Se connecterI step forward, launching myself directly into his embrace. The second my arms wrap around his shoulders, Tobias’s entire imposing, billionaire frame completely relaxes. He wraps his powerful arms around me, pulling me flat against his chest and hugging me so tight, burying his face into my hair, as
I am staring at the grand, sweeping marble staircase of the Moore mansion, desperately wishing I possessed the magical ability to combust into a cloud of harmless dust. Owen and I are standing side-by-side at the bottom of the steps, waiting for Tobias to make his grand re-entry. It has been exactl
I don't know how to feel. I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do with my hands. The sheer, overwhelming weight of the truth crashes down on my central nervous system all at once. A massive wave of intense, trembling heat rushes up my chest, and my stomach violently convulses. My nerves a
At the far end of the gallery, Tobias Moore is standing completely still. His back is turned to us, his tall, imposing frame draped in a casual designer shirt as he stares intensely at a massive, heavily gilded family oil painting hanging on the center wall. "Tobias?" I call out softly, my steps sl
My smartphone is currently screaming at me from the nightstand, and I am actively attempting to suffocate it with a fluffy pillow. I am still tangled up in Owen’s ridiculously soft designer bedsheets, feeling like a human burrito. My head is pounding from yesterday's massive red wine intake, and th
I pick up my fork, taking a bite of the salmon. "Alright, fine. You win." As the quiet clinking of silver against porcelain fills the air, Tobias takes a slow sip of his black coffee, his expression entirely unreadable. "You’ve been remarkably quiet these past few days, Owen. No updates, no phone
I’ve been pacing the length of the living room for what feels like an eternity, checking the time on my watch every thirty seconds as if I can intimidate the hands into moving backward. It’s well past dark, and Sydney is nowhere to be found. I’ve tried her phone. Six times. Ten times. I’ve lost cou
Did I arrive before everyone else? The silence in this house isn't the peaceful kind of quiet. It’s the heavy, suffocating silence of a tomb that’s been recently dusted. As I walk deeper into the mansion, my heels clicking rhythmically against the polished hardwood, I realize just how much of a mis
My focus, or what’s left of it, is on Riley. He's darting across the grass, his small face lit up with a grin as I toss the ball, a soft, underhand lob. He catches it, giggles, and brings it back. "Again, Deckard! Again!" I throw it again and he runs to catch it and then throws it back. I throw it
The hallway of the Newton’s mansion is long, arched, and lined with portraits of ancestors who look like they’ve never smiled a day in their lives. I’m practically jogging to keep up with Owen’s long strides, and very out of breath. "Hey, slow down would you?" He ignores me and if anything, incr







