LOGINJuliaThere was an awkward stretch of silence after Lucien spoke. My eyes drifted to him, already seated and looking out the window like he hadn't just said the most outlandish thing ever.Farid cleared his throat, dousing the flames of the awkward atmosphere. My gaze snapped to his, and I mustered a friendly smile, choosing not to comment on what my son had just said.“Come, come, have a seat; we're about to take off,” he said, pointing to the seat beside Lucien's, and I nodded, taking Olivia's hand and helping her onto it before securing her seatbelt and doing the same for Lucien.I slipped into the seat opposite the twins', which was separated by a table of some sort that had some magazines on it. Farid slipped into the seat adjacent to ours without another word.'Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome on board G23471 for our flight to New Jersey. My name is Captain Feller, and I'll be your pilot today.My eyes grew wide from the captain's announcement blaring through the speak
RyanKathryn rose to her feet when she saw us approaching. Adrien was by her side, and he seemed to be in a bubble of his own, petting the dog and giggling. I could tell that he loved that dog.“This is the child?” Lewis asked, and I nodded. Alright, I'm going to need you both to come with me,” he said, gesturing down the hallway as he walked ahead while I motioned for Kathryn to wait there while we went.She nodded and turned to Adrien, running her fingers through his hair to get his attention; that's when he looked up at me with my gaze briefly before looking back at Kathryn with a frown.“You have to go with him,” she said to him, and his frown deepened.“But why are we here, Mama?” he asked, and Kathryn sighed, murmuring a slow response, ”Don't ask too many questions; be a good boy and go with him.” His lips began to wobble as tears filled his eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance, evidently fed up with dealing with the boy.“Don't cry, buddy; your mother will stil
Ryan“W—what? H—how?" I stuttered, my questions tumbling out in a jumbled mess as I stared transfixed at the child who could pass up a Lucien's twin if that were actually possible.The similarities were uncanny, but I'd spend an ample amount of time with Lucien to spot the difference between the two.“Do you believe me now?” she asked, raising a perfectly arched brow, daring me to challenge her, but I was still in shock, staring at the boy who was staring back with a confused frown.“You can go play,” Kathryn murmured to him, and he grinned enthusiastically.“Come on, Lucky!” he giggled in excitement, taking off with the small dog in tow, its tail wagging excitedly.“Be careful!” she yelled after him, but if he heard her warning, he'd made no indication of it.“What the hell is this, Kathryn?” I seethed, already fed up with her constant schemes, and she met my gaze nonchalantly, her small smile almost too smug about being right all along, but I'd be damned if I believed a word she had
RyanI walked out of the guest bedroom as early as 5 a.m., walking into Damon's kitchen to brew myself a cup of coffee. I grabbed the mug and walked towards the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the view of the city and the rising sun.As I sipped on the coffee, my mind wandered to the twins and Julia. It was Christmas Eve, and I knew I should be spending time with my family, but I couldn't, not when everything I'd worked hard for was falling apart at its seams and I had a chance to set it right.I turned around at the sound of a door opening down the hallway, and Damon walked into the living room a minute later. His eyes seemed bloodshot, almost like he hadn't slept a wink, probably too paranoid that Maya was going to try and escape. I don't blame him, though.“You look like shit,” I muttered, and he sniggered, “Thanks, so do you,” he murmured in response, slipping into the kitchen probably to get himself a cup of coffee.Damon walked out sometime later with an identical mug in hi
JuliaI groaned at the sound of my alarm clock, burying my head into my pillow to muffle the incessant ringing. After what felt like an agonising two minutes, I sat up on my bed, reaching for the alarm clock on my nightstand and turning it off.Exhaled a slow breath, running my fingers through my bedhead. It was 8 am already by the display on the LED clock, and I scrambled out of bed at the realisation.The next few hours were used to get the twins ready for the day and make breakfast after. I'd already gotten a text from Farid that morning about the time his chauffeur would arrive to pick us up. Although he still insisted on keeping where we were going a secret because he apparently had a surprise planned for us.It was quiet on the breakfast table save for the sound of cutleries scraping against the ceramic dishes.“Why isn't Daddy here yet?” Olivia asked, pushing aside a piece of broccoli on her plate, and I sighed softly; they still had no idea about the fact that Ryan wasn't comi
RyanMy eyes snapped back to Kathryn's, who was now grinning like a fucking deranged psychopath behind me. She had this look in her eyes that had me believing that she might have actually lost it.Slowly I turned fully to face Kathryn, my back to Maya, who sat unmoving with her head lolled to the side like she was unconscious, which I suspected she was.“Why do you have that woman tied up?” I asked slowly, my gaze trained on her as I tried to gauge her reaction.She blinked several times, furrowing her brows in confusion like she didn't expect my reaction and question.“What do you mean, Ryan? She stole and sold classified documents that belonged to your clients to his rival,” she seethed, glancing behind me briefly before meeting my gaze, and I chuckled.“What's so funny?” she frowned, and I said nothing, taking a step closer until we were an inch apart.“How did you find out about the stolen documents, and how did you know it was her?” I asked, my voice a cold whisper that had her e







