ログインSavannah's POV
Mom had heard everything. I knew it the second I stepped into the kitchen and saw the way she looked at me.
She stood by the counter with the dessert plates laid out, pretending to focus on cutting slices while listening to the conversation in the dining room.
I reached for a plate. "You were listening," I said.
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Julian's POVThe phone in my hand felt heavier than it should have. The screen glowed with Leon's name and three short messages that rearranged the plan I had been pretending to make in my head.We have a problem. Arya contacted the board.She is formally challenging the restrictions on her access to the active legal files.Julian, she wants a chance to explain what happened at the hotel before the board decides anything.Knowing Leon, he had probably gone straight to work the moment he woke up.Savannah watched me as if she could read the change in my face. Her fingers tightened around the blanket, then relaxed. "What happened?" she asked."Arya went to th
Savannah's POVMom had heard everything. I knew it the second I stepped into the kitchen and saw the way she looked at me.She stood by the counter with the dessert plates laid out, pretending to focus on cutting slices while listening to the conversation in the dining room.I reached for a plate. "You were listening," I said.She glanced up without missing a beat. "I was standing in my own kitchen.""That's not the same thing," I said."It is when people are having a very loud conversation ten feet away," she answered, smiling.I sighed and started helping. We moved in a quiet rhythm and then she asked without looking, "Do you think you did the right thing
Leon's POVI waited until after dinner before bringing Arya up again.The house had the kind of warmth that made it hard to start a fight. Mrs. Willy moved through the kitchen like a force of nature, filling plates and insisting that no one leave the table hungry. Savannah laughed at something her mother said and for a few minutes the world outside the ranch felt very far away. I watched Julian relax in a way I had not seen in weeks, and for the first time since the photograph hit the news I understood why he had come here.That did not mean I was going to let him make a reckless business decision because he finally looked like himself again. When the last dish was cleared and the kitchen quieted, I set my fork down and looked at him. "We still need to talk, Julian."He sighed like a man who
Julian's POVOnce inside and seated, Mrs. Willy filled Leon's plate as if he had not eaten in a month."Mrs. Willy, the food was delicious, truly, but I am stuffed," Leon protested politely.Savannah did not get her stubbornness from a stranger. "Nonsense, here eat some more, it will be a long drive back," Mrs. Willy continued, plating heaps of food on Leon's plate.He protested once more, looking at the freshly filled plate in front of him. "Ma'am, thank you... but I don't think I can finish all this."Savannah's mother looked at him pointedly but said nothing.I chuckled. "Just eat, Leon." That was when Leon realized it was useless, and accepted his fate with a shake of his head and a sigh.
Julian's POVThe ranch looked exactly as I remembered it, but after the noise and pressure of Seattle, the open fields and weathered farmhouse felt almost unreal. Last time I'd arrived here consumed by thoughts of how to convince Savannah to give us another chance.As I drove toward the porch, the stillness settled over me, and I realized how much I had missed a place where silence did not feel threatening. The ranch had a way of forcing you to only focus on things that really mattered.Savannah glanced at me from the passenger seat and smiled. "You're doing that thing again." When I asked what she meant, she said I was staring at the ranch instead of watching the road.I told her I was appreciating the scenery, but she knew better."You missed it
Arya's POVI knew something was wrong before Leon closed the door. He usually carried bad news with an irritating calm, as if every crisis could be solved after lunch. Today he stood rigid in my office, and my stomach dropped before he spoke."Julian suspended you until further notice."I lowered the folder in my hands. My phone had lit up through the night with Julian's messages and missed calls, but I had assumed he was angry, not that he had made a formal decision. "Where is he?""Gone, and not your business right now. He does not want you around him today."The room seemed to tilt. "That is dramatic.""No. What you did was dramatic." Leon never raised his voice; he did not need to. His flat precision cut through every excuse I had rehearsed."I was drunk," I said. It was true. I had been drinking, careless and tired of pretending I did not notice Julian: the authority in his voice, the way a room shifted around him, the way he looked at Savannah. None of that excused kissing him,
Julian’s POVI adjusted my collar and stepped into the commercial real estate office, heading straight for the broker's desk. I didn't care about the extra fees or the location costs because I really needed the space. I was a Montgomery by blood, but I wanted to make a name for myself. My startup wa
Savannah’s POV“Move!” I yelled, having little time to react as I quickly dived out of their way. I had barely taken a breath of relief when I turned to see Julian, who was still frozen on the spot and he stood directly in their path.He was completely still with a frightened expression on his face
Savannah's povI smoothed down the skirt of my black dress for the hundredth time while keeping my posture perfectly rigid. I felt entirely out of my element in a gown and I would choose my pants and t-shirt over this any day, but for the sake of my parents, I had to attend this gala.We were in the
Savannah’s povGrowing up on a ranch had lots of advantages, as well as disadvantages.I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand as I rested against the wooden fence. Around me, the ranch was alive with the familiar sounds of a multimillion-dollar agricultural empire. Cattle grunte







