LOGINVorian's POV It is Saturday evening in the suburbs. The week has been long and heavy. Zephyr went back to his house last night. He needed time with his family and I needed time to breathe.More like his sister called him to come home, that was after she went on and on about how Zephyr is abandoning them. I still do not understand sisters. Thank God I do not have one. Little do I know my brother is going to bring me out of the closet soon.The penthouse felt too empty after he left. I drove alone tonight. My elder brother, Cassian, is hosting the family dinner tonight. The road is quiet, the street lights pass in slow rhythm. The rain from earlier left the asphalt shiny. I pull into Cassian and Elena’s driveway. Their house is lit warm and the windows glow yellow. I hear laughter before I reach the door.Elena opens the door with a big smile before I even get to know and hugs me tight. “You made it,” she says. “Lila has been asking for you since four.”I laugh as I hug her back. “I w
Vorian's POV Zephyr rests on the sofa with his legs stretched out. His shirt is partly opened. His hair is wild from my hands. The room still smells like us; sweat, sex, coffee that went cold hours ago. The city lights glow behind the glass walls.I lean back in my chair. My body feels heavy but satisfied. Calm for the first time in days. Zephyr watches me with soft eyes.My phone buzzes on the desk. I glance at the screen. My mom, Lillian Rex. My chest jumps high to my throat. I have not talked to her since the board meeting. I have not told her about the picture. I have not shared anything with her..Zephyr notices my face. “Your mom?” he asks.I nod. I answer the call.“Vorian,” Mom says. Her voice is calm but tight. The way it gets when she is holding something back. “I need you to come home. Tonight.”I sit up straight. “Mom,” I say. “What is wrong?”She breathes in. “I have been hearing things,” she says. “A photo. People talking. No one will tell me anything. I want answers. F
Zephyr's POV“Get out.”Vorian’s voice cuts through the office like a blade. Cold and final. I stand frozen for one second. Then I turn and walk to the door. I open it, step into the hallway and the door closes behind me with a soft click.The hallway is quiet, too quiet. People at their desks look up and their eyes follow me. Whispers start before I take three steps.“Bet Vorian fires him today.”“He is a spy from Holt. Has to be.”The words hit my back like stones. I keep walking. My face burns, my chest burns and my hands shake. I reach my own office. It is smaller compared to Vorian's office, it has glass walls. I close the door and stand there for a while, breathing hard. The whispers still echo in my ears.I cannot stay here. I cannot sit at my desk and pretend everything is fine. I cannot let him push me away. Not like this.I turn and walk back, fast and furious. People stare again but I do not give a fuck. I pass Silas in the hallway. He calls my name.“Zephyr… wait…”Sorry S
Vorian's POV The gossip site headline sits on my screen like poison. NexusVibe Secretary Zephyr Cole: Fired from HoltTech After Whistleblower Scandal. The article is short and ugly. It shows Zephyr’s old employee badge. His face smiles in the photo. He is young and looks confident. The word “fired” is in bold. “Whistleblower” in bold. “Unethical practices” in bold. No names and no dates, just enough truth to cut.I stare at the words until they blur. My office is quiet and the door is closed. The city outside keeps moving. I feel nothing at first. Then the anger comes. Slow, hot and deep.I trusted him completely. I let him in. I let him close and he kept this from me.I pick up my phone and dial Silas. He answers on the second ring.“Vorian,” he says. “You saw it?”“Yes,” I say. My voice is flat. “You knew?”A pause. “Yes,” he says. “I knew.”I close my eyes. “When you hired him,” I say. “You saw the HoltTech file? You knew he worked for Nathaniel? You knew he was fired?”“Yes,” S
Selene's POV I sit cross-legged on my bed. The room is dark except for the small lamp on the nightstand. Soft yellow light falls on the blanket and my phone. The screen shows Silas’s name. I have called twice already but there was no answer. My thumb hovers over the call button again. I bite my lip. For the third time, I press the dial button.It rings. Not just once or twice. Not even three times. Four. My thumb hovers over the end button. I almost hang up, thinking he is asleep or too busy to talk. Then his voice finally comes through. It sounds so tired and rough, like gravel under tires, heavy with exhaustion that makes my chest ache a little. “Hey,” he says again, quieter this time, as if even speaking takes effort. “Sorry. I saw the calls earlier. Just… got caught up in something.”I let out a breath I did not know I was holding. My chest felt tight until that moment. “You sound dead,” I say. My voice comes out soft, worried. “Are you okay?” I ask again, even though I already
Zephyr's POVI have not slept in my own bed in one week. My room at my parents’ house stays empty. The quilt Mom folded last time I was there still lies flat. The pillow has no dent. The desk lamp stays off. I live here now; in the warehouse, in Vorian’s office, in the hours between normal work and secret work.Morning begins at NexusVibe. I sit at my desk outside Vorian’s office where I answer emails, schedule meetings and bring him black coffee at 7:30 sharp. I smile at people who walk past, act like everything is normal. No one knows I run on four hours of sleep. No one knows I leave at six, drive to the west side warehouse, and start the real work.The warehouse is our second home. White walls, long metal tables, server racks hum low in the back while the air conditioners keep the room cold. Sleeping bags roll out on the concrete floor, pizza boxes stack in the corner and empty coffee cups line the edges. The smell is always the same: pepperoni grease, burnt coffee, warm electron
Zephyr’s POV Silas’s footsteps fade down the hall.The exec floor falls quiet, too quiet for a building that usually hums with activity. The weekend emptiness feels almost eerie, with lights low and dimmed to half-power, casting long shadows across the carpet. Air flows cool from the vents overh
Vorian’s POV I gaze at my phone, and Silas’s recent message shines bright on the screen. The image displays a laptop screen with the IP address marked in bold red. It has been traced and nailed down right inside the company. The IP trace is internal, meaning someone is close. I display the scr
Zephyr’s POVI finish playing with Lila on the beach. Sand sticks to my skin like glue. My hair is wet from the waves. Shirt clings, sticky with salt and sweat. Lila waves big. “Bye, Zephyr! Come back!” she yells. Her voice high. Happy. Full of joy. She jumps a little. Sand flies. I wave back. S
Vorian’s POV I wake early. The sun is just up. Pink light fills the room. Soft. Warm. Zephyr sleeps beside me. His face is soft. Lips parted. Hair messy on the pillow. One arm over my chest. Heavy. Comfortable. The sheets are white. Tangled. The house is quiet. No sound from Cassian. Elena







