MasukChapter 108DreyvenI walked back into the living room holding the freshly warmed glass of milk, my chest still tight from snapping at Dreyden. I felt like a fool for losing my temper over something so small, but the way Lia had looked at me earlier was still ringing in my ears.I crouched down beside her wheelchair, holding the glass steady as she took a few slow sips through the straw. "Is the temperature okay now?" I asked gently.She nodded softly, giving me that quiet, vulnerable look that made my heart ache. "It's perfect. Thank you, Dreyven."I smiled, setting the glass on the small table beside her. As I turned my back to grab a napkin from the tray, I caught her reflection in the dark, glass of the patio doors.My blood turned to ice.The soft, tired expression on her face was completely gone. In its place was a tiny, sharp smile...cold, calculating, and full of satisfaction.I froze, my hand hovering over the napkin. I didn't say a word, and I didn't turn around too fast.
Chapter 106AureliaDreyven froze on his knees right beside my wheelchair, his mouth slightly open like I’d just handed him a winning lottery ticket.Out of the four of them, Dreyven was always the easiest to read. He wore his heart right on his sleeve. He was the brother who checked the temperature of my water three times before handing it to me, the one who looked like he was about to burst into tears every time I winced."You... you feel safest with me?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper."Of course I do," I said, keeping my tone gentle and quiet. I looked down at my lap, letting out a small, tired sigh. "Drayton is great, but he's loud. Dreyden treats everything like a business meeting, and Dreylen barely says two words a day. But you... you're always just here."That was all it took. I could practically watch the walls in his head collapse. He took a long, shaky breath and reached out, his big hand carefully covering my still fingers over the blanket."I'm not going anywhere
Chapter 105AureliaThe next four days were completely bizarre.If anyone had told me a month ago that I'd be under the same roof as the Grey brothers and that they'd pamper me like I was the most important woman in the world, I'd have asked the person to pinch themselves up from their sleep.But here we are, playing house and them being their best. I never knew men could be this domesticated. They actually kept to their promise. Not one of them went to the office. They ditched everything just to sit around my wheelchair from morning till night.They ate every single meal with me. In the mornings, I’d wake up to the smell of coffee and toast drifting down the hall. By lunch, they were sitting on the living room rug, shoving plates of fruit toward me and arguing over who was holding the water straw at the wrong angle.They took turns cooking, which was an absolute disaster to watch. Dreyden measured out salt like he was working in a science lab, while Drayton nearly set off the fire
Chapter 104AureliaDreyven set me down into the soft leather of my wheelchair so gently you’d think he was handling glass, but before he could pull his hands away completely, I spoke up."Are you four always like this?" I asked softly.He paused, his hands still resting on the armrests of my chair. Down the hall, the sound of Drayton and Dreyden still bickering over who got to eat the last box of theater popcorn carried clearly through the open door, backed by Dreylen’s low, amused murmur telling them both to shut up."Like what?" Dreyven asked, his eyebrows pulling together in that familiar, earnest way."This," I murmured, tilting my head slightly toward the hallway where Drayton was currently shouting something absurd about room temperature soda. "Playful. Loud. Constantly picking on each other over nothing."A faint, sheepish look crossed Dreyven's face, his shoulders dropping an inch. "We're terrible, aren't we? Being alone is the only time we're ever allowed to be ourselves. A
Chapter 103Aurelia"Put a movie on then, Dreyden, instead of just standing there holding the controller like a statue," Drayton grumbled, settling deeper into the plush couch while still keeping his arm anchored securely around my waist so I wouldn't slip."I am picking one, if you'd give me two seconds of actual silence," Dreyden shot back without looking up from the screen in his hands, his thumbs moving with that crisp, methodical speed he used for everything. "What do you want to watch, Lia? You choose.""Anything is fine," I murmured softly, keeping my tone submissive and quiet, the perfect picture of an invalid who didn't want to cause any trouble."She said anything, so put on the new action thriller," Drayton urged, tapping his foot against the floorboards. "The one with the car chases.""No car chases," Dreyven said instantly, his voice dropping into that sharp, protective tone. He glanced over at me, his dark eyes brimming with unspoken worry. "Something quiet. Something si
Chapter 102AureliaThe quiet after dinner was the heavy, awkward kind that usually settled over a room when nobody quite knew who was supposed to speak first.The low trays had been cleared away by Rosa, leaving only the five of us sitting around the carpet in the dimly lit living room. Drayton was still sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning back against the front of the couch with his long legs stretched out, looking entirely too satisfied with himself for having successfully fed me half a plate of chicken without choking me. Dreyden was back in his chair, tapping away silently on his phone with that crisp, razor-sharp focus that made him look like he was running a country, while Dreyven sat on the edge of the sofa near my left shoulder, his hands resting on his knees, watching my every breath.Then Dreylen, who had been leaning against the far wall in absolute silence for the last twenty minutes, finally shifted his weight and cleared his throat."Which part of the house do







