LOGINWhat would you have done ?
I tried to settle back into my normal routine. Silas had left for his so-called business trip — I was almost certain it was just a vacation with Nova — but I didn’t have the energy to dig any deeper. That was how done I felt with everything.What I did notice, however, was the absence of Tristan. Two full days without a word from him, and my body had started to ache with a restless, frustrated need. According to our arrangement, either of us could initiate. Since he was the one playing hard to get, I decided to go to him.After work I drove to his office. The receptionist informed me, almost apologetically, that he had been out sick for two days and hadn’t shown up at all. My heart gave an uneven bump. Was he all right? Had he fallen ill because of the rain — because of me? The thought sat uncomfortably in my chest. For a moment I debated going to their house. It felt like crossing a line. Then the guilt tipped the scale. If he was sick because he had carried me through the downpour,
He shifted me higher onto his back and started walking. Rain still dripped from the trees around us. I rested against him, feeling the solid heat of his body through the wet fabric of his shirt, and the irony of the moment settled over me. The person I had spent the night and morning avoiding was now the one carrying me down the hillside.“How did you find me?” I asked.“It wasn’t that hard. I didn’t see you with the group you left with, so I decided it was necessary to look.”I nodded against his shoulder. His hands tightened around my thighs to keep me steady. My body tensed at the contact — even now, soaked and aching, it still reacted to him. Then I noticed the way he adjusted his right shoulder every few steps, a small, careful movement that didn’t match the rest of his strength.“Are you hurt?” I asked.“No. I’m okay.”I didn’t fully believe him, but I let it go for the moment. The path was slippery and the silence between us felt heavier than the rain.“Do you know that Marko m
I sat on the small wooden stool in front of him, hands folded tightly in my lap. He paused and looked at me over the top of the book he had been reading. He was young — almost Silas’s age — with the kind of calm, observant eyes that made it hard to tell how much he actually knew. Guilt settled over me like a weight. I was almost certain I had been caught. “What would you do,” he began slowly, “if someone hurt you deeply… but luckily you found someone else who healed that hurt and made you forget the betrayal… only to realize they were worse? And that they were hiding something important from you?” My heart skipped. The story sounded far too similar to my own. For a second I wondered if he was speaking in riddles on purpose. He closed the book and turned it so I could see the cover. “It’s a novel I’ve been reading. It’s caught my attention. I haven’t finished it yet, so I just wanted to involve you in the thought.” He gave a small, polite smile. “You don’t have to have an answer.
Valerie By the time we reached the camp, I was the horniest I had ever been in my life. My eyes felt tight and unfocused. I couldn’t concentrate on the welcome speech or the managers pointing out the tents. All I could think about was Tristan and the hard press of him beneath me for the entire rough ride. I wanted him to fuck me raw. Nothing soft. Nothing careful.He was the last one out of the car. I didn’t need to look to know why. He needed a minute to get his body under control. Our vehicle had been the last to arrive, which somehow made the whole thing feel even more charged.When the manager read out the tent assignments, I almost smiled. Tristan and I had been placed in the same one.“Are you comfortable with that arrangement, Mrs. Valarie?” the manager asked politely.How could I say no? It was going to be the best night of the trip.Then three more employees were directed into the same tent, and my smile died. Of course it wouldn’t be that simple.Tristan passed behind me a
Valerie “Honey?” I kept my voice soft and polite as I set his plate in front of him. “If you didn’t want them to know I was your wife… why were you following me?”I wanted the embarrassment to settle deeper. Getting angry would have made it an even fight. I preferred the score to stay exactly where it was: Silas zero, Valarie one hundred.He sighed and pushed his fork into the food without looking up. “No, honey. I was just passing by and thought I could check on you for a bit.”I smiled. “Oh. Is that so?”He nodded, the guilt plain on his face. He still hadn’t recovered from the scene outside Rashford, and I had no intention of letting him forget it quickly.“But wait,” I continued, keeping my tone light, almost amused, “did you seriously think I was flirting with that man?”He opened his mouth. I cut him off before he could dig the hole any deeper.“No. Don’t ever think like that. The only man I can flirt with is you. You’re all I have, honestly. And I’m almost done getting the inf
SilasI thought she wasn’t jealous when Nova took her place. So why the hell was she going to work for my greatest rivals? Why did she even accept the offer?I looked at her, trying to keep the anger out of my voice.“Valarie, look. You’re not going to work there. You just can’t. It’s—”“Excuse me, honey?” She cut in, eyebrows rising. “Are you trying to stop me from working? Is that what this is, or am I hearing things? Because technically that’s impossible. We’ve never stood in each other’s way. We’ve always let the other do as they please. This is completely out of character for you.”I exhaled through my nose. “You won’t understand.”“Then make me understand.”I hesitated. I had never told her the full history. “That company is our greatest rival. They’re also relatives. By default it doesn’t look good at all for you to be working there.”She paused, clearly taken aback. For a second I thought she would do the reasonable thing and drop it. Instead she hit me with something I didn’t







