005-THE WARNING.

Helen, Rose's mother glances briefly from my sweaty, bare torso to her daughter's wrinkled nightwear. "I—'' There's a strange expression on her face, maybe she knows something is off but isn't ready to say it, yet. "What... What's going on here?"

Rose's face is strained, probably still rethinking everything that occured in her room just moments ago. She stares at the floor, unable to meet my gaze from where I stand away from her. Her voice is low and very unconvincing to the ears. "I— Mom...I really don't. Uhm... I" Her voice trails off, and she stares at me, confusion masking her pretty face.

Helen's gaze stays on me, suspicion crawling into her features. "The two of you are acting weird. "What's going on?" She says calmly but I can still hear the worry beneath it.

Is this where I step up, play the role of the gentleman, and come clean? We've already been caught, after all.

Helen's stutters, moving further into the room, her eyes moving uneasily between Rose and me. "What's happening?" She sniffs, her eyes grows in panic as she points toward the bathroom. "Why did you forget to unplug the heater? It could have started a fire!" She hurries into the bathroom, not caring for an answer.

Rose exhales, the tension leaving her face.

I wonder how the 'righteous' Helen would have reacted if she walked in on us actually kissing? We nearly got caught but I'm calm—not surprising. It's the doctor's prescription. Stay calm. Don't stress. It's the only key to living longer for someone in my condition.

Helen returns minutes later, looking apologetic. "Sorry for the inconveniences. Your brother and my mom are still waiting for you in the living room. You can change into this." She hands me a folded shirt —probably Corey's—and signals for Rose to follow her out.

Rose doesn't move. Neither do I. I lean against the wall, the air filled with unspoken words. The heavy rain beating against the window seems to mock us, challenging either of us to break first.

I take a step further, but she pulls away, her fingers trembling as she rubs her arms. "I shouldn't want this." Yet her lust-filled eyes dwell on me, and her body says otherwise. This is a battle she can't win.

I take another step, but she raises a hand, halting me . I pause, the distance between us now seeming uncrossable. "Don't," she whispers. Doesn't she see the guilt, the longing in my eyes? But she won't let me reach her. "I can't do this." She stammers. "I need time."

Her hands tremble as they reach for the door, fingers lightly touching the knob, I sense her desperation—a feeling I'm very familiar with—the need to run away. But she stops, reconsidering. Did she want me that badly, too?

"It's not supposed to be this way." I pause, my fingers comb through my scattered hair. I try to touch her, but she recoils. I say nothing, just nod and look away. The uncomfortable silence stretches on, and in frustration, I step back. I can't force this. It's her decision. "I shouldn't feel this." I murmur, but the lie is clear in my voice. But to hell with it—I do.

Only one light in the VIP section, but my balls remained stiff afterwards. Wet dreams of her were the only thing I dreamt about on my flight back here, like a damn teenager. I'd already planned a thousand ways I was going to take her and make her scream my name whenever I saw her again and universe had to make it easy by sending me right to her doorstep.

But now she's my step-brother's daughter. Corey keeps giving me more reasons to dislike him. I let Rose walk out the door. It's stupid to feel this way toward her.

The feeling of Rose body still lingers like expensive perfume on my skin as I step into the bathroom. What in the hell am I thinking? Am I about to push her away? I had a talent of denying myself good things that will hurt in the long run. At this point, I'm immune. I can't let a little girl wreck my walls. No, the consequences are too much to bear. Wanting Rose is a fantasy that will never happen. I need to leave before I make another awful mistake, I've always been in control. I have to be.

I hurry into the clean shirt, quickly respond to a text from my assistant, and head back to the living room, where Corey, my step brother is waiting. "I have to leave now." I tell him. "My assistant just informed me that's there's an important board meeting I have to preside over at Evergreens enterprises." Corey doesn't say anything, but there's a strange look in his eyes. I lower myself onto the couch and sort through scattered files on the table. "My lawyer will look into this."

I'm about to stand when Corey grabs my knees. "How's Allison?"

Who the hell is Allison?

Corey must have read my thoughts because he groans in frustration and says. "The girlfriend you stole when we were younger."

"Hmmmm..." I scratch my chin. "You'll need to be more specific—I stole a lot of girlfriends when I was younger."

Corey groans loudly this time. "Allison, my girlfriend. Damnit. The one you took to prom."

"Oh," I say, feigning recognition. "We broke up the next week."

"You... you stole her from me, only to dump her the next week? I didn't go to prom because of that. I loved her."

I take deep breaths. "What's this about, really? Why did you call and offer up a room in your home for me?" I rub my hand over my forehead. "If you needed money, you could've just called the lawyer."

Corey’s face constricts, and his fists tightens. "You think just because you’ve come back into the family, everything’s supposed to be okay? You don’t get to play the ‘good son’ now, Ryan. You stole my girlfriend, you took everything from me—hell, you took Dad’s place as the one who could hold this family together!" His voice rises, years of resentment pouring out.

"Family?" I laugh, but it lacks emotion. "We both know Dad was the last straw holding this family together, and now he's gone." I shake my head.

Corey’s jaw strains visibly as my words hit. "You don’t get it, Ryan? It was all about you. You were father's favorite son. I was just the spare, the backup. And you..." He stops, searching for the right words. "You took everything from me without even realizing it."

His knuckles turn white as he grips the edge of the table, he looks broken than angry. His jaw clenches as he struggles to maintain control. Finally, he nods. "Now I understand why you’ll always be the black sheep of the family." He shakes his head. "You always took what caught your eyes, didn't care who got hurt in the process."

I nod and turn to leave. My chest burning with the need to stay calm. I take deep breaths and fumble for my beta blockers in my pockets, but I can't take them in Corey's presence, he doesn't know how severe my HCM has gotten.

"Ryan, one more thing." He calls after me. "Be careful around Rose.

Everything stops.

“She’s been through a lot,” he adds. “Last thing she needs is another heartbreaker.”

I pause, unable to turn around for fear that my face may give me out.

"She's been through a lot." He adds. "The last thing she needs is another heartbreaker."

It's ironic he calls me a heartbreaker, when my heart's literally breaking.

I nod, casually turning to look at him—but inside, I'm spiralling. Does he know? Or was that just a warning. Either way it's too late. I've already crossed the line.