LOGINPOV: Xavier“You're the only thing that isn't a lie.”The words were still in my mouth when I stepped out of the building. I didn't know why I'd said that. The cold hit my face and I kept walking, not because I had somewhere to be but because standing still felt like something I couldn't afford right now.My phone had twelve missed calls already buzzing all through the night, by the time I reached the car.I sat in the driver's seat for a full minute without starting the engine. My hands weren't steady, pressed flat against my thighs and stared at the windshield until the blurring stopped.Then I drove off.The apartment was supposed to be empty. I heard him before I saw him. The low murmur of the television and the way a man settles into furniture that isn't his. I stepped through the door and there was Uncle Victor, seated at the far end of the living room with his one leg crossed over the other and a glass of whiskey already in his hand like he'd been there for hours.He looked up
POV: NicholeAt the little kitchen table, Xavier was sitting right opposite me. He was dressed in the shirt I had kept at the back of my closet for him, but it still couldn't cover the deep blue circles under his eyes. He was frequently glancing at his phone and then flipping it to the table. Whenever the phone vibrated, he almost froze.He is battling a war that I am not part of."You should eat something, " I insisted.I moved a piece of toast closer to him and my voice seemed to be so fragile like a piece of paper.He glanced at the piece of bread. Without responding, he kept twiddling the fingers and tearing the bread into little, uneven pieces. The small heap of napkin pieces next to the plate was growing."I have to be going, " he told me without looking up. "The lawyers, they keep calling since six."I put down my mug slowly as I looked at him. "Xavier please look at me." I said.He raised his face towards me with his gaze without emotion. The comfort from the previous night h
POV: NicholeThe night was a nice shade of cold and I really needed it. I kept my door shut all day and my mind made a maze of thoughts with the walls of my flat closing in, so I stepped out and stood on the tiny landing and just took a deep breath. The road down there was almost empty.One car was running by and somewhere two buildings was awayI was shutting the door again and then… I spotted him.I saw someone at the very end of the road, moving and staggering towards my budget building. He looked like a total mess with one shoulder lowered and one hand looking for the wall next to him.I observed for three seconds.After that something about the shoulders made me recognize him and I felt my stomach twisted.I was down the steps before I even thought of going. I could believe who I saw."Xavier."He lifted his head and made an effort to look at my face and his eyes were quite pale, slow and his tie was missing, his collar was open and from two feet away he smelled like whiskey."
Pov: Xavier The door to the study room where I was swung wide with the authority of a queen entering her court. I didn't need to turn around because the scent of Chanel No. 5 and expensive hairspray filled the room and cut through the heavy smell of my cold coffee. I already knew who it was as my mother walked in.I kept my back to her. I couldn't face her yet because right now, I was already drowning, and I knew she hadn't come to throw me a rope."I heard the news, Xavier," she said with her calm voice, which was always more dangerous than when she was shouting.She walked over to me as I felt her hand on my back with a soft pat, the kind a mother gives a child. "Your uncle told me everything," she continued. "The board is ready to strip the name Harrington from the door. Thirty years, Xavier, of our father’s sweat, his health and his entire life tied to that partnership. You cannot let it go. Would you?”"I'm trying to find another way, Mother," I muttered."There is no other wa
Pov: Xavier My phone on the marble counter screamed. It was exactly 8:00 AM. I was so lost in thought that I didn't need to look at the caller ID to know who it was. My skin prickled with a cold sweat that had nothing to do with the air conditioning. I picked it up."Xavier," my Uncle’s voice boomed through the speaker. It was a voice used to command empires, heavy with the scent of expensive cigars and old power. "The board called me ten minutes ago and they told me you’re letting the Harrington deal slip through your fingers like sand."I leaned my forehead against the cool glass of the window as I thought of what to answer him. "I’m weighing my options, Uncle.""Options?" My uncle laughed heartlessly. "There are no options, boy. There is the Harrington partnership, and there is the end of the legacy your father bled for. They are saying you are giving up and now I need you to tell me they’re lying. Tell me you aren't throwing away thirty years of work for a feeling." He said an
POV: XavierThe call lasted four minutes.Four minutes was all it took for the board's lead attorney to remind me that I had seventy-two hours left before the Harrington partnership agreement was formally dissolved and the one point four billion dollar deal would be taken from me permanently.I stood at my bedroom window after the call and stared at the city below without seeing any of it as I got lost totally on what to do.Three days to loose my worth.I put the phone down on the windowsill and held both hands flat against the glass and just stood there and behind me the room was quiet. Mira had stopped crying an hour ago and gone to the guest suite without another word. The silence she left behind was the kind that had an opinion in it.I thought about her sitting on the edge of the bed with tears running down her face telling me I kept breaking her heart.I thought about the engagement contract on page eleven.I thought about Nichole's palm pressed against my chest in that park as







