LOGINThird Person POV“Mira? What brings you here?”Benjamin is shocked to find Mira knocking on the door of his apartment at four in the afternoon. Even more shocked to see that Ethan is with her, wearing big headphones and singing along to some music that Mira put on so that he won’t hear a thing.Good thing that his wife isn’t here. She’s on a business trip. Which means that if Mira does decide to repay him, he will be right here….But Mira puts a stop to that fantasy real quick.“I need your help,” she says, cutting him off. “Can we come in? But you need to remember that this is strictly business, and I don’t want any fooling around. If Ethan hears or sees something, he’s going to report to Tristan.”Benjamin looks at her, then at the kid. All his desires fall flat. He just sighs and opens the door. “Lucky the wife isn’t here. But what do you want? What’s going on?”“Go play in the living room, Ethan,” Mira says to the child, who immediately obliges and brings his toys out of his backp
Third Person POVAfter the release of the video, three days pass.Then four. Then five. Until a whole week passes.Tristan has found normalcy again. Or at least, he has a good semblance of it as long as he ignores a lot of things going on.Mira continues to pester her at home about the investigation and her video, even though his private investigator has found nothing yet. To him, she seems scared. About what, he doesn’t know. And he doubts he will ever ask. That’s just what Mira is now, always scared and complaining and asking how everything affects her.He’s just doing well ignoring it and trying to keep himself in the right direction.Right now, he just wants to focus on his life: his business and his family.He still gives Mira everything she wants. He even offers to take her to her checkups, but
Tristan’s POV“New footage about the Blake Industries robbery has been released, and the real culprit behind it has been revealed to be the victim’s own aunt.”Chaos just erupted in the house. New reports just got released, and all I can feel is dread mixed with a dose of relief.Dread because I have no idea what this means for my sales.And relief because at least now, I know that we’re approaching the end.The truth has finally been released.Elena will be set free.Free from all the issues. Free from all the mess. Free from me.Me. The person who got her here in the first place.Not a very long time has passed, I know. It’s only been a couple of days. But guilt has been eating away at me. Every time I look in the mirror and see the scabs and the bruises on my face, I start to wish that Alexander could’ve done more. I start to hope that if I see him again, he better make sure to hurt me well.Because I don’t think I will ever forgive myself for what I did to Elena.It’s not just the
Elena’s POV“But Alexander isn’t here,” India says nervously. “He had to attend an important meeting. He wanted to stay and make sure that your conference went fine, and I just sent him real time updates….”India starts to blabber. I have never seen her this nervous before. I try to put my hands on her shoulders to calm her down, but she keeps talking.“Alexander will kill me if I don’t keep you safe,” she says in a rush. “That’s the one thing he told me to do today. And now these people are in here and the idiots downstairs didn’t even check before getting them here!”“India,” I begin soothingly. “It’s fine. I’m just going to talk to them—”“There she is!”Dad spots me.He starts to march towards me, and I just let them. At least we’d be confined here in the conference room in case they do something embarrassing. I motion India to leave and close the door as soon as they come in, and she does just that, locking us both inside the room.Margaret glances back at the door like she wants
Elena’s POV“I’ll leave you two alone,” Uncle Marcus says, nodding at me and Alexander as he closes the door.It’s the aftermath of everything.Alexander and I managed to get home to our house. I explained everything to Uncle Marcus and Grandpa Harold. We all had dinner together like a normal family, and I don’t know how I kept acting normal the whole night, but it has given Sophie and Liam a lot of reassurance, and that’s enough for me.I managed to keep it together until it was time to tuck them in. After that, I could just feel myself falling apart at the seams, and I knew that I had to make it quick, or else I would cry in front of them.And I did cry. The moment I closed the door to their bedroom, I broke down. Uncle Marcus embraced me. Alexander could only watch.Now we’re alone in my study, both staring at the floor.But Alexander breaks the ice first.“I’m sorry.”I look up at him slowly. “For what?”“I… I actually don’t know.” He shakes his head and lets out a mirthless laugh
Third Person POVElena can only watch. Her body has long given up its strength, and now she’s just strewn on the hood of her car, witnessing it all go down with the vaguest hint of protest left in her mouth.Tristan throws the first punch, putting all his weight into that one hit. He swings towards Alexander’s jaw—a dangerous spot.Or at least, it would’ve been really dangerous if the punch managed to land.But it doesn’t.Alexander ducks effortlessly, his face still. Almost calm. But he moves quickly, like a snake, striking Tristan when he’s not paying attention. It’s a quick jab to the chin, sending Tristan back to the ground.That’s when Elena finally gets a vague thought: Tristan doesn’t stand a chance.Alexander yanks Tristan’s collar. “Get up! Get the fuck up! You want to fight? You want to hurt someone? Come on, do it to me, motherfucker!”Even as he says that, his face remains unchanged. Like a fool, Tristan gets up and charges at him, attempting to tackle him. But Alexander c
Elena’s POVEmbarrassment clenches around me like a fist, rendering me unable to breathe for a good ten seconds. Slowly, I turn to face Alexander, expecting him to snap and tell all of us to leave.I called him a monster. Then I told him to shove it. And now, my son asked him if he’s their father. S
Tristan’s POVÉmeraude.The name plays in my mind over and over. For some reason, it feels familiar and comforting. It feels like someone I know.“They’re based in Milan,” Benjamin explains. “They’re very popular in Europe. They got awards and everything for their pieces and their ethics. They’ve be
Elena’s POVNo questions asked. No protests raised. The very next morning, the entire family and I are flying to New York.My heart is filled with angry dread. Anger because of everything that happened, how I was put last in every situation, used and discarded. Dread because after all these years, I
Tristan’s POV“Is everything to your liking, my love?” Mira asks as she sits down next to me on the dining table. “The potatoes might be a little charred, but it should be good, right?”“Yeah, very good,” I say, sampling the potatoes.My mouth waters. It’s burnt. But Mira is smiling, even though her







