LOGINEthan’s pov
I woke up with a start, my body aching in places I didn't want to think about. The room smelled like sex and the silk sheets felt cool on my skin. For a second, I wondered if it had all been a dream, some crazy dream caused by desperation and too much alcohol. But then I moved, and the pain in my thighs, soreness in my throat reminded me of every command, every dirty word and promise Alexander had whispered in my ears the night before. Shame washed over me, but under it was something else. Desire. A need and I hated myself for feeling that. I turned over and saw him already awake, sitting in a chair by the window with his coffee. He was perfectly dressed, in an immaculate white shirt over well ironed black suit trouser. He looked at me, calmly, like he hadn't spent the night breaking me apart. “You're awake”, He said smoothly, his voice low and relaxed, like he had been waiting for this. His eyes was bright. “Good, get up”. I slowly sat up, pulling the sheets around myself without thinking. “Don't do that”, he said sharply. “Drop it”. I froze, my heart beating fast, “What?” “The sheet, let it go”. My face turned bright red, “I'm not going to—“ “You don't get to hide from me”, he cut in. “Last night wasn't just sex, Ethan, It was a lesson and we're just getting started”. I swallowed hard and forced myself to let the sheet fall, leaving me naked in the morning light. I felt exposed and humiliated and he just smiled, like he enjoyed it. “Good boy. You will learn how to be comfortable in your skin when you’re with me, then you will never feel the need to hide from me” The words made my stomach tighten with shame. This was what my life will be like now? Alexander stood up and walked over, filling the room. He set his coffee down and raised my chin up with one finger, “Do you know why men fail in this city?” His voice was low, intimate, and almost mean. “Because they lie to themselves about what they want. You're different, Ethan. You're already breaking…and you like it. “I don't—“I started, but he stopped me with a finger on my lips. “Liar”. I should have pushed him away. I should have gotten up, put on my clothes, and left the place without looking back but instead, I stayed, my heart beating fast, waiting for what would happen. Breakfast was served by quiet staff in a bright dining room. Alexander sat at the head of the table, looking perfect in his outfit, while I sat naked to his right, my face turning red with embarrassment as waiters brought food. Every time someone set a plate down, I felt sick. No one said anything, but the silence was worse than if they had laughed. I felt like I was on display. He quietly cut his salmon, looking at me anytime I turned red with shame. “you should learn to own it” he said while chewing, “you have a nice body, you shouldn’t be ashamed of it,” he said casually, like he was talking about the weather ‘Eat, I won’t like it if you get too skinny”. He picked up a grape and held it out. “Open up”. I stared at him. “Don't make me say it again”. Slowly, I opened my mouth, and he put the grape on my tongue. His eyes never left my face. I chewed, my heart beating fast. “That's better”, he said, pleased. “See? Being obedient can be nice”. The rest of the day was a painfully slow. He had meetings, but he didn't let me leave the place. I was just waiting, always guessing. When he came back, he found me pacing by the window. “Impatient”, he said. “Good, waiting makes the lesson better”. The lesson came in bits and pieces, commands, dirty words whispered in my ear, long periods of silence where he just watched me until I couldn't take it anymore. It was mind games, and he was good at it. By nightfall, I was on edge. I hated the guy. I wanted him and when he finally touched me again, I almost cried in thanks. But it was torture, because for hours his hands were everywhere but where I wanted them. Fingers touching my throat, my thighs, my hip but never going far enough. Every time I moved or tried to pull those hands where I wanted them, his voice stopped me. “Be still”, he ordered. “You'll come when I say you're ready, not before”. My eyes went wild with shame and arousal mixing together in my blood. I was hard and aching, wanting his touch. The teasing was too much, burning through me. My breathing was fast, wanting it so badly. “Please”, I finally said. He smiled, amused, “That wasn't so hard, was it?” When he finally wrapped his hand around my hard painful cock, he was firm and without mercy. I came apart immediately. My body shook as I came so hard I thought I might pass out. I cried out, loud and out of control, my whole body shaking as I lost it in his grip. After, I felt humiliated and amazing all at once. I fell back on the sheets, hot and sweaty. He leaned down, his breath on my ear. “You know what I see when I look at you?” he whispered. “A man who's about to be mine”. I shook, “I'm not yours, and this is purely an arrangement”. He laughed, “You already are, you just don't know it yet”. Later that night, Alexander told me to get dressed, not in my own clothes, but to choose from the wheels of black suits brought in by his designers. “Choose any you like, my designer made them just for you” I tried them on and they were perfect, almost as if it was sewn on my body. I felt weird knowing this had all been planned before I even got here. “Where are we going?” I asked carefully. He didn't answer, he just fixed his cufflinks and glanced back with a smile. “Don’t forget you're quiet unless I say so. You're just there to be seen”. His driver drove us in silence, the city lights flashing on my face. When we got there, it was a gala party I had kind of expected. I was going to be shown off in public with Alexander, and I didn't know how I felt about that. “Can I just stay in the car?” I asked He leaned close, his lips near my ear. “My property doesn’t tell me where he can be. You go where I go. Tonight, you’ll learn to only have eyes just for me.” My heart beat starting beating faster. “What do you mean?” He smiled. “You’ll find out.” And with a hand on my back, he led me into the crowd, where people looked at us, curiously. I walked beside him, my heart beating, my legs shaking a bit. I realized I wasn’t just Alexander’s toy in private anymore. I was about to be shown off as his property. And even worse than the fear I felt was the shameful truth that was growing inside me……..part of me wanted it.Alex’s pov My office doesn’t look like mine anymore. Not that it will be mine much longer, today being the last day for me as the CEO. For ten years this space has been steel, glass, neutral tones and no hint of softness. Deals were made here. Enemies were dismantled here. I built an empire from this room. Today it looks like a dream someone else had. Definitely not mine. Interior decorators have turned it into something…..warmer. Soft amber lights hidden along the ceiling, white roses layered with deep green foliage with a string of quartet tucked into one corner, quietly tuning. Champagne chills in silver buckets and my was table is pushed back to make space. It feels like I’m standing inside a risk. Which shouldn’t be a problem because I live for risks……but this was different. My palms are damp as I adjusted my cufflinks for the fifth time in ten minutes and checked my watch even though I knew the time. I start to pace. Voices drift in and out as people arrive. Friends, F
Ethan’s pov“Of course I don’t, why is that a surprise?” William asks.“Well dad, you have always been set in your old ways. You did call Dominic a freak show when you found out he was gay and I thought that's why you never liked Alex." Helena reminds him.“I called him a freak show because he was gay and married to my only daughter while cheating on her with half the city. That was betrayal, not sexuality. And I never hated Alex, it was purely business”I heard nothing else they said because I was literally having a panic attack. I couldn't breathe and my body was getting hotter by the minute.“What about me?” I hear Lena ask. “Is Mr. Stallin my father too?”My mother laughs lightly. “Oh, sweetheart. No. You’re Havelock’s. Or one of the other men I was seeing back then, It's hard to keep track.”“Oh my God,” Lena groans and turns walking towards the dining area. “What a wonderful family we have.”“Ohhh don’t give me that face,” my mother continues, ignoring her, “This is a family reu
Ethan’s pov“Him?” I say incredulously. “No way.”“You can’t be serious Ivy,” William said. “We always used protection, I made sure of that.”“Yeah, remember the night your boys threw you a going away party? You came to my place drunk?” My mother digs through her bag bringing out another pack of cigarettes. “We didn’t use protection then, did we? I didn’t find out myself till I was three weeks gone.” “It was just the one time. You’re certain?”She shrugged. “The timing matched. You and I were together that whole month. Havelock was never faithful enough to count days properly. He didn’t question it. At least not at first.”“At first,” I echoed.“He started to doubt when you grew older,” she went on, as if narrating a family recipe. “You didn’t look like him or built like him. He would stare at you sometimes like you were a stain he couldn’t scrub out.”The memories slammed into me. His cold eyes, the way he would grip my chin too tight. The way he would say, “You’re not right,” like
Ethan’s pov To me……My mother is dead to me, that's what I should have said. Why now though?Why now, of all days. After all that has happened, after I finally feel like I can breathe freely without bracing for impact, she chose to show her face.“Mum is here?” Lena asks, her voice filled with surprise. “Are you sure?”The staff member nods carefully. “That’s what she said, Miss.”“It can’t be her,” I say automatically. My throat feels dry. “She would never show her face after all these years. How would she even know I live here?”“She must have seen you in the news,” Lena says. “Oh, that must be it. You were everywhere and maybe she wants money now that you are living like royalty.”“I don’t want to see her.”Lena turns to me, her expression softening. “We need to see her. Let us at least hear her out.”“Come onLena. You can’t do this to yourself again, she is just as selfish as dad. There is nothing she can say I'm interested in hearing.” I turn to the staff. “Send her away.”“Wait
Alex’s povI paused as his words hit me like a punch. “What are you talking about?”.William pauses and for a fraction of a second, he looks as though he has said too much. His gaze flickers toward my mother.“Mum,” I say sharply. “What is he talking about?” She looks nervous, an expression I haven’t seen on her face in years. “Mum!” “Alexander,” she says softly, stepping toward me, “I didn’t tell you because you loved him so much. You idolized him and after he died, you were shattered. I couldn’t bear to ruin his memory for you.” “Ruin what memory?” My voice rises. “What are you talking about?”“Your father wasn’t the saint you believe him to be,” William says bluntly. “He embezzled funds, retirement funds. Men who worked for him for decades were left with nothing because he siphoned money to cover reckless investments.”“That’s a lie,” I say immediately."It’s documented," William replies. “He made high risk acquisitions to hide the losses. When those failed, the company was near
Alex’s pov“My baby boy. You haven’t called me in a while.”My mother’s voice is soft, almost playful, like we are meeting after a missed lunch and not after years of silence.“I have been busy, thanks to your husband. I’m sure he mentioned that during one of your pillow talks.”Her lips twitch and she rolls her eyes as she steps forward anyway. Before I can brace for it, her arms are around me.“Oh, Alexander,” she murmurs, pulling back only to cup my face. “Do you enjoy frightening me? Guns? Warehouses? Blood? Is that how you prove you’re a man now?”She clucks under her breath, brushing her fingers over my cheek, my shoulder. “You think I carried you for nine months so you could throw yourself in front of bullets?”“I didn’t throw myself in front of anything,” I say stiffly.“You were almost killed,” she snaps. “That’s close enough.”Her hands tremble against my jaw. I let her fuss, let her smooth my collar and inspect the faint scar at my wrist. My relationship with her has been n
Alex’s pov “You were supposed to send the revised agenda to the board, not the old draft.” I forced my voice to remain calm even though it was the last thing I was feeling, but I noticed my type of calm tends to make people nervous. I sat behind my desk, my shoulders relaxed, my eyes fixed on th
Ethan’s povThe private airport did not look like an airport at all. Well what do I know, I have never been to one before.There were no crowds, no lines, no shouting of names over speakers. Just glass walls, well decorated lounges and a few people dressed in rich outfits moving like they knew time
Ethan’s povMy heart slammed so hard it hurt. My hands searched for something to grab and found nothing. My wrists were yanked behind me. Fingers bit into bone and I hissed through my teeth from the pain.This is it.Kidnapping……Murder……A warning that went wrong……My father’s face flashed in my he
Alex’s pov Voices rose from every corner of the table. Chairs shifted and papers slapped against polished wood. Victor leaned back in his chair, his legs crossed with a slow smile cutting across his face. He looked pleased with himself…….Too pleased. I stayed seated. My face remained calm, not r







