Masuk~ GAVIN ~The room erupted. Gasps layered over each other — the loudest from Hannah's parents who had now moved even farther from us. Edward stepped to the side. "I could have your brains on this floor!" Robert's voice broke at the edges, his hand pressed to his face. "I could! Right now — I could!"Edward and Uncle Thomas rushed to him, urging him to breathe, to calm down, to just stop talking. Hannah's mother crossed the room and joined the program. Their low, urgent tones echoed in my ears as I stared at the bodyguard. His eyes were flat and professional, the gun unwavering, and his expression suggested the only thing standing between me and a very bad outcome was the word his employer had not yet given.And the employer in question? His rage was getting wilder by the second. In this state, he could very well decide to shoot and deal with whatever consequences later. I felt the weight of my own weapon tucked against my waistband, hidden beneath the loose drape of my shirt. Of c
~ GAVIN ~I also learnt that Edward had been made president of Steele Group — a position that had always been meant for me. I harbored no resentment toward him for it. If anything, I felt sorry for him. My absence, coupled with the criminal record that would follow me after my release, had forced him into a role he had never prepared for. Our father had decided long ago in his twenties that he would be retiring at fifty-five. It was the reason I was drilled so hard over the years. I had to be ready to receive the baton and start running the moment he passed it. Edward was never part of that plan. He, of course, was an engineer, but never aspired to lead the company. That didn’t stop the responsibility from being thrust upon him. In the end, we were both paying the price for my mistake — each in our own way.“Protecting the business — and myself — is protecting you,” Robert stated pointedly. “It is protecting the Kessler empire my father left in my care — the same empire you all ar
TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide~ GAVIN ~Arguing voices from open windows got louder as I approached. I could recognize my father’s — of course, he had to be at the center of every conflict. Then Edward’s and Uncle Thomas’s.I pushed the front door open and let myself into the waiting room, then continued to the living room. For the first time in a long time, my entrance into a family gathering was not met with an awkward silence. The three men were too busy tearing into each other to notice me. Hannah’s parents were in the room too. Her dad sat in his wheelchair on the far end, while her mom perched beside him on a reclining sofa, both of them watching the exchange stunned and speechless. The bone of contention must be really fat for my family to begin chewing it out in front of their in-laws. “The fact remains that you have no right to fire Lennon from his job!” Uncle Thomas was raving. “By virtue of being a Kessler, he has a guaranteed position at Steele group!”Fùck. I warned Edward
~ GAVIN ~ I stared at my phone for a moment after Sienna abruptly ended the call, the disconnect beep echoing rudely in my ears. Why exactly was she mad? I had laid out this boundary clearly. Why would she think I was bluffing? What about me suggested I was a man who talked just to hear his own voice? Something rustled behind me and I turned fast, instincts kicking in before awareness. This was Edward’s house. My father was somewhere on these grounds which meant I had to stay alert. Aunt Roseline stood beside a bush of yellow blooms, looking radiant in the dress she'd chosen for meeting her grand-niece for the first time. A swan brooch caught the moonlight on her chest, glinting every time she moved. “Is that how you youngins do the love thing now?” she asked, descending the few steps into the sunken courtyard. I'd left everyone inside to take Sienna's call — a call I'd been expecting from the moment I gave the order. Nearly the entire family was gathered there; Hannah’s
~ SIENNA ~He laughed, caught completely. “She did say you were smart.”I smiled back. “I might have missed it if you hadn’t looked like you were waiting for a biopsy result while waiting for me to agree to the ride.”To be honest, I didn’t know why I asked that question. Okay, I did. I wanted to feel flattered. To confirm I could still grab a man’s attention without trying. To tell myself I still had it regardless of what anyone thought. “I’ve never been a good actor,” he mumbled with a shrug. “But you must be an excellent negotiator. Margo wouldn’t do you this favour for nothing.”“Oh, you have no idea how many favours she owes me. Some are decades old.”My attention perked up. “Tell me about it.”“Mmm… Margo’s always loved celebrity life, and she used to make us play these dramas where she was a blockbuster actress and the rest of us were… well, whatever she casted us as. From rival actresses — who always lost to her, to valets to her fainting fans. And I was the one holding i
~ SIENNA ~The potluck with Margo’s family was the best table I’d sat at in a long time. We had only just settled in. Margo was still making introductions, but I already knew I was about to have the evening of my life.The space itself was beautiful — long oval tables surrounded by cane chairs, tucked beneath artsy umbrellas and bathed in the golden glow of hanging bulbs.But even more beautiful was the energy radiating from every member of her family.“You’ve already met my mom, the reason for the season,” she said, gesturing towards Brenda. She wore a bright purple crochet poncho that complimented her skin tone in a way that would make anyone start research on colour analysis.We exchanged greetings. “Then there’s Kylie, our Silicon Valley connection.”Kylie blew me a kiss, and I immediately found myself grinning.“You’d think the most remarkable thing about her is that she raised three hundred thousand dollars for her tech startup,” Margo continued. “But it’s actually that she b
~ SIENNA ~Today’s Friday. The Friday I have been waiting for all week — till yesterday. My thumbs danced around my phone keyboard as I drafted a cancellation text to Rum Telly. If I wasn’t going to provoke a reaction from Harry, I had no desire to spend my evening with a superstar who probably ha
~ SIENNA ~“I… it… this isn’t… oh my God.” I grabbed the traitorous device off the ground, shoving it deep into another carton as if burying evidence. As if it would make Gavin forget what he just saw. “Sex toys are nothing to be embarrassed about, babygirl — even though you got a rather huge one
~ SIENNA ~I heard Margo gasp at the other end of the line but she recovered quickly. And then she said something she should never have said. “Well, your mother hasn’t been in the picture for a while so I might as well stand in for her.”The words struck me like a double edged blade had been dippe
~ SIENNA ~Harry squinted at the paper. “That you’re fucking another man?”“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I scoffed. “Look harder, Harry. I mean, you’re an engineer. Where is your attention to detail skill?”He looked at me like I was speaking Old Norse, that boyish demeanor I had loved about him o







