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COLD SHOWERS

Auteur: Tori A. de
last update Date de publication: 2026-03-12 23:53:12

ENOCH

Enoch stood by the bed too long.

Anna was already asleep again judging by her slow breathing, dark hair spread across the pillow like silk. He watched her chest rise and fall. Felt a dangerous twist in his gut.

Dearest.

The word she'd murmured against his shoulder still burned. For one moment in the dark hallway, he'd almost believed she knew who held her. That she wanted him to.

He left before he did something unforgivable.

The shower ran ice cold.

Six years. That's how long he'd tried not to want her. Since her nineteenth birthday. 

She had been in a yellow dress that caught his attention like fire. Since he'd walked into his aunt's house, hed known that he was in serious trouble.

She'd been laughing with her head tilted back. He'd stopped walking mid stride. Twenty-four years old and suddenly capable of nothing but staring at his cousin.

He'd spent the years pretending it wasn't real. Sent birthday gifts. Avoided family gatherings. Built a company and told himself that was enough. That ambition would burn out everything else.

Then she'd called at 2 AM, her voice small and frayed. And he'd understood that six years of discipline meant nothing. That he'd cross continents for less and had simply been waiting for a reason to choose her openly.

The water froze his skin. It helped but not enough.

He recalled his day at the office. A desperate attempt to get his mind off Anna's smooth skin and supple lips.

He'd planned to come home early from work initially. He was gathering his things to leave when Kofi appeared in the doorway, frowning.

"We have a problem."

Enoch's hand stilled on his briefcase. "What kind?"

"Mercer acquisition. Their legal team flagged a flaw in due diligence. Threatening to pull out unless we address it tonight."

Tonight.

He looked at the clock. 5:31. If he left now, he could be home by six. Order dinner. Sit with Anna on the couch. Just be near her, breathing the same air.

"How bad?"

"Bad enough for an emergency meeting. Team's gathering in the conference room."

Enoch closed his eyes. Then nodded.

"Fine. Let's go."

The meeting lasted three hours.

Three hours of arguing clauses, and wording of a non-compete drafted wrong six months ago.  Three hours of Daniel Osei.

Daniel was there because his firm was part of the acquisition, a complication Enoch hadn't anticipated. And Daniel had opinions. Expressed at length. Frequently contradicted Enoch, just for the pleasure of it.

"With respect," Daniel said for the seventh time, "I think we're approaching this wrong."

Enoch looked across the table. Two years older, just as successful, too cocky. Smiling like he knew exactly how charming he was. Leaning back like he owned the room.

"What angle would you suggest?"

Daniel outlined his approach. Actually was good. Enoch could admit that, even through the irritation.

By the time they resolved it, past nine. His team looked exhausted. Daniel looked like he could go another three hours, which made Enoch want to punch him.

"Good work, everyone," Enoch said, standing. "We'll reconvene tomorrow."

Daniel caught him at the door.

"Rough day?" That smile again. "You seemed distracted. Is everything alright?"

Enoch didn't slow his stride. "Everything's fine."

"Good, good." Daniel fell into step beside him. "Heard you brought someone new into the brand division. Your cousin, is it? It should be interesting having family in the office."

Enoch's jaw tightened at the hidden message. "She's highly qualified."

"I'm sure she is." Daniel's smile widened. "I look forward to meeting her."

Enoch didn't respond. He kept walking until he reached his car, Daniel's words settling uneasily in his chest.

Almost eleven when Enoch pulled into his parking space.

He'd stopped to buy chocolate in hopes she was still awake so he could give it to her, see her smile, sit with her before the day ended.

But the apartment was dark when he entered.

On the couch, curled under the blanket he'd left, was Anna. A book lay open on the floor.

She was fast asleep.

He set the chocolate on the table and Just looked at her.

Thank you, Jack. The thought came unbidden, and he meant it. Thank you for being exactly who you are. Thank you for cheating, lying, being so thoroughly worthless that she finally left. Thank you for giving me this chance.

But if he ever met Jack, if that man crossed his path, he was going to break his nose.

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  • My Dearest Beautiful Cousin   COLD SHOWERS

    ENOCHEnoch stood by the bed too long.Anna was already asleep again judging by her slow breathing, dark hair spread across the pillow like silk. He watched her chest rise and fall. Felt a dangerous twist in his gut.Dearest.The word she'd murmured against his shoulder still burned. For one moment in the dark hallway, he'd almost believed she knew who held her. That she wanted him to.He left before he did something unforgivable.The shower ran ice cold.Six years. That's how long he'd tried not to want her. Since her nineteenth birthday. She had been in a yellow dress that caught his attention like fire. Since he'd walked into his aunt's house, hed known that he was in serious trouble.She'd been laughing with her head tilted back. He'd stopped walking mid stride. Twenty-four years old and suddenly capable of nothing but staring at his cousin.He'd spent the years pretending it wasn't real. Sent birthday gifts. Avoided family gatherings. Built a company and told himself that was en

  • My Dearest Beautiful Cousin   LUXURY KNEW HER NAME AGAIN

    ANNAEnoch left twenty minutes later. Anna spent the next hour doing nothing.She made more coffee. Stared out the window. Sat on the couch and scrolled her phone without reading anything.Then she wandered around like she was in a museum, touching his things while she imagined she was touching him. The books on the shelf were way more novels than she expected. She saw photos from family events, none with her in them.She looked at the view from every window. Then decided to unpack.Her suitcase sat in the corner, untouched. She opened it and stared at the clothes she'd thrown in during her panic-packing. Just looking at them made her tired.But the wardrobe was right there. It'd be rude not to use it.She pulled the doors open."Oh my God," she whispered.It wasn't empty. It was full.Dresses in silk, linen and soft wool hung in rows with colors that made her breath catch. Blouses on one side. Trousers on the other. A whole section of casual clothes that looked like clouds.Below th

  • My Dearest Beautiful Cousin   LUXURY KNEW HER NAME FIRST

    ANNAThe first thought that surfaced through the fog of sleep was that she was lying on something so soft and so expensive that it felt illegal to exist here without a signed contract and a credit check.She stretched both arms out, then rolled over and screamed into the pillow. Not a dignified twenty-five-year-old woman scream. A little kid scream.She was here. Actually here. In London. In Enoch's apartment.Anna kicked her legs under the duvet, grinning like an idiot. Then she rolled the other way because the sheets felt too good not to. She gave herself sixty seconds of pure, stupid happiness. When she finished, she sat up and looked around.The guest room with cream walls and dark wood furniture was bigger than her entire old apartment. Everything was in the right place. Through the gap in the curtains, she could see buildings climbing toward a grey sky.She padded to the window and pulled the curtains open."Oh," she breathed.The grand city spread out before her full of poss

  • My Dearest Beautiful Cousin   AIRPORT BEAUTY

    ANNACheck-in was quick. Security was slower but manageable. By the time she reached her gate, she had forty minutes until board. She found a seat near the window and sat and watched planes take off and land and told herself she still wasn't scanning the crowd.She pulled out her phone and opened her notes' app. The list she'd started on Saturday night, drunk and heartbroken on her bathroom floor. It was stupid and petty and exactly what she needed.Beautiful men she intended to date.She scrolled through the names of her old friends and acquaintances and felt the absurdity of it. This was ridiculous, she thought. But just the right amount of ridiculousness she needed. The list was supposed to be honest. That was the whole point. She was done being practical about men, done pretending she didn't want what she wanted. If what she wanted was a man she couldn't have, a man who was her cousin, then the list should reflect that.She saved the entry and put the phone away.The gate area wa

  • My Dearest Beautiful Cousin   STRAIGHT TO THE AIRPORT

    ANNAAnna had been awake for hours before the sun finally appeared. She'd lain in the dark listening to Maya's steady breathing from the couch and had taken in every sound of the apartment. The refrigerator's hum. The faint traffic from the street below. The way the floorboards creaked near the door.She was saying goodbye to it before she'd even gotten out of bed.She gave up on sleep and made coffee. She showered and by eight A.M. She stood in the center of the living room with her single suitcase and her carry-on and looked at what remained. The boxes for storage, the leaving pile would go to donation, and the furniture that belonged to the apartment would stay exactly where it was for the next person.Maya appeared in the doorway of the bedroom, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her hair spiked up in different directions. She looked at Anna standing in the middle of the room and said nothing for a long moment."That's it?" she finally asked."Yeah." Anna looked at the suitca

  • My Dearest Beautiful Cousin   THE PACKING

    ANNAAnna stood in the center of her living room with the box from the office still in her arms and realized she had nowhere to put it down because every surface was already covered with the debris of five years she was supposed to be dismantling. She set it on the floor instead. The cactus went on the windowsill where it belonged, rescued from Mia's territorial rearrangement, and she stood there for a moment with her hand on the pot and thought about how strange it was that a plant had been the thing that finally made her angry.Not the affair. Not the lies. A cactus. Moved to a windowsill like it was nothing.She shook her head, and then sat down on the floor because standing suddenly felt like too much, and she let herself have exactly five minutes of doing nothing.When the five minutes were up, she stood, changed into clothes that could get dirty, and started.The kitchen first, because it was the easiest. Dishes she didn't care about went into the leaving pile. The good ones, th

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