LOGINMEGAN'S POVBy the time the clock crawls past seven, I am done.Completely and thoroughly done.My eyes are dry from staring at screens, my back has lodged a formal complaint against the design of my office chair, and my brain checked out approximately forty minutes ago and left a politely worded note on the desk.I save the last document, shut my laptop, and tell myself that whatever didn't get finished today will still be there tomorrow, and tomorrow-me can deal with it.Tonight, I just want to be with the twins.I want Maverick launching himself at me the second I walk through the door and Makayla telling me in very serious detail about something that happened today that is apparently the most important event in recorded history. I want the noise and the chaos and the warmth of them, because after the day I've had, after everything rattling around in my head that I absolutely cannot seem to shake loose, they are the only thing that feels straightforward.I stand, rolling my shoulde
MEGAN'S POVI glance at Caitlin sideways. "I'm fine, Caitlin."Caitlin hesitates for a moment, her eyes on me politely."Alright, ma'am," she replies simply.No follow-up. No probing. She just accepts it and nods, and I appreciate that about her more than I'll ever actually say out loud.But inwardly?Inwardly, I am the opposite of fine.I feel like something's been quietly unraveling inside me since this morning, and I can't find the loose thread to stitch back in.I told Xarion to leave.I said what happened between us wasn't supposed to happen, and I said it coldly, with my arms crossed and my expression locked up tight, like he was some inconvenient stranger I needed to usher out of my space.And the look on his face… the way he…I push through the door to my office and let it close behind me.You did the right thing, Megan.I had to draw a line. I had to protect myself. Because if I let Xarion back in fully, really let him in, and he breaks me again, I don't know if I can come ba
MEGAN'S POVI'm supposed to be paying attention.I know I'm supposed to be paying attention.There are seven people sitting around this conference table, all of them talking about quarterly projections and staffing timelines and resource allocation for the new Stone Corporation branch, and I should be hanging onto every word because this is my project, my responsibility, my name on the line.But instead, all I can think about is Xarion's face.The way it crumpled this morning when I told him to leave.The way the light drained right out of his eyes, replaced by something bare and wounded and quietly devastated.Like he knew it was coming.I press my pen against my notepad and stare at the words I've scribbled without absorbing any of them.I made love to him.That's the part I can't get past. That's the thought that keeps circling back around like some kind of relentless bird of prey, picking at me every time I try to bury it.I made love to Xarion Luther.The man who broke me so comp
VANCE'S POVThe mention of his name makes my teeth grit instantly, and I feel a flare of irritation rising in my chest.Xarion.That bastard."Don't, Dad," I bite out, my voice harsher than I intend. "Don't bring him up."My father raises his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm just saying, Vance. You know I've said it before, he's not going anywhere. He's the father of her children, and that connection isn't something you can ignore.""I know that," I grit out, my hands curling into fists on the armrests of my chair. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it.""You don't," he agrees. "But you do have to accept it. And you have to be smart about it."I don't respond, because I know he's right.But that doesn't make it any easier to swallow.Is Xarion the reason Megan hasn't called me?Is he the reason she's been distant?He has to be.The thought makes my insides twist, and before I can stop myself, I pull out my phone.I scroll to Megan's contact, my thumb hovering over her name.Just
VANCE'S POVI'm seated in my father's office at Stone Corporation, staring out the expansive glass windows that stretch across the city, but I'm not really seeing any of it.My mind’s not in this room. It’s with her. Megan.It's been days since we last spoke, really spoke, and I can't stop thinking about her.Is she okay? Are the twins okay? Is she even thinking about me at all?I want to call her. Goddess, I want to call her so badly.But I don't want to come off as pushy or overbearing or like I'm trying to control her space. Like I'm pressuring her into something she's not ready for.The last thing she needs is me hovering over her like some desperate fool.So I've been holding back.Waiting.Hoping she'll reach out first.But she hasn't.And every second of it has been torture."Vance."My father's voice pulls me out of my thoughts, and I blink, turning to look at him.He's sitting behind his desk, his arms folded, his keen eyes fixed on me with a knowing expression. My father's
XARION'S POVI scrub a hand over my face, frustration building inside me until it feels like I'm going to explode."Maybe I need to give her space," I murmur, the words heavy. "Not from the twins. Never from the twins. But from… me."It hurts to even think about it.But maybe that's what she needs.Maybe if I back off and stop pushing, stop trying so hard, she'll realize what she's missing.Or maybe she won't.And that thought is the one that kills me.Because what if stepping back is the final nail in the coffin?What if she takes my absence as confirmation that I've given up?That I don't care anymore?I don't know.I don't know what the right move is anymore.And now?Now I'm starting to wonder if I'm just fooling myself.Maybe she's never going to forgive me. Maybe the damage I caused is too deep, too permanent, to ever truly heal.And the worst part?The realization that maybe we can't get back together hurts worse than anything else.Because I want her. Goddess, I want her so b
XARION'S POVPain.That's the first thing I register when I wake up.A dull, throbbing ache that seems to radiate through every part of my body. My head feels like it's been split open with an axe, my ribs are screaming, and my knuckles sting like hell.I groan, my eyes fluttering open, and immedia
XARION'S POVThe bar I end up at is a dive.And I mean that in every sense of the word.It's hidden away in the rougher side of Arkon, the kind of place where the neon sign glitches every few seconds and half the letters are burnt out. The windows are grimy, the paint on the door is peeling, and t
XARION'S POVMegan glares at me, waiting for an explanation, but I ignore her, my eyes locked on Vance. “We need to talk.”"No, we don't," she snaps in annoyance. "You need to leave.""I'm not talking to you, Megan," I bite out, my gaze still fixed on Vance. "I'm talking to him."Vance leans back i
XARION'S POVI've been trying to sleep for hours, tossing and turning, but every time I close my eyes, all I see is Megan's face.So I gave up around 2 AM and dragged myself to my home office, hoping that drowning myself in paperwork would distract me from the chaos in my head.It hasn't worked.I'







