เข้าสู่ระบบAdrian's POVThe clock hit at 6 pm and I left for home. The moment my car reached the porsche and I walked down their voices reached me before I even saw them. Drifting down the hallway the moment I stepped through the door."You moved your knight wrong," Grandpa was saying, squinting at the board with theatrical suspicion."I moved it exactly right," Ethan replied, not even looking up. "You're just upset because I'm about to take your bishop.""Nonsense. I taught Adrian this game when he was seven. I know a cheat when I see one.""I'm not cheating, Grandpa.""Then explain the knight.""It's called strategy."Grandpa huffed, leaning back in his chair with mock offense. "In my day, strategy meant patience. Not this... this reckless leaping about."I paused in the doorway, unnoticed, watching Ethan press his lips together to keep from laughing outright."Reckless leaping about is literally what a knight does, Grandpa.""Don't get smart with me.""I'm just stating facts."Grandpa pointe
Adrian's POV Yesterday was my parents' anniversary. I woke before the sun had fully risen, the way I always do on this particular morning, my body remembering the date before my mind fully catches up to it. For a moment, lying there in the grey half light, I simply stared at the ceiling, letting the weight of it settle over me the way it does every year. *Twenty years.*Twenty years since the house stopped smelling like my mother's perfume in the mornings. Since my father stopped humming off the key in the shower, thinking none of us could hear him. I sat up slowly, pressing the heels of my palms against my eyes, willing the familiar ache in my chest to loosen its grip before the day even began. I don't celebrate it in any grand way. I never have. Each year, I simply cut a small cake, quiet and unceremonious, and distribute the rest among the beggars scattered along the street corners near the old chapel. It felt like the only honest way to remember them, not with speeches or can
Author's POV Silence settled over the room, warm and heavy, thick with candlelight and the quiet clink of cutlery. Then Adrian's eyes flicked briefly toward the far corner, where a small gap in the curtain revealed the faint silhouette of the chef, still lingering, still watching with quiet interest. *Of course he's still here.* Adrian's expression shifted, softening in a way that looked almost effortless. Without a word, he reached for the tenderloin, cutting a small, careful piece before lifting his fork toward Ethan, his eyes holding a warmth that hadn't been there a moment ago. "Here." Ethan blinked, caught entirely off guard, his breath catching somewhere in his throat. "What are you—" "Eat." Adrian's voice had dropped low, almost tender, his gaze steady on Ethan's face rather than the fork between them. Ethan parted his lips slowly, allowing the bite, the warmth of the gesture curling through his chest despite everything he told himself about why it was happening. Adr
Author's POVAfter the movie ended, Grandpa walked out with a big satisfied smile, still recounting his favorite scene under his breath, clearly thrilled with how the evening had unfolded."Let's go for dinner. I know a place," he chimed, already moving toward the car with more energy than either of them expected from him.Adrian was staring at his phone screen, a message pulling his attention. Before he could say anything, Grandpa had already settled himself into the front seat beside Damian.Adrian exhaled, shaking his head faintly."He can be too much sometimes," he mumbled, more to himself than to Ethan. Though Ethan caught the words anyway, along with the faint, reluctant fondness buried beneath them.The car pulled up in front of the restaurant, its entrance glowing softly beneath strings of warm lights. Adrian stepped out first, adjusting his jacket, followed by Ethan, who lingered near the door, glancing back toward the car where Grandpa remained seated."Aren't you coming?" E
Ethan's POV The theatre lobby was quiet when we walked in, the kind of quiet that only came with money. I spotted him before Grandpa did. Adrian stood near the entrance to the hall, one hand tucked into his coat pocket, his phone nowhere in sight for once. He hadn't even glanced at his watch. He was simply waiting. *He came early.* *Before us. Before the time he said he would.* Something in my chest shifted at the sight of him standing there, unhurried, present, as though nothing in the world mattered more in that moment than showing up for an old man's movie night. *He really does love him.* The thought settled warm and quiet inside me, and before I could stop it, a small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. Grandpa noticed before I did. He elbowed me lightly in the ribs, his eyes glinting with mischief. "What are you smiling at?" I blinked, caught. "Nothing." "You were staring." "I wasn't." He gave me a knowing look, the kind that made my ears warm, b
Ethan's POVThe car ride into the city felt strange in a way I couldn't quite explain.Grandpa sat beside me in the back seat, his walking stick propped between his knees, humming some old tune under his breath as the mansion disappeared behind us. Damian drove in silence, his eyes occasionally flicking toward the rearview mirror, though whether he was watching the road or watching us, I couldn't tell.I kept my hands folded in my lap, trying to look calmer than I felt.*A normal day.**Just try to have a normal day.*"You're too quiet," Grandpa said suddenly, turning his head toward me. "A young man going shopping should look excited, not like he's headed to his own funeral."I managed a small laugh. "Sorry. I'm just not used to this.""Not used to what? Shopping?""Being taken care of."The words slipped out before I could stop them, quieter than I meant them to be. Grandpa's expression softened, the teasing light in his eyes dimming into something gentler."Well," he said after a p
Adrian's POV:I tried to sleep after Seraphine left. But the bed felt too cold, too vast, too achingly empty without Ethan's scent and presence beside me. I lay there staring at the ceiling for what felt like an hour, maybe more, listening to the silence of the room like it was mocking me. It was d
Adrian's POV:They're already seated when I walk in.That's the rule. Not written anywhere. Not announced to anyone new. Just understood, the way everything in this world is understood, through watching what happens to those who forget.The room rises the second I step through the door. Not out of
Candia’s POVI was seated in my office, flipping through a thick file of company accounts, numbers blurring together after hours of staring. It was supposed to be a normal afternoon—predictable, controlled. Until my phone rang, racing my heart beat."Ethan," the called ID stated.A soft smile insti
Ethan’s POV:I swallowed hard. My own cock was throbbing, aching for release, but I wanted to give him pleasure too. I turned toward him and reached down. My hand slid inside his pants and found him. He was rock hard, hot and heavy in my palm.He groaned the moment I touched him. “Fuck… yes…”I stro







