SCOTT'S POV For years, I lived under my father’s shadow— no, under his grip. He ruled not with loud words or strong hands, but with silence and expectations. Expectations that were heavy and cold. The kind that made you doubt yourself, even on days when everything went right. On the surface, he looked calm. But beneath that calm was control— tight, unshakable control.I grew up thinking that maybe, just maybe, one day he’d let me prove myself. I thought I would be the one to carry on the legacy. Noir Elixir was supposed to be mine. I studied for it. I worked in the company, learning from the ground up. I did everything right— or at least I tried to.But deep down, I always knew the truth. He would never really give it to me. Not willingly. And I was right.When he finally stepped down and retired, he didn’t call me to his office with a smile or hand over the authority like I had dreamed. No. He had no plans to hand the company to me. It was never in his mind.And then came Lovina.Sh
VINA'S POV "Are you really sure of what you’re saying?" I asked Ivy, my voice barely louder than a whisper.She had just finished telling me what she overheard— what Richard said. I didn’t want to believe it, but a part of me already knew. Deep inside, I always had doubts about how our father died. Ivy’s words didn’t shock me as much as they confirmed the fear I had buried all these years.Back then, they said our father, Nathaniel Brown, overdosed and slipped in the bathroom, hitting his head. Case closed. But our father never touched hard drugs. Never. Not even once. Our mother confirmed it too. He was a clean man. A man of dignity and vision. Someone who believed in building things with his hands and his heart. So how could he die like that?He was murdered. Someone made it look like he overdosed. That someone... was Richard Norman.I could feel my chest tightening with pain and rage. As a lawyer, I’ve dealt with criminals, liars, and manipulators. But this... this was personal. T
IVY'S POVI never imagined that Scott would betray me. Not after everything I did for him. When Noir Elixir was crashing down, I stepped in like the savior he never deserved. I brought a design that originally belonged to Alfred— yes, I knew it wasn’t mine. But I was desperate. I wanted to help Scott. I wanted him to see me —not just as someone from his past, but as someone worth loving again.Back when he and I broke up, I tried everything to get closer to him. I wanted us to work again. I wanted things to go back to how they used to be. But it wasn’t easy. Not when he had already gotten back together with my sister, Vina. Lovina. My twin sister.Lovina was always the perfect one. The favorite child. The one everyone chose first. The one who never had to try too hard to be loved. While I had to fight for attention, she always had it handed to her. But when fate handed me another chance to be close to Scott, I didn’t think twice.Scott asked me to model for him. I said yes, of course.
VINA'S POV“Lovina, I can’t let your father-in-law take your law firm away from you,” Alfred said quietly.We were in his bedroom. It was supposed to be a normal evening— some time together, just the two of us— but I could feel something was off the moment I stepped inside. His energy was different. He wasn’t smiling like he usually did when he saw me. He barely even looked at me when I walked in.He had just returned from meeting with Kira. And now… this?I turned to face him fully, arms folded across my chest. “So you want to choose her over me?” I asked.The moment those words left my lips, the air in the room changed. It was like all the warmth disappeared. The room that once felt safe now felt cold and unfamiliar. Even though Alfred was standing right in front of me, I suddenly felt like we were miles apart.Alfred didn’t answer right away. He let out a deep, tired breath and slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. His head dropped into his hands. He looked exhausted. Defeated.I
KIRA'S POVI’ve always liked Lovina since I was thirteen. There was something about her that pulled me in. Maybe it was her strong will. Maybe it was the way she walked into a room like she owned it. Or maybe it was her silent confidence— the kind that didn’t shout but spoke louder than any voice could. I don’t really know what it was. But I knew one thing for sure. I liked her. I liked her more than I had ever liked anyone. And I thought— just maybe— she would see me too. See who I really was beneath everything.But she never did.Her eyes were always on Scott.The funny thing? Her twin sister, Ivy, was madly in love with Scott too. How amusing, right? Two sisters chasing the same man. It was like watching a real-life soap opera play out right in front of me. But even from the beginning, I knew nothing real could come from it. My brother wasn’t the kind of man who could love anyone truly. Not in the way someone like Vina deserved. They could never last. I was sure of it.But then Vin
ALFRED'S POV I was just waking up when I heard the crack of the door. The sun was barely up, and my head was still cloudy from sleep. I didn’t expect anyone to come in, but the moment I saw her, I sat up quickly.Vina walked into the room with a storm in her eyes. She didn’t even bother to say good morning. Her energy was tense, like she had been carrying anger all night and couldn’t wait any longer to let it out.“You never for once told me you knew Kira. Scott’s younger sister,” she said sharply.The name took a second to register in my sleepy mind. I was still stuck somewhere between sleep and reality, and it felt like my brain was moving slower than usual.“Kira?” I repeated, rubbing my forehead, trying to wake myself up fully.But she didn’t wait for me to catch up. Her words came out fast and sharp. “Yeah. Kira Norman. The lady you took a picture with at the Statue of Liberty in New York.”As she poured herself a glass of whiskey— way too early in the morning for that— I knew b
VINA'S POV As I passed Kira back her phone, Richard cleared his throat. That sound alone was enough to silence the whole room. It wasn’t loud, but it had power. I looked up and saw the seriousness in his eyes. His expression was firm, and I knew something heavy was coming."Let me go straight to the reason I called for this family meeting tonight," he said. His voice was calm, but there was a dangerous edge to it. Nina, Scott's mother, was already shifting uncomfortably in her seat. She glanced at everyone around the table like she was trying to read our minds or find the answers in our faces.Then came the question I dreaded. The one I expected, but still wasn’t fully ready for."What is going on between you both, Vina and Scott?"Scott let out a laugh. It sounded fake and careless. He grabbed my hand like he didn’t just ruin my life. “What are you talking about, Father?” he said smoothly, trying to act innocent.I wanted to pull my hand away. I wanted to scream, slap him, anything.
VINA'S POVAfter that little drama at Alfred’s house, I was angry— burning, furious even. My heart was pounding, and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. But somehow, that fire inside me led to something I never expected. An argument. A stare. A silence. Then, a kiss. One soft, dangerous kiss.There’s a saying, “a little kiss can lead to the taking off of clothes.” I used to laugh at that. I thought it was just a silly joke people said when they had nothing better to talk about. But not anymore. I don’t laugh at it now. Because it happened to me. It was real.Alfred kissed me. And it wasn’t just a normal kiss. It was deep. It was raw. It felt like fire moving through my body, burning everything in its way. That kiss didn’t stop at the door or fade away like some do. No. It followed us. All the way to my mother’s motel room. It ended with both of us tangled in the bedsheets, breathless, lost in each other.The sex? God, it was good. Too good. The kind that makes your toes curl, that makes y
IVY'S POV One thing I hate the most in this world is watching Alfred with Lovina. I don’t care if Alfred doesn’t like me. That’s fine. I can deal with that. But it should be anyone else— just not Lovina. I can’t stand it. I don’t know if it’s jealousy, hatred, or something else… but I just can't take it. Every time I see them together, something inside me breaks a little more.That’s why I told her that lie today. I told her I’d been sleeping under Alfred’s roof for two days. I saw how her face changed. She looked shocked, hurt even. I knew it would get to her. That was the point. And the moment I saw her storm off angrily, I smiled, grabbed my bag, and stepped out. Mission accomplished. I had done what I needed to do— make her feel like she was losing.But as I walked out, ready to leave, I saw something that made my heart freeze.Vina and Alfred… were kissing.Kissing.Right in front of me like I didn’t exist.I stood there, unable to breathe. My throat burned. My chest tightened.