تسجيل الدخولCarla~For a moment, I just froze.That name echoed inside my head like a distant memory I had buried years ago.My brother was here?After all this time?I didn’t even realize Greta was still standing there watching me carefully until she cleared her throat awkwardly.“Should I… not let him in?” she asked cautiously.My lips parted but no words came out immediately.I hadn’t seen him in years, not since Father had cast me aside like I was nothing more than a disgrace to the family name.And Larry…I clenched my jaw tightly.He had stood there and watched it happen.I slowly lowered myself into my chair, my fingers drumming restlessly against the polished surface of my desk.“Let him in,” I finally muttered.Greta hesitated briefly before nodding.“Right away.”The moment she disappeared behind the doors, my chest tightened painfully.I hated this feeling.That strange mixture of anger, nostalgia, and curiosity clawing at my insides.A part of me wanted to scream at him the second he
Carla~I slowly spun around in my large swivel chair, staring blankly at the city skyline stretching endlessly beyond the glass walls of my office.The view was breathtaking as always, never failing to amaze me even in moments like this.Towering buildings, moving traffic and giant digital billboards flashing advertisements across the city.And somewhere among all of that chaos…was me.Carla Dunbar.The same woman who once slept on cold street floors and cried herself to sleep wondering if life would ever get better.Funny how quickly life could change.Yet despite everything I had now, I still couldn’t stop thinking about Xavier’s words.“You think he’s better than me?”“Go ahead and ask him yourself.”“Ask him why he really chose you of all people to model in the first place.”I shut my eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of my nose in exhaustion.God.Why was I even letting him get into my head like this?Why did those stupid words keep replaying over and over again?“Come on, Carl
Carla~The message on my screen glowed eerily in the dark.Meet me downstairs–Xavier My stomach twisted uneasily.The mansion was silent tonight. Too silent.Lily had long gone to bed after our argument earlier, and Ryan was asleep upstairs in his room. Even the air felt tense somehow, heavy with something I couldn’t explain.I stepped into the living room, rubbing my temple tiredly—And froze.A figure stood near the large windows overlooking the estate.“What the—”My heart nearly stopped before recognition slammed into me.“Xavier?”Anger replaced my shock almost instantly.“What the hell are you doing here, Xavier?” I questioned sharply as I hurried downstairs properly.My voice stayed low despite my fury.The last thing I needed was Damian finding Xavier sneaking around his house in the middle of the night.Xavier slowly stepped out of the shadows, the hood over his head falling back slightly under the dim lights.God.He looked terrible.His eyes were tired. Hollow almost.But
Carla~“Seriously, guys?”My voice sliced through the dining room sharply enough to make both Damian and Lily pause mid-glare.I set my fork down slowly, looking between the two of them in disbelief. This had been going on all evening.No, all week.Ever since the incident with Xavier outside the mansion, Damian had been unbearably cold toward Lily. And Lily being Lily, had decided to retaliate with the maturity level of an angry teenager.Petty comments, passive aggressive sighs, snarky remarks and the lotsAnd now this?The tension at the dinner table was so thick I could practically choke on it.Ryan, thankfully, was too busy massacring his mashed potatoes with a spoon to notice much.But I noticed. And I was exhausted.Lily leaned back in her chair with crossed arms, rolling her eyes dramatically. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”“Oh, please,” Damian muttered under his breath before taking a sip from his glass.“There!” I pointed at him immediately. “That! Exactly that!”
Carla~The numbers were hard to believe.I stared at the tablet in my hands, blinking once… twice… hoping the figures would rearrange themselves into something less absurd.They didn’t.“I…” My voice came out thinner than I intended. “I don’t know if I can accept this.”The words felt heavy on my tongue as I looked up at Damian.He was standing just beyond the open balcony doors, sunlight spilling around him like he belonged to it. One hand rested casually against the railing as he watched me, calm as ever. It was honestly infuriating to see him so unfazed by this.A donation from the Lockwood Group?My stomach twisted.“This is definitely bigger than anything I'd expected, Damian,” I continued, gesturing toward the tablet. “This is insane.”He stepped back into the office slowly, closing the distance between us with that same measured confidence he always carried.“You have to accept it,” he said simply.I frowned.“You’ve been at odds with the Lockwood Group for too long. Think of t
Xavier~Once again, I was engulfed in the usual silence in my office.And one would think that by now I should be used to it but today, it felt suffocating.The faint scratch of my pen against paper was the only sound as I signed off on yet another report, my attention only half there. Numbers blurred together, ink bled into margins, and still...I forced myself to keep going.Work had always been my escape from everything. From her.But even that doesn't seem to be working too well for me right now.A soft knock broke through the silence.“Come in,” I said without looking up.The door opened, and one of the clerks stepped in, clipboard pressed neatly to her chest, posture straight, voice professional.“Sir,” she began. “We’ve finalized the allocation for the donation to the Carla Dunbar Charity Foundation.”My hand stilled.Just like that, everything else faded.I slowly lifted my gaze to meet hers. “Have you?”“Yes, sir,” she nodded, stepping forward and placing a document on my desk
Carla~The moment the front doors shut behind us, Damian’s restraint snapped.I barely had time to take two steps into the foyer before his hands were on me; strong, impatient, everywhere. He grabbed my waist and spun me around, his mouth crashing into mine with a heat that stole my breath.“Damian
Carla~I never thought I’d willingly step into a prison yard.The irony of it didn’t escape me as the heavy gates slid open with a metallic groan, sealing the outside world behind me. The air inside felt colder, thicker, like it carried the weight of every bad decision ever made within these walls.
Carla~The next few weeks felt like a reward I hadn’t known how to ask for.Life didn’t suddenly become perfect, but it became lighter. It became manageable. Mine again.I was back on set almost every day, moving from studio to studio, outdoor shoots to carefully curated indoor sets. Cameras no lon
Carla~By the time we got back to the mansion, the sun was already sinking low in the sky, painting everything in warm shades of gold and orange. It felt… peaceful. Too peaceful, almost, considering how chaotic my life had been not so long ago.Lily and I sat on the long cream-colored sofa in the







