Sansa’s POVSoon after the young man walked in, Augustine Wolfe, everywhere was suddenly quiet. He was no doubt their son. Their second son. I could see the resemblance and he was clearly younger than Killian, maybe in his early twenties. Perhaps even a few years younger than me.The dining room was too quiet, like the air had vanished the moment he walked in.“Father,” he said in a smooth, steady tone.Winston rose to his feet, holding him in the embrace. “Welcome back home, son.”Augustine pulled away and smiled as Winston patted his hair, “you look fatter than I recall," he teased. "Come on, Dad. I've not had the time to eat with all that studying,” he laughed. Winston chuckled but refused to push it. Augustine smiled and walked past Eleanor without a glance. I couldn't help but notice that this wasn't the welcome a son should give his mother after returning home from overseas. Eleanor must have noticed too, she had frozen mid motion, her arms parted in anticipation, waiting t
Sansa’s POVThe walls of my room were too tight.I sat curled up on the edge of the bed, my knees drawn to my chest, arms wrapped so tightly around them I could feel the imprint of my nails on my skin. It had been two days. Two long, breathless, soul-tearing days since that portrait was unveiled in the dining room.I felt nothing but disgust for myself. As if on cue, my stomach twisted again and I heaved. Quickly, I stumbled to my feet and rushed to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before vomiting. My entire body shook as the sour taste of shame poured out of me. Nothing came up but water. The only thing I'd managed to drink in two days, and even that rejected me.My chest heaved as I gripped the cold porcelain bowl. I didn't know how to feel anymore. Should I guilty, angry, broken, terrified? Maybe all of them.As I stayed leaned on the toilet bowl, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.I froze.The knocking came again, firmer this time, followed by a soft voice. “Mis
Winston's POVSansa naked. Sansa naked. Another man. Those words settled in my guts and I wanted to explode. How did Eleanor lay hands on this? Was this the surprise she'd mentioned? The sudden crash of glass startled me more than the portrait itself and I turned sharply to the sound, drawn from my thoughts. Sansa had stood up so suddenly that her knee hit the edge of the table, toppling her glass, her plate, and everything before her. “Ma'am?" The maid rushed to her side, trying to steady her. Sansa slumped back into the chair, her chest heaving like she couldn't breathe, her fingers trembling as they clutched the edge of the seat like it was the only thing keeping her from crumbling into dust.She looked at the painting again. Her face was so pale and horrified that he didn’t even try to speak.Eleanor, ever chuckled sweetly. “Oh, my darling,” she crooned. “I only wanted to present this very beautiful picture of you and your lover to your father-in-law. Since he doesn’t seem
Winston’s POV It was past midnight, but I couldn’t sleep. The walls of the Wolfe Estate quieter tonight, like someone was missing. I sighed heavily and stirred, tucking my legs under the blanket and hoping sleep would come. But I wasn't that lucky. “Damn it!" I hissed slowly and looked at the clock on the mantel. It would be morning soon and I hadn't gotten any sleep at all. My eyes were on the ceiling, my body barely able to stay still even as my mind was in chaos. Every word Sansa had said earlier kept playing on repeat. She's been communicating with Killian. The way she said it so casually, as if it meant nothing. As if that wasn’t the same man who shattered her, who betrayed her in ways she didn’t even fully understand yet.A part of me wanted to believe she was just trying to find closure, to cut the last fraying thread connecting her to him. But another part, the darker, more cynical part of me, wondered if maybe she still loved him. If maybe I was just a comfort blank
Winston's POV I stared at the closed door for a long time after Sansa walked out.What did she think she was doing? Talking to Killian after everything he's put her through? The way her shoulders had slumped, the way she couldn’t meet my eyes after I asked if she was still speaking to Killian, it told me everything. I didn’t need words. I saw the guilt in the way she clutched her phone, the way her lips trembled before she whispered, “Nothing,” and turned to leave.But it wasn’t “nothing.” It was everything.I should’ve stopped her. Should’ve asked her to sit. To talk. To scream if she wanted to. But I didn’t. Instead, I did what I’ve always done, buried it under a mountain of coldness and watched her walk away. I’m Winston Wolfe. Billionaire. Kingmaker. CEO of a multi-billion dollar empire. I’ve built nations out of dirt and ashes. I’ve outmaneuvered governments and watched men crumble from just one glare. But one look from that girl, one word, one sad expression and I felt li
Sansa’s POVThe moment I saw the photos, the world tilted.My fingers trembled, my throat closed, my vision blurred and splintered like shattered glass.I couldn’t breathe.What?! He wasn't lying. Christian really wasn't lying when he said he'd had his way with me. But why was it in the photo? Who took pictures of us? Did Christian do this? My hands shook as I tried to pick up the phone and call Ellen. Or maybe Christian himself. But what would I say? What was I going to tell him? The shame froze me in place. I didn’t even realize Winston had come out of the bathroom until I heard the soft shuffle of his feet on the carpet behind me.Gone was the man who had held me, who had kissed me like I was the center of his universe.I didn't see him the same way right now. In fact, I wanted to run. A towel hung low on his waist, his body was still glistening from the shower and a lazy, crooked smile tugged at his lips as his eyes found me.“Sansa,” he said, voice low, amused. “You look li
Sansa’s POV As quickly as I could run, I fled to my room and slammed the door shut. Breathing heavily, I leaned against it, as if it were the only thing keeping me from collapsing to the floor. My legs ached. My chest felt hollow. I hadn’t even bothered to take off my heels. I crossed the room and let myself fall face-first into the bed. The events of the last twenty-four hours clung to my skin like a second layer of grime I couldn’t scrub off.“What have I done?" I was beginning to sound like a broken record? How long is before I stopped being so pathetic? My phone buzzed again and I jerked up. Ellen.Of course.I groaned and turned my head to the side, ignoring it. Again.But the guilt wouldn’t let me breathe. I owed her something, I had to explain why I was suddenly unreachable. I couldn’t keep shutting people out, could I?The buzzing returned persistently until I reached out with a sigh and finally answered. “What the hell, Sansa?” Ellen's voice pierced my eardrum. “I’ve
Sansa's POV The road blurred as I sat in the backseat of the cab. It was slightly cold that morning and I could see the dew clinging to my hair but I couldn’t feel a thing. My arms were wrapped tightly around myself, as if that alone could stop the tremble running through my body. I was dying inside. The shame, the confusion, the rawness of everything I had just done, it clung to me like a second skin. I hadn’t picked up my bag from the office. Hadn’t returned Ellen’s calls. Even as I sat in the backseat of the car, my phone rang again and again, but each time I saw her name flash across the screen, shame crawled up my throat like a lizard. What would I even say?"Hey, I went ahead and slept with my business partner. That thing we said we’d never do? I did it."Shit. I couldn’t say that. Not to her. Not to myself. It sounded pathetic. Just like I felt. “We're here," the cab driver said as we pulled close to the Wolfe Estate. I nodded, paid him by transfer and moved out of the
Sansa’s POVI recovered from the darkness slowly and painfully, as if I was clawing my way up from deep underwater. My head was pounding like a freaking drum, each throb in my skull made me wince. I groaned aloud, my body twitching helplessly as the sheets tangled around my limbs. "Ugh..." I whimpered, trying to move, but it felt like my arms and legs were weighed down with iron.Through the haze, only one name found its way to my lips. "W-Winston..." I croaked, with a desperate and broken voice. Where was he? He should be here to hold me. To make me feel safe. I reached blindly for him. For the only man who could ever make me feel safe. Where was he? Where was Winston?He's always come to my aid somehow. I stirred and my head pounded terribly. Slowly, the memories began to drift to me. I could remember it in bits and pieces. What was happening to me? I remembered sweet chocolate at the Wolfe Estate. I remembered Eleanor as she almost died in front of me. But then, fl