~~Alex~~The night air hit me as soon as I stepped out of the building, cool and sharp against skin still burning from my argument with James. I dragged in a breath, forcing the tension in my chest to ease, when my phone buzzed in my pocket.Ethan’s name flashed across the screen.I answered on the second ring. “Report.”“President,” Ethan’s voice came low and steady, though I could hear the weight in it, “we found Vice President Lena.”Finally…I stilled, my grip on the phone tightening. “Where?”A beat of silence. Then: “Japan, sir. And… surprisingly, she’s not alone.”My gut knotted. “Explain.”“She’s with your sister.”Dahlia..? How? Dahlia is in New York… and Lena was nowhere to be found in the city. So how come—?For a moment, everything around me stilled—the traffic hum, the distant city lights, even the wind itself. My sister. With Lena.I pressed two fingers to my temple, fighting the surge of questions slamming through me.“What the hell is she doing with her?” I muttered, m
~~Alex~~The moment Jay finally drifted into sleep after his dramatic storm of words, I slipped my hand free from his and rose quietly. His face was still damp from tears, his lashes clumped, his lips parted in that way that made him look far too fragile for this world. I brushed a thumb over his temple one last time before leaving the room.I found James exactly where I knew he would be buried in files, tapping a pen against the table like the weight of the world sat on his shoulders. Without a word, I slid a folded slip of paper across to him.“This is the address of my new home,” I said flatly. My tone left no room for discussion. “I’ll be moving there with Jay.”James picked it up, scanning the writing with that furrowed brow of his, suspicion flickering in his eyes.He looked up, uncertain. “I know, man, but Alex… can I—”“No,” I snapped, cutting him off before the words could gather weight. My chest was tight, anger barely chained down. “No, man. You can’t. Jay is in this condit
~~Jay~~Life is so strange. One moment, you’re living what feels like a normal life the kind of life you take for granted, brushing off every little thing as if tomorrow is promised. And the next, life thrusts you into a rollercoaster of pain and negativity that doesn’t slow down, not even to let you breathe.There was a time I wanted to get rid of my babies. I hated the thought of them, hated what they meant. But now… now that I actually care, now that I’ve felt them move inside me, now that I’ve heard their fragile, fighting heartbeats, all I want is their safety. And that safety isn’t guaranteed.With Lena’s gone, I don’t think I’ll ever stop feeling alone. She was my anchor, and now she’s just… a shadow slipping further from me.But Alex….Alex, in the most unexpected, stubborn, terrifying way became my sense of reasoning. My protection. My anchor. Just within three or two days… I lost count already that he saved and he meant so much to me already… it was so fast and the amount of
~~Dahlia~~The way she said it “I’m Lena” was almost laughable. Like she was trying to convince herself as much as me. Her voice carried that thin crack of uncertainty, a quiver under the bravado.But who cares anyway?What mattered wasn’t how sure she sounded. What mattered was that she admitted it. Finally. The words were mine now, proof enough to silence the doubts that had been gnawing at me. She was Lena Hale, and now that I had her cornered, it was the perfect time to put my next plan in motion.Only… which plan?I tapped the edge of the folder against my thigh, my mind spinning with possibilities.Should I seduce her? Pull her in with the same hunger that had been clawing at me since the first time she kissed me? Make her ache for me the way I ached for her, just so I could spit it in her brother’s face later? After all, Jay thought he could cheat me of loyalty by fucking my brother so why not let me steal what was his, in the most delicious way possible?Or should I be smarter
~~Nina~~I came to find her today. The cute rich girl from last night for a reason. I’d heard her name whispered enough times to know she was trouble wrapped in perfume and money. And when I finally got close, what did I see? A spoiled little rich brat with fire in her eyes and far too much pride in her veins.Perfect. Just pure perfection.People like her were walking wallets. Loud, spoiled, reckless easy marks if you knew how to play the game. And I’ve always known how. I could already see the angles, the cracks I could slip through. Fast cash, maybe more.But then… she blindsided me.The last thing I expected was for her to slam a folder open and shove a picture in my face.I blinked, staring at it.That wasn’t me. Couldn’t be.The girl in that glossy print looked like she belonged in some magazine spread elegant, polished, the kind of woman who had drivers waiting outside and diamond necklaces waiting in velvet boxes. The kind of woman who had everything I’d never touched. She loo
~~Dahlia~~“You mean you can find her?” My voice came out sharper than I intended, cutting across the quiet hotel room like glass shattering. Why was it so difficult to find her…?My assistant froze mid-sentence, stammering, “Ma’am, I think—”“Stop thinking and find her,” I snapped, the edge of impatience cracking into a yell. The folder on my desk was already open, its glossy photographs staring back at me like they held the answers I couldn’t grasp. Lena. Or the woman claiming not to be Lena. The woman who had kissed me like danger wrapped in silk.I shoved the papers back into order, my hands trembling despite the control I tried to force into them. “I prepared everything for this exact reason,” I muttered, almost to myself. “Her face. Her name. Her records. If she crosses my path again, I’ll know. I’ll catch her in her lie.”My assistant flinched when I slammed the folder shut, but I didn’t care. I scooped it into my arms, the weight of obsession heavier than the leather binding.