ANMELDEN-Eve-“You were supposed to meet my mom on Wednesday,” I told Alex after Dominic's words had unintentionally stuck to my head since Sunday.Alex looked up from his laptop, the only still that was currently worth his attention. “What?”“Dinner, you said you'd come.”“Eve.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Legacy Week is consuming me. The venue walkthrough ran over, then Eleanor called an emergency meeting about the staff film.”I folded my arms.“If you wanted to, you would.”The words slipped out before I could stop them.His head lifted. “What?”“Nothing.”“That's not nothing. Who said that to you?”I looked away.“Eve.” His voice softened. “Listen to me. I want to meet your mother. I want every part of your life. Right now, I'm just trying to get through the next few weeks. After the gala, things calm down. I promise.”I wanted to believe him.“Okay.”“Okay.” He kissed my forehead. “Just give me until Legacy Week is over.”The next three weeks disappeared into planning.The hotel's
-DOMINIC-The look on Eve’s face when she opened the door was worth the drive. “W-what are you doing here?” She stuttered, eyes wide with disbelief.I opened my mouth to answer, but then her mother appeared from behind her, smiling wide, hands already reaching for my arm.“You made it!” Evelyn—she had insisted I call her that—pulled me inside. “Come on, come on in.”I handed her the flowers, and she thanked me with a smile. We walked past Eve.
-EVE-FLASHBACKIt was my grandfather’s funeral. It was the first time I met Janet. Yet, in her living room, she blamed my mother for my grandfather’s death.“You did this,” She said. Her voice carried. “Your drinking. Your scenes. And now you want to take my granddaughter.”“I want what's best for Eve,” Mom said.“Best?” She laughed. “You can't keep a husband. You can't keep a job. You think you can
-EVE-The first week of the legacy planning was finally here, and Vanessa Kingston did not show up on Monday.For some unknown reason, we’d been paired to handpick the vendors for the event on Eleanor’s request.I was waiting in the Hotel King’s lobby—where Vanessa had said we would meet—for forty minutes before Ana found me. She was already talking about some vendor who had sent the wrong linen samples.“She’s not coming.” She said the moment I brought Vanessa up. “We were supposed to meet the decoration team
-Dominic-I sat at my desk, tidying up the rest of my task for the day. Seb had left an hour ago after I told him to go home, and I preferred it that way. It was less noisy.The door opened without warning, and Uncle Jon walked in like he owned the place.A smirk tugged my lips, but I didn’t look up immediately. I kept my eyes on the document in front of me and said, “Uncle Jon, to what do I owe this visit?”“Don’t act like you’re in the dark,” he snapped.I finally lifted my head. “Then enlighten me.”His jaw tightened. “Investors are on my neck because of that stunt you pulled at the regatta.”A slow exhale left me. Of course.“What?” I leaned back slightly. “You mean the part where they generously donated to the winning team, and I exposed a cheating scheme that you’re part of?”“Don’t twist it.”I almost laughed. “I’m not twisting anything. Let the money go, Uncle Jon. You and your investor friends donated in public. First it was a fake hospital, now this. Tell me something.” I ti
-EVE-I was stuck in the company bus with Ana and her strong perfume. She had talked for forty minutes about some reality show she was currently watching while I kept staring at the back of Alex's head three rows ahead.He was seated next to Monica, and they were speaking in hushed tones.The planning for the Hotel King’s legacy week was in motion, and somehow I had made it onto the planning committee.So here we were on a bus ride to go see Eleanor Kingston at her villa.“You're not listening,” Ana nudged me.“Absolutely.” I wasn't.The bus turned onto a gravel drive. Ocean on one side, manicured lawns on the other. The villa rose ahead, all white stone and glass.Finally we arrived at the entrance, and piled out of the bus. A butler was already waiting, looking between us and the gardens like he was expecting something.A shotgun blast suddenly cracked the morning. Everyone jumped. The butler produced earplugs from his jacket.“That’s the thirteenth time this morning,” he said, wal
-Dominic-The loud banging in my head woke me up—no, not my head. It was the door.Fuck, I shouldn’t have drank so much. Someone—maybe more than one person, was pounding on it, stabbing the doorbell like they were trying to break it.I let out a small sigh as I got on my feet, dragging my way acro
-Eve-I turned in the direction of the voice and froze in my seat.It was a kid. A boy.He was around eight or nine. Brown hair, brown eyes. The spitting image of my father.Before I could answer, the door opened and my father appeared in the doorway.“I asked you to stop wandering,” he said to the
-Alex-When I went to Eve’s place an hour ago, Sally told me she’d be at the hospital.When she stormed out of her mother’s room and we collided, I saw her tears and got worried.“Eve?” I called, “What’s wrong?”She stared at me briefly, as if trying to find the right words.“I’m fine,” she murmure
-Eve-I’d heard of dark family secrets, twisted affairs, things best left unspoken. But a hidden sibling? That was something I never imagined. A sister.Suddenly, my world felt a little bigger. And I felt curious. Clueless.I shook my thoughts away and focused on the bookstore. My mother’s old boo







