To you. Yes you.
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. Honestly. Whether you accidentally stumbled in here or came looking for something messy, emotional, or just a little spicy, but what mattered is the fact that you stayed. And that means the world. There aren’t many of you yet , but every time I see that someone read, liked, or followed… my heart does this weird little happy dance I can’t quite explain. This story? It’s personal. And although might be a little raw in places. And sometimes I second-guess every other sentence I write. But knowing someone out there is following along? That makes it all worth it. So thank you for giving this story a chance. For giving me a chance. Stick around, because things are only just starting to get juicy. And although I might not be the best, but I will try my best to be. With love, HannieTristan Dante pulled over smoothly into the garage and leaned back in his seat. “Boss, we’re home,” he announced.Liora was the first to step out, her heels clicking softly against the floor. A second later, Dante rounded the car to my side and opened the door.“Careful, boss,” he muttered as he reached a hand out to steady me. I didn’t protest, letting him help me out. My legs were still stiff, my body heavy, but at least I was out of that hospital bed, and the smell was no longer here. That’s when the front door swung open. Helen came rushing down the steps, her face practically glowing with excitement. She looked like someone who had been waiting all day for this moment.“Welcome home, boss!” she blurted out, her voice half-stumbling over the words from pure joy.Her eyes darted between me and Liora, and I caught the little stutter in her breath, like she hadn’t rehearsed what she’d say if both of us showed up together.I arched a brow, my lips tugging in the faintest smirk. “Hel
LioraMy pulse kicked into overdrive, heat crawling all the way up my neck. His lips, damn it, why did I look? Why did he have to wet them like that?I took a sharp step back, shaking my head so fast it almost made me dizzy. “You’re out of your mind,” I snapped, the words tumbling out harsher than I intended.His smirk only widened, like he was enjoying watching me unravel.“You really think I’m kissing a patient hooked up to IVs? Please.” I folded my arms tight across my chest, as if that would stop the pounding of my heart. “Don’t even try me, Tristan.”He chuckled under his breath, low and amused, and leaned back against the pillows like I had just confirmed exactly what he wanted to hear.But I refused to give him the satisfaction. I turned away, grabbing the water jug just to have something to do with my hands. ““Mm,” he hummed lazily, and I could feel his eyes burning into my back. “So you do want to.”My grip tightened on the jug. “I didn’t say that,” I shot back quickly, “Di
LioraDiana’s whole expression crumbled at that. For a heartbeat, she didn’t look like the fierce, graceful woman who’d just walked in. She looked… motherly, almost broken, as if Allen had just reached in and ripped out something fragile she’d been hiding behind her poise.“What are you saying, Allen?” she finally managed to say, though there was a strain in her voice now. “You’re both brothers… and I love you the same.”Allen on the other hand gave a dry laugh, his head tilting as if he’d just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. “Yeah…” he nodded slowly, painfully annoyed. “But it’s pretty damn clear who got all the attention. Even right from the first day he came to live with us.”Diana’s lips parted, as if she wanted to argue, but nothing came out right away. Allen didn’t wait for her to recover as he shoved his hands into his pockets, glanced once at Tristan, then back at her. His eyes were sharp, but underneath that, I caught a flicker of something… almost wounded.“Do
Liora“You were saying what? Brother.”Allen said leaning against the wall, his grin was nothing short of wicked as his eyes flicked between me and Tristan. He was baiting him, deliberately twisting the silence into something sharp.Tristan’s jaw tightened, his teeth clenched, but he said nothing. Normally, Tristan would've talked, considering the facts that he always had something to throw back, blunt and cutting. But now, nothing. The change unsettled me, and without meaning to, my eyes shifted back toward the woman who had entered moments ago.She carried herself with a kind of elegance that couldn’t be faked,“Allen,” she said finally, her tone smooth but carrying authority. “Let your brother have some rest, will you?”Allen chuckled low in his throat, pushing off the wall just slightly. “Rest? That’s your way of saying I should keep quiet. You know that doesn’t work with me. Moreover, he's not dying, mom, at least not yet.” Her eyes, however, slid past him like she'd done this s
Liora“I’m sorry,” I whispered.It felt strange, almost wrong, letting those words leave my mouth. I never thought I’d say them to him, not after everything. But standing here now, looking at him, I knew I couldn’t hold them back anymore.Because no matter how much I tried to fight it, I couldn’t deny the truth. had seen it with my own eyes, the document Dad had kept, the one that held the original ownership of FYS.I know that I still need to talk to Florence about this, even if she doesn’t want to hear me. And Caleb… even if he doesn’t want to see me either.“You don’t have to say sorry… it was never your fault,” he said softly.But somehow, those words only made my chest tighten more. Because all I could think of was, Is this what it’s always been like for him? Carrying everything alone? Has he always been this kind, even when I convinced myself he wasn’t?“You should hate me,” I whispered, shaking my head. “Not… not tell me not to say sorry.”“Yes, I should,” he answered without h
Tristan “I think I'll go and check on David.” Dante said, excusing himself before I asked him to do it. After he's gone, Liora walked to the bed and then sat at the lower edge of the bed, so I could no longer read her expression. “So the woman is your mother.” She said after what seemed like a minute.“Was.” I corrected. She hummed in response and said, “Can I see her?” “Why?” I asked in a low voice.She didn’t answer right away. Her hands rested flat against the edge of the bed, her fingers tightening slightly, then loosening again.“Because I want to know,” she said finally.I shifted against the pillows, “Seeing her won’t change what she’s done, Liora. It won’t even make it easier.”Her head tilted, still turned away from me. “Maybe not.”For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. She didn’t understand, I didn’t want her to. The things my mother left behind weren’t scars that healed; they were rot that spread the more you looked at them.“Liora…” I let her name slip out, a warning, a p