Hahaha! Haven's revenge...
I belted out the last few notes of Hopelessly Devoted to You with an overly dramatic flair, swaying slightly as I gripped the mic stand like I was on stage at some big concert instead of inside a dimly lit private room in a bar.A very exclusive private room, apparently.“Okay, Olivia Newton-John,” Javier chuckled from the couch, a glass of whiskey in his hand. “You’re really committing.”I dropped the mic with a groan and flopped beside him. “I was born for the stage,” I said, then started coughing.He reached over, snatching the remote and connecting his phone to the speaker system. “Alright, star of the night, time to take a break. Hydrate. And maybe eat before you start singing Total Eclipse of the Heart and summon a thunderstorm.”I grinned through my flushed face and took the water he handed me. “Buzzkill.”He smirked. “You’ll thank me later.”A mellow jazz instrumental started playing from the speakers, shifting the mood entirely. I looked around, finally soaking in the ambianc
I had just finished editing another chapter when Joaquin stepped into the study with Ethan.“We’ll be out for a while,” Joaquin said, grabbing the car keys from the tray by the door. “Final check-up with the doctor, then we’ll head to the office to wrap up paperwork for next week.”Ethan gave me a small wave. “We’ll be back later this evening. You okay here?”I nodded, forcing a smile. “Yeah, of course. Go.”I was still shaken after earlier—still haunted by the words I typed with too much of myself poured into them. Joaquin hadn’t said anything since. No strange glances. No awkward pauses. He either didn’t notice… or chose not to bring it up.For that, I was grateful. But it didn’t make it hurt less.“I think I’ll go out for dinner. Just to clear my head,” I added, grabbing my purse.Joaquin turned slightly. “Take Mark with you. Just in case.”“Yeah, yeah,” I said, waving them off. “I’ll be fine.”***The Italian restaurant was my little escape. Usually, Jessy and I would be clinking g
The late morning sunlight streamed through the large windows of the study, casting a warm golden hue on the wooden floors.I sat beside Joaquin at the long table, my laptop open, a cup of coffee cooling beside me. Manuscripts were scattered across the table, red markings and post-it notes detailing our intense editing session.We had been working for hours, both immersed in revisions and discussions, the air buzzing with creativity and an unspoken ease that had started to return between us.“There are things I wish I could say out loud—like how his smile lingers longer in my mind than I’d like to admit, or how I sometimes watch him laugh just to feel the warmth of something I can’t hold. But I won’t say it. I can’t. Because he loves someone else, and I refuse to be a burden to a heart already full.”“Hmm… this comes off a bit poetic,” I commented, making a note on it and then giving it to him.“Really?”He read it. Joaquin, with his sleeves rolled up, leaned back and scanned through a
Laughter echoed throughout the living room as I tried, yet again, to sneak in a slap on Javier’s hand."You keep moving too fast!" I cried, half-laughing, half-pouting as I shook my stinging palm.Javier grinned smugly, his arms resting on the coffee table, hands facing down while mine were palm-up underneath his. "You’re just slow, Venny. I thought you were a pro at this game?""I was, okay?" I narrowed my eyes. "You had ketchup-colored hands every time we played.""Yeah, when I was six," he said with a snort."You’re still six at heart," I shot back, raising my hands in mock preparation.We resumed our little war of reflexes, both of us laughing every time I smacked my own hands because Javier moved too quickly. It was just like old times.The way we kept teasing, the way our laughter mixed like some nostalgic symphony, reminded me of dusty summer afternoons behind the old stables.I finally caught him off guard and grazed his hand with a light slap."HA!" I cheered."That doesn’t co
“Javi?” I said the nickname again, as if confirming if it was really him… from my childhood, the boy I couldn’t forget."Venny…” he said it again, as if tasting the name for the first time in years.I couldn’t speak. My heart thudded against my chest so hard, it was almost painful. I didn’t expect it. Not this. Not him.“You’re… Venny,” Javier said again, sitting back a little on the stool, eyes still wide in disbelief. “I used to call you that because you couldn’t say my name and I had to give you your own nickname, too.”I laughed breathlessly. “I was five! Give me a break.”“And the nicknames stuck… for like three years until we separated.” He smiled—really smiled—and there it was. That same goofy grin I remembered. My heart lurched.“This is insane,” I muttered. “I… I remember now. You were just our neighbor. You lived in the other house behind the fence. We weren’t allowed to go near your horses, but I snuck in anyway because I thought the braided tail looked like something out of
The soft glow of the morning sun peeked through the kitchen windows, casting golden stripes across the marble counters. It was just past 7 AM, and I had come down groggy-eyed, hair still messy from sleep, expecting silence and maybe the distant hum of the fridge.Instead, I was welcomed by the rich, mouthwatering aroma of garlic and herbs sizzling on a pan—and the sight of someone entirely unexpected.Javier Greyson stood in front of the stove, shirtless, wearing only a pair of charcoal-gray running shorts that hung low on his hips.His skin glistened slightly, probably from a recent jog, and his hair was a tousled mess of dark waves, sticking up here and there in a way that somehow worked annoyingly well on him.His back muscles moved with each stir of the pan, and I had to blink hard to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.He was humming some jazzy tune under his breath, like he had no care in the world.“You’re up early,” I said, trying not to sound startled—or affected. I crossed my a