CHAPTER 3: Seven O'clock, And A Secret

Twyla Nightveil's POV

I burst through my door, and Stacey was there, arms crossed, face tight.

"You finally here?" she said, stepping back. "Doctor just left. He was stable now, but Twyla, it was bad. He was wheezing so hard his whole little body shook. Doctor said next time don't wait. If his chest tightened like that again, call her immediately. She said his asthma was getting worse. He needed more regular checkups, better medication, maybe a specialist. It wasn't just a cold anymore."

My throat closed up as I dropped my bag and rushed to the bedroom after giving my friend a quick goodbye hug. Xerius was propped up with pillows, his cheeks flushed, those bluish-green eyes heavy and tired. When he saw me, he smiled, small and weak.

"Mama," he whispered.

I sat on the edge of the bed and stroked his hair. "I'm here, baby. I'm right here. How are you feeling?"

"Hard to breathe," he said softly. "But the medicine helped. Stacey gave me the strawberry one. It tasted funny."

I smiled through the tears. "I know. But it made your lungs happy, right? You were so brave. The bravest boy I knew."

"Will you stay home tomorrow?" he asked, his voice small.

I kissed his forehead. "I had to go to work, baby. But I'll come back. Every single time. I promised. And I was working extra hard so we could get you the very best doctor. So you could run and play and never feel like you couldn't breathe again."

He nodded, but his eyes were already drooping. I held his hand until he fell asleep, then I pulled out my phone. My heart turned to stone as a new message arrived from Flint Seymour. The man who held my family's entire future in his hands. The man I owed everything to.

Years ago, my family fell into a debt we could never repay. He gave me one way out: get close to Cody, his business rival, earn his trust, become the person he told everything to, and hand Flint what he wanted. I took the job. I had no choice.

But I never expected to fall in love. We were together for two beautiful years. Then Flint found out. He gave me my options — betray the man I loved, or watch my family lose everything. So I left, not because I wanted to, but because I had to.

I let Cody think I was a traitor. I let him believe I chose Flint and the money. It was the only way to keep everyone safe. I couldn't choose my happiness and watch my family be ruined because of my own choice.

Report tonight. Valtier's new merger location. If you fail, your family pays the price.

My fingers trembled as I typed: The Grand Stardust Hotel. Thursday night.

It was a lie. The real location was nowhere near there. Every piece of information I had ever sent him was a lie. Every secret I "stole" was carefully crafted to mislead him. He thought I was his loyal spy. He didn't know I had been protecting Cody from the shadows for four years. That I had been his shield all along, and I would let Cody hate me forever before I let either of them pay the debt that was never theirs to begin with.

The next morning I walked into Valtier Tower at exactly eight. The receptionist didn't even blink. She just gestured toward the elevators. "Top floor. He's waiting."

Cody was standing by the window when I walked in. He didn't turn immediately. The room smelled like him — cedar and that rich, unmistakable alpha scent I had memorized four years ago. It hadn't changed, not even a little.

He finally faced me, and his eyes were cold, hard, burning with that same hatred I saw the night before. No softness. No doubt. Just pure, unmasked fury like I was a disease he had been forced to keep close.

"You're here," he said, sharp and flat. "I didn't think you'd show. I thought you'd hide behind him forever."

I kept my voice steady. "I kept my word. I'd do whatever you needed. But I leave at seven sharp every evening. No exceptions."

He stepped closer, and the air grew heavy. His eyes raked over me, cold and assessing. "Seven o'clock. So you could run back to him. Every evening. You choose him over me. Every single day. It makes me wonder what he has that I don't."

"I answer to no one but myself," I said. "You have my days. That is the deal. Take it or leave it."

His jaw clenched so hard I could see the muscle jump. His eyes flashed, dark and venomous. "Careful, Twyla. You are in my building. You answer to me. I could keep you here all night if I wanted. I could make you beg to leave."

"But you won't," I said, holding his gaze. "Because you want me to come back tomorrow. And the day after. You want to watch me. You want to hate me up close. So here I am. Your hours. My evenings."

He stared at me, his eyes blazing with hatred and something darker that he refused to name. "Fine. Seven. But if you are one minute late, if you don't answer when I call, I will come to your home. I will drag you out in front of whoever is waiting. Do not test me. I am not a patient man, and I am not a kind man — not to you."

"I know Seymour still thinks you are his asset. I know you are supposed to be stealing from me right now. So go ahead. Try. Every file, every call, every meeting — I want you there. Because I am going to watch you so closely you won't dare send a single lie back to him. Not while I can see it in your eyes."

The day was relentless. He kept me at his side through every meeting, every call, every decision. He sat me across from his desk and watched me work, his eyes never leaving my face. Every time my phone buzzed in my bag — Flint demanding an update, Stacey checking in, the doctor confirming an appointment — his eyes narrowed like he could hear the vibration through the leather.

"Is that him?" Cody asked once, nodding at my bag. "Is Seymour checking in? Asking why you haven't ruined me yet?"

I didn't flinch. "It is none of your business."

He laughed, sharp and bitter. "It is my business when my enemy is using what's mine. Go ahead. Report. Tell him I have you right where he wants you. Tell him I am blind to the knife in my back. See if I care."

I had watched him from shadows for four years. I knew his face. I knew his movements. But I had never stood this close. Never felt this strong, the undeniable bond between us. Maybe because it had been a long time, but I suddenly wondered if he could also feel it. Back then, he was having a hard time controlling himself, just like what he did last night.

By six forty-five, I was already packing up. He leaned forward, his voice dropping low and dangerous across the desk.

"Tell me his name," he said, his eyes cold and cruel. "Tell me who you rush home to. Is he worth it? Is he worth the way you look at me like I am the villain? Is he that f*cking Seymour?"

I stood, my chair scraping loudly. "He is none of your business. And you are not the victim here, Cody. You never asked why I left. You just decided I was guilty."

I grabbed my bag and walked toward the door. His hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist — firm and demanding, pulling me back just enough that I had to face him. His eyes were dark, burning with pure hatred, like I had personally destroyed everything he ever cared about.

"Seven o'clock," he spat the words like they tasted bitter. "Go. Run to him. Report your lies. But know this — every minute you spend away from me is a minute I will make up for when you return. I don't share, Twyla. And I don't wait. One day soon, you will realize that he can't protect you from me. And when that day comes, you will beg me to choose you."

I pulled my wrist free from his grip. "You don't own me. And you never did."

I walked out before he could see how much those words hurt me. Behind me, Cody stood frozen, his hand still curled into a fist where my wrist just was, his eyes burning with a hatred that had nowhere left to go but deeper. He didn't know I was the reason Flint hadn't succeeded in four years. He didn't know the spy he was hunting was the only shield he had. And that was the secret I would take to my grave.