VENUSThe weight of the night pressed heavy on my chest, even though the champagne glass in my hand trembled more from nerves than alcohol.The air shifted like a storm rolling in. I didn’t need to see them to know who had arrived, I felt it. The ripple spread through the hall like a current, whispers sparking until every head turned.Richard. Caroline. And Dorian.They entered like royalty, a glittering trio who didn’t just walk into a room, they conquered it. Every jewel was too bright, every seam too sharp, each step choreographed to command.But my eyes snapped only to him.Dorian.He broke from his parents and strode toward us. Aaron’s hand at the small of my back went rigid, his body taut like a drawn bow. He didn’t glance at me, not once. His gaze was locked forward, cold steel fixed on his brother.Dorian stopped before us, smile bright, practiced. “Wow. Venus, looking good as new.” His eyes lingered too long, deliberate. “I was beginning to lose hope in this one ever finding
VENUSThe limo ride felt like the longest of my life.Sabine scrolled through her phone with an air of icy detachment, thumbs flying across the screen like she was dueling with invisible enemies. Gianna hummed to the music under her breath, completely unbothered, her head swaying lazily against the leather seat. And me.....I sat wedged between them, my heart racing too fast, clutching my phone like it was the only anchor I had in the storm.I typed out another quick message to Aaron with trembling fingers:> On our way. I’m fine. Promise.His reply came instantly, like he’d been sitting there with the phone in his hand, waiting for me to reach out:> I’ll be at the entrance. Don’t make me wait.A shiver ran down my spine. I pressed the phone to my lap, lips curving despite myself. Even when he wasn’t there, Aaron had this way of filling every space, taking up the air in my lungs until breathing without him felt incomplete.---The venue was chaos.The moment the limo door cracked open
VENUSThe day of the launch should have felt like a coronation. Instead, the suite was heavy with tension.Sabine stood behind me, fussing with pins and fabric, her jaw tight, her movements sharper than usual. She hadn’t said a word about him all morning, but I knew her too well. Sabine Sinclair silent was Sabine Sinclair angry and angry Sabine could move mountains, or burn them to ash.I tilted my head toward the mirror, studying her reflection. “Are you going to tell me what happened between you and Connor, or should I bribe Gianna for gossip later?”Her hands stilled on my waist. The silence stretched, thick and telling. Then she exhaled through her nose, sharp and impatient. “It’s nothing.”I arched a brow. “Nothing? You’ve been stabbing this zipper like it personally ruined your life.”Sabine muttered something under her breath, then clipped out, “He tried to tell me not to work tonight.”That startled me. “Not to work? Sabine, this is your night.”Her eyes flicked up in the mirr
VENUSThe morning after the invitations went out, I found myself perched at the breakfast bar, staring at Aaron across the kitchen island while he stirred eggs in a skillet like a man preparing for battle.I loved watching him cook. It was such a contradiction to the man the world knew. Aaron Sinclair: ruthless, calculating, untouchable. Yet here he was in bare feet and a black t-shirt clinging to his shoulders, brow furrowed in concentration like the fate of nations depended on perfectly scrambled eggs.I rested my chin in my hand, letting the sight soak into me. These were the moments I hoarded in the back of my mind—the ones that made me feel safe. The ones that made me feel like maybe I was allowed to want this.When I cleared my throat, his eyes flicked up. “What?”“Nothing.” I grinned. “Just enjoying the view.”A muscle jumped in his jaw, but the corner of his mouth betrayed him, tugging upward just enough to make my stomach flip. He plated the eggs, sliding mine across the coun
VENUSA few days later, Aaron finally caved. After my relentless needling—okay, outright begging—he dropped me off at Sabine’s penthouse to help plan her brand launch party. He wasn’t thrilled about it, of course. His scowl looked practically carved into his face as the car pulled up. Two guards stepped out before me, scanning the street as if assassins lurked behind every bush.I won’t lie, it made me feel safe.I rolled my eyes. “You’re acting like I’m walking into a battlefield, Aaron. It’s Sabine’s apartment, not a war zone.”His hand caught my chin, tilting my face up until his eyes pinned me, molten and unrelenting. “Every place you go is a battlefield, princess. The only difference is whether I’m there to control the chaos or not.”I swallowed, heat rushing to my cheeks. He always did that—took an ordinary moment and branded it into my skin.“Don’t scowl so much,” I whispered, brushing my fingers along his jaw. “You’ll give yourself wrinkles.”That earned me the ghost of a smil
VENUSIt had been weeks since that first meeting with Colton. Weeks since the photo of a messy-haired little girl cracked something open inside me. I was still raw, still unsteady, but I wasn’t shattered anymore. The pieces were holding. Shakily, unevenly, but holding.Life had shifted into a strange rhythm. Aaron still wouldn’t let me move an inch without at least two guards within sight, sometimes four, if he was in one of his more paranoid moods. Gerald was still out there, a shadow in every quiet corner. It unsettled me, yes. But I couldn’t live in fear forever. I refused to.So I walked the gardens when the sun was soft. I went to therapy twice a week. And always—always—Aaron was there. Protective. Unyielding. Steady. My shadow, my anchor.Connor had been coming home more often lately. I suspected Aaron was laying the groundwork to take back the CEO seat. And that thought made me glad.Colton, meanwhile, had become… a presence. A steady drip of warmth I hadn’t expected to need. W