Creed's POVI have no clue how I ended up here in this park, but it was… peaceful. I sat on a rock under a massive tree, its branches shielding me from the brunt of the rain. Cold drops still hit my skin, but it was better than wandering the streets blindly, drowning in my own thoughts.I had to think. I had to start over.And yet, the moment I closed my eyes, she was there in my head.Yu Yu Roman.That girl.I didn't know when or how, but something had changed. Something inside of me. I couldn't help it anymore. She wasn't just a passing thought—she was consuming me. The way she moved, the way she talked, the way she always seemed to be running from something, even when she was standing still.Was she the reason I called off the engagement? Was she the reason I couldn't move forward with Zara? Was she the reason I was so fucking frustrated, like my entire life had been a series of choices that led me straight to her?I exhaled a sigh, running a hand through my wet hair.This was a di
Creeds pov The words spilled out so fast, so quietly, that I nearly missed them.I frowned. "Why?"She was quiet for a very long time, and I thought maybe she wouldn't answer. But then her voice was there, even and soft."Because it feels like he's all I have."Her words fell into my chest, heavy and sharp.I sort of leaned in, my elbows on my knees. "Don't you have someone else?"She gave a hard, bittersweet laugh. "People around me? Sure. But it's different, isn't it?"Yes. I certainly understood that. The ability to be a crowd of people but still being the only person alone in the room. "Yuyu" I spoke softly.Her head jerked up a bit, and I could barely catch a glint of her eyes in the blackness."People tell you family is the people who are supposed to love you no matter what," I continued, softer. "But sometimes, they're just the ones who hurt you the most."She didn't say anything, but I could feel her looking at me.I swung around, running a hand through my dripping hair."M
Yuki's POVThe rain had ceased, and all that remained was the cold wetness of the air and the sound of our silence.I had stepped over a line.This shouldn't have occurred.We shouldn't have been so absorbed with one another like this—anything that dissolved the lines between us was dangerous. Worse, it could cost me my job."So… you and that restless employee?" Creed's voice came out of nowhere, shattering the silence.I blinked. "Who? Jacob?" A smile tugged at my lips."Yeah. Something's up."I feigned a gasp, placing my hand on my chest dramatically. "What are you suggesting, Mr. Malcolm? That I'm playing both of you?"He chuckled, but there was a sharp glint in his eyes."Jacob is cute," I admitted, crossing my legs. "But unfortunately, he isn't my type."A vibration rocked the truck.And then Creed was closer.Too close.My breath stuck in my throat, my heart pounding in my ear."So, Miss Roman." His voice was low, the heat of his breath on me. ".tell me, what's your type?"My th
Creed's POVThe CreedX Technologies Gala was, not surprisingly, a lavish event.It was held in the city's most luxurious ballroom, and the entire production was dripping with excess. Crystal chandeliers swooped from the ceiling like water icicles, spilling shattered light across the crowd of stylishly attired upper crust. The marble floors glimmered, polished to such a high shine that they reflected the tall flower arrangements and extravagant golden centerpieces on each table. Black- and white-clad waiters navigated the crowd with trays of champagne and hors d'oeuvres—small caviar canapés, smoked salmon tartlets, and small filet mignon.The air was heavy with costly perfume and the muted buzz of polite talk, punctuated every now and then by the clinking of glasses and eruptions of laughter.I was bored to tears.I had already danced with three women, each one as replaceable as the champagne flutes being replenished. The first, a brunette in an emerald gown, prattled on about her fami
Zara's POVI had trouble keeping my gaze on the glass of champagne in front of me, much less the mindless chatter of the people around me. My gaze kept drifting—no, burning—toward them.Creed and Yuki.Sitting together, talking, their bodies inclined toward one another in that close, comfortable way. Creed had that lost look in his eyes, the same one that made people want to reach out and touch him, to repair whatever was broken inside. And Yuki—grr, she looked fabulous, as always, in that ridiculous peacock dress.I should have guessed she'd show up looking like a painting.I clenched my jaw.I wasn't jealous. Not of Yuki, at least.I was only. infuriated.I had been avoiding Creed all evening, and that he hadn't bothered to get up and seek me out? Livid."Zara, sweetheart, are you even hearing me?"I snapped back to reality, my rage sharpening into something deadly as I focused on Todd. Ew. Todd.One of the dozens of CreedX Technologies board members, someone I hadn't even known ab
Zara's POVThe wind slapped me in the face, but it wasn't as icy as the rage burning inside of me.I didn't know how long I'd been unconscious. Five minutes? Ten? Long enough for my toes to go numb in these ridiculous heels.Snow was falling, silent and soft, blanketing the sidewalk in a thin layer of white.I barely registered it.Because all I could see in my mind was him.Creed. And that pestering, silly, fake, peacock-hair girl.Yuyu.Of course it would have to be her. The one person who somehow succeeded in getting me like this.She wasn't even supposed to be here. Why was she here?And why was he looking at her like that?It was stupid. They were stupid.This was not jealousy. I was not jealous. I just—I wanted revenge.I hadn't even known what that was yet, but I was going to learn.Maybe I'd dance with the next fellow who emerged out here. Maybe I'd kiss someone just to defy him. Maybe—Gunfire.I froze.The sound ripped through the air like thunder, echoing from inside the g
Yuki’s POVMy chest felt tight when I saw Zara clinging to Creed.Engaged or not, they were destined to be.At least, that's what it appeared.They moved like two people who had already spent a lifetime together. Whether it was toxic, whether it was a mess, there was a sense of destiny in the way she clung to him.And I hated that I was there, seeing it.I wanted to leave.I wanted to disappear before I saw something that would ruin whatever was left of my night.So I turned, heading towards the door, holding my head up high—like nobody else in that ballroom mattered.It was stupid, but it made me sick.Entitled bitch.I fought with my clutch, gripping it harder as I moved forward, angry that Creed was still standing there, looking at me."Let me take you home," his voice cut through the cold in the air, harsh and unyielding.I hesitated."I think we've had enough of a jumpscare tonight," he went on, his voice almost playful, as if he was trying to make it sound less like a command.I
Yuki's pov I sighed, leaning back. "Fine. But if you get worse, I'm not giving you a choice."He didn't say anything, just breathed shallowly.By the time we reached his oversized penthouse, the driver helped me get him out of the car."Good luck," he muttered as I struggled to support Creed.Thanks, old guy. Fantastic assistance.I pulled Creed in, the door man nowhere in sight closing the door behind me. The apartment was familiar—contemporary, tidy, too pristine, luxurious.I guided him to his bedroom, barely managing to get him onto the bed before he slumped.He let out a low grunt."You're—" He blinked slowly. "—really strong."I rolled my eyes, removing his shoes. "Yeah, and you're really heavy."He hummed, eyes half-closed. "You're… staying?"I paused.Only until you're settled, I thought.But there was something in the way he looked—**weak, tired, utterly unguarded—**that stopped me.".Yeah," I whispered. God save me from the clutches of this man and keep my identity a fuckin
Creed's PovIt was past midnight.The bottle that I held was almost empty, but I did not mind. I was not drinking to be joyful. I was not even drinking to forget. I was drinking because it was the only way I could make the silence that greeted me endurable.I reclined slumped on the couch in my living room, the sole item of furniture that was more like a cell than home. There were shadows everywhere. The clock chimed out so loudly it sounded like a hammer in my head.And still.Still, I couldn't stop thinking about Yuyu.Fucking Yuki.With that goddamn smirk and those fuckin' sparklin' bright eyes and the way he looked at me like I was something, anything when he had no idea who the fuck I even was.I hated him.I missed him.I hadn't the fuck idea what I was feelin' anymore.Was I gay now? Did I swing this way? Did I just FUCKIN' happen to be feelin' desperately for someone, anyone, to look at me like I weren't a damned monster?Jesus Christ, no.I tipped the bottle to my lips again,
Yuki's pov The flying part wasn't scary.I wasn't terrified of airplanes.I wasn't terrified of turbulent flight or height or any of that.I was terrified of beginning again.Terrified of seeing myself.For three weeks — almost four — I had done nothing but rot. Fault myself. Cry. Break things. Apologize to specters.That was enough.I couldn't keep going on like that.Mom wouldn't have wanted me to go on like that.Grandpa wouldn't either, even if he didn't always recall me.I stared out the plane window, clouds streaking across the horizon like wet paint, my chest aching.Memories ripped at me — Creed's voice, his smile, then the shock in his eyes.Grandpa's laugh, the way he used to call me his "boy."Lily's hugs.Small shattered pieces of my life slipping further and further away from me as the plane flew east.I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood.No more tears.No more pity parties.I can do this.This is my new start.Mom would be proud.I hugged myself hard, wrapped the th
Lily's POVThe ride to the airport was too short.I continued to sneak glances at Yuki beside me, soaking him in—his dark, messy hair, the nervous drum of his fingers against his jeans, the nervous bounce of his knee.As if if I stared long enough, I could burn the picture of him into my head and never forget.He caught me staring and smiled weakly. "What?""Nothing," I said quickly, attempting to smile. "Just. don't chicken out."He grinned, but it wasn't natural. "Too late to run now, huh?""Way too late," I taunted softly.The problem was, I wished he would run.I wanted to bang the car doors closed, drive us somewhere a thousand miles from here, and wish he wouldn't be going.But I couldn't.He had to go.He needed this new start.Even if it killed me.We pulled up to Departures. Yuki opened his backpack, fiddling with the straps like they were the most fascinating thing on earth.I pulled up and turned off the engine.We sat there, neither of us moving, for a moment.Then Yuki le
Yuki's POV"You're leaving today."Lily's voice was gentle, but it hit me like a punch.I crouched at the foot of the bed, staring at the carpet. My fingers tapped on the frayed cuff of my jacket, pulling at loose threads as if I could somehow roll back time and stay here in this cramped safe room, stuck forever.I didn't look at her. I didn't move."Yuki," she said once more, coming to kneel beside me. Her hand lay lightly on my knee. "Then I think it's time you saw your grandfather."I shook my head."No, it's not," I grunted. "I'm not ready."She let out a tired, aching sigh, the kind you do when you don't want to cry. "You've been here for a month. You're better now. You're stronger, plus do you really plan on going halfway across the world and not seeing him before you go.""Stronger?" I laughed roughly. "I'm still a mess.""You're recovering," she amended. "And you have to — you'd just have to visit him before you go."Her words sliced through me more deeply than I cared to ackn
Creed's POVI slammed the office door shut so hard that the walls vibrated. The secretary outside yelped as if she thought the damn ceiling was going to come crashing down."Get me the quarterly reports," I barked. "Now."She rushed out of her seat, almost falling over her own feet. Pitiful.I paced in front of my office like a wild animal in a cage, blood pumping hotter each passing second. All of this was pissing me off every day now. The terrible coffee. The creeping elevators. The godforsaken interns' breathing out in the corridor.Five weeks. Five weeks since I let go of that imposter, yet my heart clenched at the thought of her…of him !Anger boiled in my veins over and over but today a particular anger took over me, one o couldn't explain but already had ties to That imposter I didn't need him and I wasn't gay!There was no going back for me. And I felt the whole office knew that from the very moment I resumed, a week ago Besides they couldn't blame me for their incompeten
Lily's POVToday became tomorrow.Tomorrow became next week.Next week became three endless weeks.And somehow, despite all the promises I made to myself, I still hadn't met Yuki.I don't even know how it all tightened up like that — how every small detail became so hard. Between caring for Grandpa Roman, going back and forth to the hospital for meds, doctor appointments, dealing with his therapies — life had gotten tangled around my neck with no mercy. I didn't have space to catch my breath, didn't have time to think. And amidst all of this, something gnawed at me:Yuki trusted me.I had been entrusted with Grandpa Roman — with one of the only people he loved — and deep, way down deep inside me, I knew I didn't want to let him down.But today. today was different. Today was the day. I was really going to fix all of it.I was going to go see him, apologize for whatever stupidness drove us apart, tell him about what he'd seen that day with Dan, tell him everything.Dan.He officially m
Zara's POVThere's regret.There's pain.And then there's anger — thick, bitter, wild anger.I didn't deserve this.I was the last person in this damn world that deserved this.He wasn't supposed to push me away.He wasn't supposed to treat me like… like I was nothing.I was supposed to be by his side.I was supposed to be the one to fix him. To save him.I paced back and forth in my chamber, my hands in my palms, trying to contain the storm raging inside me.The walls were closing in, the air heavy, and my mind was filled with his face. His eyes. His lips. His voice when he'd instructed me to leave.I hated him.I loved him.God — I loved him.I couldn't take it anymore."Call Zed," I barked at one of my servants.She stopped. "Now, ma'am?""Now!" I screamed.My hands were trembling. My heart thudding. I was unraveling, going crazy and I didn't give a damn anymore.Within minutes, Zed arrived.Tall, dark, as calm as ever.He always had been.The man who took orders quietly, who had a
Yuki's POVTwo weeks.That's 20,160 minutes. Twenty thousand, one hundred and sixty minutes of pure torture.I'd texted Creed so much. Too much, really. Sorrys I couldn't phrase correctly first, things I didn't have the courage to tell him out loud before, little things I knew he didn't want to hear. I texted anyway, hoping for a crumb of a reply.But there was nothing. No dot. No word. No fucking breath.So I made up my mind. I'd made it up the day everything went wrong—the day everything went in the opposite direction of my plans, like some sick cosmic joke. I was leaving New York. Done. Finito. Finished.Lily hadn't called me for two weeks either. It was as if my world had burst wide open, and I stood in the middle of a great emptiness. Grandpa Roman… two weeks of nothing from him too. Two weeks of not hearing his shaking, bewildered voice, of not chasing after him when he got me mixed up with my mother. Two weeks alone, tearing myself apart, living on my own regrets.I was complet
Creed's POVTwo weeks.Fourteen days.20,160 minutes.I knew because I counted them. Every goddamn one of them.It's ironic that you know exactly how you feel about someone after 20,160 minutes of silence. No calls. No texts. No presence. Nothing. Just a void where they used to be. The only sound was my own breathing and it had started to get under my skin. My house was worse than my head. Clothes scattered everywhere. Empty bottles. Shattered frames. A grime mountain I could barely bring myself to look at — and still, I hung around there, festering amidst it like some wounded beast.I hadn't left for the office in two weeks. Fourteen days. No one had tried calling anymore. No one knocked. Not since the third day when I ripped the doorbell off of the wall and hurled it out of the window. My stubble was heavy. I barely recognized the face staring back at me in the mirror the occasional time I made the mistake of looking.I flopped onto the bed, blankets that smelled like sweat and guil