MasukAt King’s ConstructionEric’s foot tapped rhythmically against the floor, each tap sharper than the last, feeding his growing annoyance.*Why do I need to be here?* He drummed his fingers on the armrest. *Why can’t they just handle the meeting and send me the minutes?*The boardroom was filled with executives from both Omni Core and King’s Construction, but Eric’s mind was nowhere near the presentation.It was on Autumn.He wanted nothing more than to drive straight to her apartment and see her with his own eyes — to make sure she was okay. The thought of another man taking care of her while she was vulnerable sat like poison in his chest.*What if he…*The unfinished thought alone made his blood boil. The idea of Ezra using her moment of fragility to get closer to her was enough to make his hands itch for violence.He would break the man’s hands if he ever found out something like that had happened.Concentration was impossible. Every time Gabriel reported another one of Ezra’s visit
ElsewhereGus sat with his shoulders hunched, eyes locked on the screen in front of him. His eyes were bloodshot, veins standing out clearly, the exhaustion bleeding into the sockets.He hadn’t had proper sleep in days — not since Ezra told him what had happened to Autumn. The moment the call came from the hospital hallway, guilt had slammed into him like a physical force.The tracker on her phone had gone offline for over an hour. Ezra hadn’t been answering. That alone had sent Gus into a spiral.When Ezra finally picked up and relayed everything, regret hit him all at once.He couldn’t shake the feeling that the attempt on her life was partly his fault. He had suspected the server was a trap, yet instead of telling Autumn directly, he had only mentioned his doubts to Ezra. That had been a mistake. If he had shared his suspicions with her, she might have taken them more seriously than she took Ezra’s warnings.She had come to them for help.Ezra had always been the overprotective one
“Take those to the car,” Chloe instructed the maid as she finished loading the last box.*I just need to leave without him knowing. I don’t want to get on his bad side,* she thought, remembering Eric’s explosive temper over the past couple of weeks. Living with him had been hell.His mood swung between hot and cold — hot meaning pure anger and snapping at everyone, cold meaning complete emotional detachment where he treated people like they were invisible.No one was safe from his temper, not even Finn.She had been doing her best to avoid him at all costs.“Where are you headed?” Eric’s voice suddenly called out from behind her.Chloe felt the blood drain from her face.“I’m talking to you, aren’t I?” he repeated when she failed to answer within the three seconds he expected.*I don’t know which mood he’s in this time. His tone sounds cold, but the words feel hot,* she thought bitterly.She turned to face him. His expression was impassive, but his eyes showed he was on the edge of sn
The sound of the television was the only thing that filled the quiet apartment.Autumn lay on the sofa, wrapped in a thick woolly blanket, her attention fixed on the screen. Her breathing was the only real sign that life still existed in her body. She hadn’t moved in hours.The sound of the front door opening and closing finally pulled her gaze away from the television.Ezra stood at the entrance, a bag of groceries in one hand. Snow still clung to his coat as he carefully shrugged it off.“You’re still lying there?” he asked when he noticed her eyes on him.She turned back to the TV after confirming it was him. “Yes,” was all she said.“Have you even moved since I left?” He carried the bag into the kitchen.She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. The answer was already obvious.After putting the groceries away, he stepped back into the living room with a bowl in his hands.“Anita told me you haven’t eaten.” He walked over and held the bowl out to her. “I know you’re still shaken up ab
Autumn sat by the window, staring out at the busy street below the hospital. The distant sounds of traffic and people moving about had a strangely hypnotic effect on her mind.She had been brought here two days ago with only minor injuries — scratches and bruises she sustained during her struggle with Sebastian.It had taken hours of pleading and bargaining (with quiet pressure from Ezra that Autumn wasn’t fully aware of) to stop the hospital from reporting the incident to the authorities. On paper, it looked like a domestic dispute that had turned into assault.But Autumn didn’t want the matter to go any further. If she pushed it, Sebastian — a master manipulator — would spin the entire story against her. She could lose the opportunity she had been given. Since she hadn’t lost her life, she refused to lose this as well.That was exactly what she had told Ezra when he called her insane for protecting Sebastian. He had argued that Sebastian could easily claim self-defence. In the end,
The sound of distant murmuring echoed off the walls. Patrons were absorbed in their own activities — some typing furiously on their laptops, others talking and laughing with the people sitting close to them.Hidden in a darker corner of the establishment, Eric sat with a cup of coffee in front of him. Steam still rose from it, left completely untouched. His mind remained fixed on the only reason he was here.He opened his phone and checked the text Gabriel had sent him earlier that day — the address of this particular restaurant, along with a picture of Sebastian walking inside with someone who looked like Chloe.He took a deep breath, forcing his rage into silence, and put the phone away.He hadn’t visited Autumn, but from the report he received, she had returned home after the hospital. A bit shaken, but still holding up. If one could even call it that.His eyes swept across the room to where they were seated. Chloe was laughing at something Sebastian said.*Cute,* he thought sarcas
The " Neon Light" motel she described was even grimmer up close. It was nearly midnight by the time Eric’s tires screeched into the cracked asphalt lot. The place looked like it had seen better days decades ago; now, it was just a graveyard for broken dreams and people who were hiding from life and
We talked late into the night, the television long since forgotten. The conversation had drifted from the disaster of the wedding to safer, quieter topics—Finn’s new school, the security protocols for the house, the logistics of living under siege. I yawned, a jaw-cracking sound that I couldn't su
Silence overtook the entire garden. It was a heavy, suffocating silence, the kind that usually precedes a natural disaster. The birds seemed to stop singing; even the wind died down, as if nature itself was holding its breath to witness the carnage."Rebecca, how dare you say such things at a ti
"Are you alright?"I heard Eric’s voice, low and rumbling, but it sounded like it was coming from underwater. My mind was somewhere else, replaying the look of pure hatred on Chloe’s face. The slamming door echoed in my ears, louder than any thunder.How could I lose the one most important person i







