LOGINEvery eye was still fixated on her, waiting for her reaction to this singular news. But instead of reacting, she simply filled her bowl and Fin’s with soup.“Chloe, do you want some?” she asked, lifting her head to address Chloe and giving Sophia no mind whatsoever. The dismissal made Sophia bite her lips to stop herself from lashing out and saying something she might regret.“O-of course,” Chloe said with a strained smile; what else was she going to do? Her aunt basically didn’t care, so why should she? “It’s delicious,” she added, trying to ease the tension in the room, but it did nothing to stop it.The rest of dinner was eaten in awkward silence, with no party willing to cooperate or speak to one another. The only small talk that happened was Chloe asking surface-level questions to Autumn and others to Sophia, trying not to stir the pot while not leaving anyone out.**Autumn sat in her room ready for bed, but the space was in disarray compared to how it was usually kept. She stoo
Sebastian’s POVDays EarlierSebastian and Chloe walked side by side, laughing and talking without a care in the world. To any outsider, they looked like the perfect couple—wistful, romantic, and deeply in love. But beneath the surface, Sebastian was merely performing.They sat down to enjoy a pastry, taking a moment to breathe after the strenuous afternoon of shopping Chloe had put him through.“Don’t worry, Seb. After this last store, we can leave,” Chloe said in an apologetic tone. She was clearly aware that she had taken time out of his busy schedule. She had texted him about wanting to go shopping, and he had jumped at the chance to play the doting boyfriend.“It’s okay,” Sebastian smiled at her, leaning in to take a playful bite of her dessert. “But let me go drop these in the car first.” He gestured to the mountain of shopping bags piled around them.He gave her a chaste kiss on the mouth—a soft, lingering touch that made her eyes brighten. But the moment he turned his back and
Eric stood there, flustered and angry, watching Autumn leave. He had been ready for her to fight him after what he had said; he was braced for a shouting match, for her to throw his words back in his face. But her indifference caught him completely off guard.He had been waiting for the tears, for the screaming, for the emotional breakdown. If she cried, he could apologize. If she screamed, he could find a way to make it "dandy" again like he always did. But this cold silence? It shocked him. He realized, with a sinking feeling, that he would prefer her rage over this hollow indifference.‘God, I fucked up,’ he thought to himself. He knew he had pushed her too far this time. He knew he had done something to truly upset her, but his ego wouldn't let him sit with that guilt for long.‘If only she had just yelled at me,’ he thought bitterly. If she had poured out her emotions, they could have had their usual cycle of conflict and resolution. But without her reaction, he was left standing
True to Sebastian’s words, Autumn had stayed at home for the past couple of days just to recuperate. The fear of her almost-miscarriage hung over her like a dark cloud, a constant reminder of how fragile the life inside her truly was. She didn't want to take any chances. She had focused most of her time on the quiet corners of the house, spending her hours reading or sleeping, trying to drown out the noise of her crumbling world with the silence of rest.She was currently tucked away in the sunroom, the afternoon light filtering through the glass, warming her skin but doing little to thaw the coldness in her chest.“You seem to be getting better,” Chloe said to her. They were alone in the quiet confines of the room, the only sound being the rustle of pages.“Yeah, I have been actively trying to avoid anything that would be a cause of stress for me,” Autumn said. She didn't look up from her book, her voice clipped. She was trying to put a premature end to the conversation before it cou
Eric’s POV“Thank you, Eric, for spending the entire day with me,” Sophia chirped beside him as they sat in the backseat. Outside, the world was a blur; the car skidded on the road, leaving nothing but dust and dirt in its wake as the drive pushed forward.“It’s nothing,” Eric replied back indifferently. He didn't even look at her, his gaze fixed firmly on the window, brushing off her gratitude like it was a minor inconvenience.“Of course it’s something,” she said, her voice dropping as she feigned being hurt at his cold response. “You spent the entire day with me today because I told you it’s my birthday and it was what I wanted. Most men wouldn't do that.” She smiled sweetly at him, shifting closer. “Of course I would be thankful for that gesture.” She reached out, taking his hand into hers.Sighing, he didn't pull away, but he didn't squeeze back either. “It’s the least I could do. Your entire family is abroad and you are here because I asked you to be,” he said to her, his voice
I open my eyes and the first thing that it saw was a pure stark white ceiling, nothing else, not more. Just a vast, empty white that made my head spin even more.‘Was I in heaven?’ I thought to myself. The silence was heavy, broken only by the faint hum of a machine somewhere nearby.The last thing I remembered before falling unconscious was… everything. The office, the documents, Sebastian’s voice telling me things I didn’t want to hear. The name Sophia.Ahh.My head hurt. It felt like there was a sledgehammer hitting it, over and over. I couldn’t think straight, and my eyes felt hot and painful to see. Every time I tried to focus on a single spot on that white ceiling, the heat behind my eyelids intensified. I felt like I was going to vomit at this; the feeling was so overwhelming that I had to swallow hard just to keep my stomach down.I tried to get up from the bed, wanting to get out of here. This place smelled too much like chemicals. But to no avail, I just fell back down. My m
The ride back to the hotel was quiet, but the air was different. The tension had shifted from anger to something much more potent. When we stepped into the hotel room, the city lights of Milan were sparkling through the windows, but all I could see was Eric.He closed the door behind us, locking it
The light from the morning sun blinded my eyes, forcing me to squint as I woke up in an unfamiliar room. For a split second, I panicked, my heart racing as I tried to remember where I was. Then, the events of last night crashed into my mind. I buried my face in the silk pillows, blushing at the mem
It had been a few days since the incident at the bistro, and a heavy, suffocating silence had settled between Eric and me. We moved around the estate like two planets in a dangerous orbit—close enough to feel the pull of gravity, but terrified of a collision. I had managed to sneak a text to Marco
The grip Eric had on my waist was bruising. He didn't lead me out of the bistro; he practically hauled me. I could feel the eyes of every single person in the diner on my back, their whispers following us like a funeral procession."Eric, stop! You’re hurting me," I hissed, trying to pry his finger







