be back shortly with Hannah. Emmanuel had been part of that meeting and for the first time since he had worked for Mr Hills, he felt hate for the man. The news of Serena's death had broken Emmanuel's heart. He knew that she was pregnant for his boss and somehow that was connected to her death. Even though the press had said that it was a murder-suicide situation, He still believed that Theodore might have a hand in it. He and Serena fought a lot anyway. When he had driven to the house where Hannah and her new family lived, he was ridden with guilt.It only became worse after he witnessed what Theodore and his men had done. The drive back to the Hills mansion was filled with silence. Emmanuel could tell that Hannah was sobbing silently but Theodore did not seem to notice. That or he did not care. He looked on top of the world. "I told you that I was going to get