Kave Derry의 작품

CHAPTER 15 ZYLIAH'S POV "Why is it so hard for you to do this for me?!" Natasha screamed, tears pouring down her face. We were at Delia's place. We'd argued all the way from the station to here. Me giving her reasons why I couldn't do what she was asking of me and she trying to coerce me into doing it. Delia had been mute ever since hearing the whole story. I could see she was sincerely sympathetic towards Natasha's plight, while also understanding my own point of view. "Let's find another way to help Jordan, Nat. Not this way. You are well aware of my relationship with Fynn and how it ended." I argued back, hating that this was now causing an issue between me and my best friend. "Jordan will go to jail if you don't do anything to help him." "He committed the crime, Nat. Why do I have to sacrifice my pride, my dignity, for him?" I was beginning to get angry. "Because I would have done it for you in a heartbeat, you selfish bitch!" she yelled in my face. Stunned, I let m

CHAPTER 14 SAYGE'S POV "How are you feeling today, dad?" I entered the family's private living room, where he usually stayed to play games, watch TV, or gist with his mother, my grandmother-Charlotte Williams. Dad was sick. He'd handed over the company to me as soon as the doctor diagnosed him and encouraged him to give work a rest and live the rest of his days stress-free. But dad had decided not to take the doctor's advice on the latter. He kept stressing himself over me every single day. I hoped today would be different... "How I feel ever damn day, son and how I'll keep feeling until you bring a good girl home and give me grandchildren. I want to be able to laugh with them while I still have teeth and tell them stories while I still have my memory's intact," he whined. ...or not. I heaved a sigh. "Dad, I..." "Stop hounding the boy, Ozlas." Grandma Charlotte entered, looking as ravishing and way younger than her age. People never believed she was my grandmother. At mos

CHAPTER 13 ZYLIAH'S POV The moment his lips touched mine, my brain snapped back into control, and I hit him so hard across the face and pushed him away from me. Anger propelled me further, to hit him again. I was so mad at myself for ever letting him get that close, close enough to even touch his lips to mine. Julia gasped from behind. Fynn looked embarrassed, almost angry, but somehow, he held himself back. "How dare you try to kiss me?!" I raged. "I'm sorry. I must've misread the signs. Just give me an opportunity to make things right." "That is never happening! Now leave me the hell alone!" I turned away from him, took a deep breath to get my anger under control. Julia was giving me wary looks, there was also curiosity too. She wanted to understand why I was so harsh on Fynn, but that wasn't her problem to worry about. Fynn wasn't even my damn problem. "Can we go on with the tour, please?" I asked Julia, a disarming smile plastered across my face to ease her wariness.

CHAPTER 12 ZYLIAH'S POV "Hi, I'm Julia. Julia Fawn." The cheerful auburn-haired realtor, wearing the warmest smile and hazel eyes that held a wise, keen gleam of intelligence, extended her hand for a handshake. Her welcoming demeanor coaxed a genuinely warm smile from me as I reached out and accepted her handshake. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Fawn." I noticed she wasn't wearing a wedding ring. "I'm Zyliah. Zyliah Davis." "Yes, I know who you are, Miss Davis. Delia filled me in." My brows furrowed, my smile became a tad curious. "I wonder what she's told you." She chuckled. "All good things, I can tell you. Now, she mentioned you wanted to get a house for you and your two boys. How old are they, if I may ask? When kids are involved, we try to know the ages so we'd know what would be suitable." "Oh, they're five," I replied, starting to feel at ease with her. Delia had recommended her when I'd insisted on getting my own place. I didn't want to be a burden to her anymore, especial

CHAPTER 11 ZYLIAH'S POV The twin looks of shock and disbelief on mother and daughter's face almost had my mouth twitching for a laugh, but I wouldn't say I was surprised to see them either. "Babies, come." I drew my boys closer. Sabrina's lips curled up at one corner as she eyed my boys. "So you're a mother." "So you're pregnant." The exact same condescending, unimpressed tone she'd used dripped from my words. I wasn't going to let her start her nonsense with me again, especially not in front of my kids. "Yes, she is. She's pregnant by her husband. The one she married." Her mother, Victoria, lifted Sabrina's left hand to show off the wedding ring nestled on her finger. A scoff erupted. "Oh, you mean the husband she stole because she couldn't accept that someone-me, by the way-had everything going for her?" Another scoff, followed by an eye roll. Sabrina's expression twisted with anger. "Do you still have nightmares about that day in Fynn's room where..." "I'm going to stop

CHAPTER 10ZYLIAH'S POVGreenvylle. The place I'd called home until six years ago. The city I had to leave behind to start a whole new life elsewhere. Not much had changed, yet it felt like a lot had.Maybe it was because I was coming back so much different than I used to be.I breathed in the fresh, crisp city air, a bit tired from being cooped up in the plane for six hours with two handfuls that were..."Waylen, stop hitting your brother," I said firmly, already shifting my attention to the next issue. "Casper, don't blow raspberries at your brother.""He started it, Mom." They accused each other in perfect unison, each one pointing at the other. "Did not!"Despite the exhausting situation, I chuckled. It never failed to amuse me how they always spoke in perfect sync.I gave an inward eye roll. "Now hug and make up.""Hugging is for girls, Mommy." Waylen argued, extending his hand.Casper, the younger twin by eight minutes, accepted his brother's handshake. "Yes, Mommy. Boys shake

CHAPTER 80DAMIEN’S POVEven after staring at the same damn sentence three times, I still couldn’t make sense of what it said.I squeezed the bridge of my nose with my fingers and put my arm on the desk. The room was too damn quiet, and the characters on the screen were blurry. Too still.By now, she should have shown up.The document. I asked her to bring it several hours ago. The document was in the drawer in the study's upper left corner. It wasn't difficult. But nothing. No footsteps. No knock. I haven’t seen or heard from her since. I’m starting to get impatient.I relaxed in my chair and took another glance at my phone, which had a black screen. No messages. No phone calls.I clenched my jaw. Perhaps she missed the text. No. She was not like that.Every time I asked, she came. Even when she was upset, she always seemed to have that calm determination about her. She didn't simply disappear.Something was off.I ran my hand over the back of my neck as I stood and began pacing the

CHAPTER 79 NARRATOR The quiet environment made it difficult to breathe. Rose twisted the end of her large hoodie, which belonged to Damien, while sitting cross-legged at the side of the bed, lost in her thoughts. Her chest had been constricted all day for no apparent reason, and she hadn't seen him since breakfast. The situation had shifted. Their relationship hadn't been perfect, but it had been better. When no one else was around, they shared a room and exchanged looks full of want. Now he was late. And the change in the air was like a warning to her. The door opened with a squeak. Rose’s head snapped up as Damien entered. He undid his cuff buttons slowly. His expression gave nothing away, just cool indifference painted across a handsome face. She shifted from the bed and said, "Hey." He avoided eye contact. “Don’t wait up. I’m busy,” he spat coldly. Her eyebrows went up a little in surprise. "It’s already late. And you’re still busy?” He loosened his tie and walked to th

CHAPTER 78 NARRATOR The moment Damien walked into his office, he knew something was off. It wasn’t anything obvious. No scattered papers or broken locks. A scent, too something fresh and citrusy that didn’t belong. It clung faintly to the air, barely masking the undertone of leather and aged whiskey that defined his space. His eyes narrowed. “Madison,” he called, not taking his gaze off his desk. She stepped in almost immediately, clipboard in hand. “Yes, Mr. Sterling?” “Was anyone in here before me?” Madison blinked, caught off guard. “Only the cleaning staff. And… one of the new interns came in earlier. He got turned around looking for the breakroom.” Damien’s jaw clenched. “Name.” She glanced down. “Daniel Reeds. Strategic Development track.” Damien didn’t speak for a long beat. Then, without looking at her, he stripped off his jacket and tossed it over the back of his chair. “Bring him in.” Madison hesitated. “Now?” “I said bring him in.” Damien said firmly She nodde

CHAPTER 77NARRATOR POVDonovan Sterling was being wheeled into the boardroom, a commanding aura around him despite how fragile he looked. His once-imposing frame had thinned, his hair grayer, but didn't reduce the sharp and calculating glint in his eyes. Instead everyone those terrifying orbs fell on shivered in response—except his son, Damien. A man who was like his father in every way, but a younger more stunning version. Damien’s stomach tightened. He hadn’t seen his father in months.Why the fuck was he here? He thought as his fingers fisted behind his back but his face didn't reflect the anger brewing within him.The entire boardroom went still, watching the scene unfold."Well," Donovan said, his voice raspier than Damien remembered. "Looks like I came just in time."Damien’s grip on the table tightened. "Who the hell let him in?""Watch your mouth, boy," Donovan shot back. "I may be retired, but my name is still on this company."A muscle in Damien’s jaw twitched, but he didn

CHAPTER 76 NARRATOR Rose sat there motionless, staring at her husband with shock. Damien looks at Rose with something akin to worry. Was he about to get rejected? He has summoned up the courage to pop the question tonight. Did she hate that he asked under pressure? Was she upset that he hadn't taken his time to ask in a romantic way? “Rose,” he called out again, softly. He didn't like how she was leaving him hanging with that unreadable expression on her face. “Are you—?” “Do you really mean that?” Rose asked finally, her soft voice barely above a whisper. He watched as her beautiful eyes, which always entrapped him whenever he looked long enough, filled up with tears. That's when he realized that he had shocked her to the roots. Did she really not know how he felt about her? “Yes.” He answered, his voice thick and coarse with emotion, “I mean it with every breath I take, every pulse of blood in my veins. I meant every word I just said, Rose.” Unable to control himself any lon

CHAPTER 75 ROSE’S POV “Hold on—you run that blog?” Karen’s eyes went wide. Danny’s jaw dropped. “Have mercy, woman. One bomb after the other, you're gonna give us a heart attack!” I chuckled. “Sorry,” I said, then turned to Karen. “Yes, I own the blog. I'm pretty sure that’s what I just said.” Danny gave a low whistle. “Damn. That thing’s everywhere. People are terrified.” “Good.” I stretched out on the couch, smirking. “They should be.” Karen still looked like she was processing. “You’re telling me you’re the one behind all those anonymous exposés? The politicians, the business tycoons, the models? That’s you?” “Do you need to get your ears checked?” I asked, laughing. Danny shook his head, half in awe. “Jesus. And here I was thinking you were just stress-baking when you got bored.” “Please. That blog is my therapy,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Besides, people deserve the truth.” Karen’s jaw dropped again. “Rose, you’ve been exposing criminals. Powerful criminals.” “And?” I