LOGINMy breath hitched as I stared at the cat.“My God!” I whispered, covering my mouth with my palm as the lid fell to the floor.She was just too pretty. Her fur was probably the whitest fur I’ve ever seen and her green eyes? They felt so ethereal.“Lucian!” I dropped the box on the couch and flew into his arms, embracing him tight. My heart was slamming hard as a result of our closeness, but at this instant, I didn’t care.“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”“Hey!” he chuckled. “One “thank you” is enough, you know?”I shook my head and hugged him tighter. “It’s not.”“You’re going to choke me in happiness.”Slowly, it hit me hard—I was sitting on Lucian, embracing him tight!With speed, I jumped off him, hue creeping into my cheeks.Geez! Fucking geez!“I… uh… I'm sorry.” I mumbled under my breath. Lucian stared at me for a split second and cracked.“It’s fine, Ezran. No need to be embarrassed.”I didn't believe him. No way I’d take his reassurance to heart when I
I stared at him in shock. He has feelings for me? How?“I… don't understand, Rowan. I'm sorry.”“I understand your confusion, Ezran.” he said softly. “I understand your worries. I barely even pass as a friend, so this is surprising. But the truth is, I've always liked you from the first instance I met you. I’m intrigued by you, I’m amazed by your smartness and ingenuity. I love it when you smile or you’re shy. I—”“Stop it, Rowan.” I cut in.He stared at me in confusion. “Why? You don’t like me?”I exhaled, brushing my hand through my hair as I struggled to keep a straight face. “I like you, but not that way. I see you as a friend, a pal, a partner, not someone I can be in a relationship with. Besides, you’re not even gay, so how did you fall for me?”“I just like you very much.” he mumbled.“Exactly. It’s not love. By the time I give you a chance and we start dating, you’ll start finding faults and I’ll get bored. Eventually, we will have to call it off and ruin our friendship.”“E
A date? I thought I didn't hear properly until he repeated himself.“May I ask you out on a date tomorrow?”I stared at Erik for support, but he didn't say a word.“Uh… Can I think about this?”He sighed despondently. “Okay.”“Hey, don't sound like that.” I mumbled, biting my lip. “I’ll message first thing in the morning to give you my response.”“Okay. I’ll be expecting it.”The call disconnected and I turned to Erik in rage. “Dude, I asked you for help!”“Well, you can just decline him tomorrow morning, right?” Erik answered nonchalantly.I rolled my eyes. “I’m un-bestfriending you now.”“Don’t push your luck, kiddo.”I almost flew at him in rage. Erik was older by a month and he never stopped using it to his advantage.“Nice play, Erik Anderson.”He burst into laughter, hugging me tight. “I love you, Ezran Banks.”“Ewww, that’s gross.” I said, scrunching up my nose in disgust.….The next morning arrived too quickly and I almost cried in frustration.Erik refused to return to his
I stifled for a split second, stuttering almost immediately.“What… I don’t… fuck, Jeanne!”She burst into an endless spree of laughter, shaking her head in disbelief.“Come on, there’s nothing going on between Lucian and I. We just decided to call a truce.”“Truce? I don't buy that.” I shrugged. “Well, if you didn’t, what do you think?”“I think you’re both up to something. You can’t just be besties in eleven days.”“We aren’t besties, duh.”“Whatever!” she cut in. “Did anything outside Lucian happen?”I turned to Erik who was already munching on a bowl of chips.“What the hell, man! Where did you get those from?” “It was already on the table. Maybe the maids dropped it for someone and that particular someone forgot about it. I'm simply doing justice to it.”I shook my head slowly. Erik was one hell of a crazy person.“Back to my question, Ezran,” Jeanne said.“Nothing happened, I guess.”“Don’t guess. Think and recall something.”“Wait!” Erik said, dropping the bowl on the table.
EZRAN'S POV.I stared at Lucian briefly, shock evident in my eyes.He was proud of me? Lucian Banks said he was proud of me and then patted me on the head like a child?I should have revolted at the action but instead, I was feeling butterflies in my stomach.“Hmm,” I cleared my throat and started walking away. “Let’s go home.”He nodded slightly, walking behind me.….The drive back home was quiet. Silence seeped in from every corner of the car, making me uncomfortable.Lucian was right—I was better off talking.“Geez!” I didn’t realize when I said that aloud. Lucian glanced at me briefly.“Any problem?”“No,” I quickly said. “Nothing is wrong.”He nodded and returned his eyes to the steering.Geez! That was fucking embarrassing.….Immediately the car pulled up in the garage, I came out of it, told Lucian a quick thank you and sprinted off into the house.“Where are you running off to, Ezran?” a feminine voice called from behind me and I turned slowly, smiling awkwardly.Jeanne was
I stared at the phone for half a second, then at Lucian, who was already watching me. My grip tightened slightly around the device before I brought it back to my ear.“Melinda?”Silence stretched for a moment.“…Ezran?” Her voice was too weak.My brows pulled together immediately. “Yeah. What’s wrong?”There was metallic noise and shouting in the background. “I…” her voice broke. “I think… there’s been an accident—”My heart dropped.“What?” I straightened fully, my chair scraping loudly against the floor. “Melinda, what do you mean accident? Where are you?”“I’m at…” her breath hitched. “I don’t even know, I… there was a car—”The line crackled and my heart skipped even more.“Melinda!”“I’m bleeding,” she whispered.Everything in me went cold.“Stay on the line,” I said quickly, already moving. “Don’t hang up. Can you hear me? Melinda, answer me.”“I’m here…”Her voice was fading very fast. Shit. “Where are you?” I demanded, grabbing my jacket without even realizing it. “Look arou
I didn’t answer him. For a second, I couldn’t.My brain stalled completely. Like everything inside me had just short-circuited at once.Did he just ask me that? Yes, he did.And did I find it hot? Yes, I did.I could swear I was gradually losing my sanity. I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry.
The room went still. Not gradually, instantly.The music was still blasting from the speakers, bodies were still moving across the dance floor, glasses still clinked, but the space around us suddenly felt different — because Lucian Banks had just entered the room.The three idiots in front of me tur
A dozen eyes turned toward me and I paled instantly.I choked. I just choked because of Lucian's statement! “Are you okay?” Mom asked, leaning closer to my seat.“I—I’m fine,” I said, gulping down a full glass of water.Gawd, this is so embarrassing.“You don't look fine.” “I am.”The silence str
Avoiding Lucian became my new full-time hobby.Unfortunately, the Banks mansion was too large for comfort but somehow still too small to escape him.By the time I returned from school that afternoon, the house had settled into its usual quiet luxury. The staff moved like ghosts, the marble floors re







