LOGINElla’s POVI hesitated for only a second before getting into the car.The door shut with a quiet, final sound that made my chest tighten. Adrian didn’t look at me as he pulled away from the curb, the city lights sliding across the windshield like streaks of gold.We drove in silence.At first, I thought nothing of it. The night had been long. My body was tired. My head even more so. But after several turns, something tugged at my awareness.“This isn’t the way back to the estate,” I said carefully.Adrian’s hands tightened slightly on the wheel. “No.”I waited.“Where are we going?” I asked.His jaw flexed. “You’ll see.”The words were calm. Controlled. Final.The city thinned as we drove, buildings giving way to wider roads, fewer streetlights. My fingers twisted together in my lap. I considered insisting. I considered asking again.Instead, I watched the road.When the car finally slowed, it was in front of a restaurant that looked like it belonged in a magazine—soft amber lights, v
Ella’s POVI stepped back into the heart of the party, the music soft and expensive, the laughter carefully measured. Nothing here was accidental. Not the lighting. Not the smiles. Not the way people stood close enough to hear secrets but far enough to deny it later.Adrian was still surrounded by men in tailored suits, his posture perfect, his laugh brief and controlled.Julian stood a little apart, deep in conversation with two collectors, his expression calm, attentive, giving nothing away.Evan was impossible to miss—grinning for photos, signing programs, leaning in close to fans like he had known them his whole life.And Lucian—Lucian was in the corner.Alone.He leaned against a marble pillar, one shoulder pressed into stone, drink in hand. He didn’t talk. Didn’t smile. Didn’t pretend. He just watched the room like it was something he had already conquered and grown bored of.I looked away first.I moved toward a table near the edge of the hall, needing air, needing space. A gr
Ella’s POVBreakfast didn’t end with a bang.It ended with chairs scraping back and people slowly peeling away from the table, like everyone had somewhere else they would rather be.Adrian stood first.He checked his watch, then his phone, then his watch again.“I’ll be late tonight,” he said, voice firm, clipped, already halfway gone.No one replied.He adjusted his cufflinks, picked up his briefcase, and walked out like the house itself bent around his schedule.The door shut softly behind him.Julian stayed a little longer.He turned another page of his book, sipped his coffee, then finally closed it like he was sealing away a thought.“Gallery meeting,” he said, standing. “There’s a piece arriving today that refuses to be easy.”Evan, slumped dramatically in his chair, groaned.“Everything refuses to be easy with you.”Julian smiled. “And yet, I manage.”His eyes found mine.“You okay?” he asked gently.I nodded. “Yes.”He studied me for a second longer, like he was checking for c
Ella’s POVI stood outside Adrian’s door longer than I meant to.The hallway was quiet, thick with that strange early-morning stillness that made every sound feel louder than it should. My hand hovered near the wood, heart beating faster than the hour deserved.Three thirty-seven a.m.I raised my knuckles and knocked.“Come in,” Adrian’s voice called, calm and even.I opened the door and stepped inside.His room was immaculate. Too neat for someone who slept in it. The bed was made, the lights were low but deliberate, casting a warm glow instead of shadows. Adrian stood near the dresser, sleeves of his shirt rolled up, jacket already laid out.“Close the door,” he said casually.I did.He turned to face me, eyes sharp, assessing. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”“You said it was urgent,” I replied.“It is,” he said, then smiled faintly. “But not in the way you’re imagining.”I wasn’t imagining anything. That was the problem.He walked past me, close enough that I felt the shift in a
Ella’s POV“Lucian?”My voice came out softer than I meant it to, like I was afraid the room itself might hear me.He shifted beside me on the bed, breathing uneven, the smell of alcohol clinging to his skin. His arm was heavy across my waist, loose, careless, not tight enough to trap me, but enough to remind me I was there. With him.“Mmm,” he murmured, words blurred, eyes barely open. “You always look like you’re about to disappear.”“I’m not,” I said quietly. “You’re drunk.”He laughed, low and broken. “That’s when people tell the truth. Or parts of it.”I swallowed. “You should sleep.”“No,” he muttered. “If I sleep… I don’t hear them anymore.”“Them?” I asked.His brow furrowed. “Always talking. Always measuring. Like I’m a mistake that learned how to smile.”I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed silent.He shifted again, fingers brushing my wrist. “You know what they hate the most?”“What?” I whispered.“That I want things,” he said. “That I want more than I’m supposed to.”I l
Ella’s POVThe figure in the doorway leaned casually against the frame, sunlight catching the gold in his hair. His grin was wide, confident, infuriatingly easy.“Ella Monroe,” he said again, voice rich and playful, filling the room as if it belonged to him. “I heard there’s a new face in the house. And here you are.”I blinked. Julian’s hand tightened briefly against mine before he released it, his calm presence a tether.Adrian’s jaw clenched slightly. “Evan,” he said, controlled but sharp.Evan pushed himself off the doorframe, stepping forward with exaggerated carelessness. “Finally! I’ve been waiting two days to meet the infamous Ella. Where’s my favorite brother, Lucian? He’s supposed to be here when there’s a new person.”Julian’s voice was low and steady. “Lucian hasn’t been home in two days.”“Two days?” Evan gasped theatrically, hands pressed to his chest. “Abandoning the house? That’s unacceptable!” He glanced at me, grin softening into mischief. “And you—what’s your role i







