4. Well, This just Got Complicated.

AYRA 

  ~ The Smith's Residence ~

  I walk into the Smith estate—one of the few things my father could still save with the sorry-ass state of his business. I guess he got all the bad karma for being a shitty father and an even shittier spouse. I wonder how he sleeps at night, knowing the reason my mum is currently lying on that hospital bed in a coma is because of him, because of the secret family he had with his so-called true love.

  “You dare sabotage your sister out of jealousy?” His voice boomed across the room the moment he laid eyes on me.

  What a warm welcome.

  “Now we're calling the truth sabotage? Ask your sweet princess if I’m right or not,” I said, throwing him a dirty look.

  “You've always had everything, Ayra. Can’t you let go of these little things? And now you just publicly announced that you’re going back to acting, when you know Victoria just got a small role in a movie. Must you be this vile?” he snapped, furious.

  At this point, I can’t even say I’m shocked. I’ve always been the villain ever since Victoria and her mother set foot on this property.

  “And how is that my business? Why should I care about her career? Did she care about me when she started sleeping with my ex-husband?” I spat.

  "It’s not her fault. I’m apologizing on her behalf. Jessica was just thinking about your father’s business. When Chris approached her, she couldn’t say no. He promised to help us get back up. Victoria was going to return him to you, and now that you’ve said all this, the Yaldons won’t spare your father!” Sarah sobbed.

  One would think she’s Mother Theresa with that Oscar-worthy performance. At this point, she should be the actress, not her daughter. She’s clearly the one with the talent.

  “Are you not tired of putting on this act? I know you despise me. It’s okay. You can let it out,” I said coolly.

  Sarah’s eyes flashed with anger, betraying her true nature for a second.

  “You think you're special, huh? You think you're better just because you grew up pampered. But you keep forgetting that your mother married up too,” Victoria spat, furious.

  “Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better,” I muttered, turning to my dad. “Why was I called here again?”

  If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under.

  “Fix whatever you did. Schedule another conference with the press or something. I don’t care how you do it. Just fix it."

  My face twisted in disbelief. “What is there to fix? I told the truth.”

  He staggered back slightly.

  Wait... was he having a seizure?

  Oh well.

  I watched as Sarah and Victoria rushed to him, worry etched across their gold-digging faces.

  After all, who would they cling to if he dropped dead?

  He waved them off, signaling he was fine.

  “Ayra! Can’t you just listen to your dad for once?” Sarah hissed.

  “Did he listen to me when I begged him to send out the strangers he brought home and called family? Or when I begged him to visit my mum in the hospital…just once? He didn’t. So why should I care?”

  “I’ll say this just once—do not summon me for trivialities. Goodbye."

  I turned away and didn’t look back. I could hear my father shouting my name, but I didn’t turn.

  *******

  I headed out to meet Raven, who looked at me with concern. I gave her a nod to let her know I was good.

  “You’ve got an invitation to a family meeting from Olivia. It begins in fifteen minutes. If you’d like to attend, we could still make it.”

  I scoffed.

  “Family meeting? Are all the Yaldons slow? I got divorced. Honestly, it's so Olivia to boss everyone into an emergency family meeting.”

  “So, are we attending or ignoring her?” Raven asked.

  “Let’s go. It’ll be fun to hear what they’ll say. I bet she’s already spoken to her PR team, and they’re curbing the damage as we speak,” I laughed.

  “Olivia is truly the most efficient of Mr. Yaldon’s children. It’s no secret why the shareholders are all on her side. They say she’ll be his successor, and everyone’s just waiting for the will to be read officially,” Raven added.

  “Yeah, but can you imagine if she doesn’t end up being his successor? Her face would be priceless.” I smiled at the thought.

  “I can imagine,” Raven laughed, as we made our way to the car.

  *****

  ~ The Yaldon's Residence ~

  I had just waved Raven off when I saw a familiar figure leaning against one of the pillars, and I froze.

  No. It couldn’t be...but it was.

  Leaning there, wearing that same lazy smile that had looked up at me last night after ravaging my pussy with so much damn vigour.

  “What are you doing here?” I hissed, changing direction to intercept him before anybody could spot us together. “Are you stalking me?”

  His smile widened as he straightened up, looking way too comfortable for someone trespassing on private property.

  “Maybe,” he said, voice playful. “Guess the universe wants us together, Cupcake."

“This isn’t funny.” I didn’t have the time or the energy to deal with this right now. “You need to leave. Now.”

  When he didn’t move, I reached into my purse, pulled out my wallet, and yanked out a wad of hundred-dollar bills.

  “Here. Take this and go.”

  His expression changed. The playfulness faded, replaced by something harder.

  “You’re always shoving money at me that I never asked for.” He didn’t take the cash. “Is that what you think this is about?

  I shoved the money into his hand, forcing his fingers closed around it. “Being here is a very bad idea. You have no idea who these people are. They wouldn’t take kindly to trespassing.”

  “Are you being protective of me?” he grinned, that cockiness bouncing back. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you’ve got yourself a boy toy.”

  “A boy—” I blinked, incredulous. If this weren’t so ridiculous, I might’ve laughed. Instead, I yanked out my phone, created a new contact, and shoved it toward him.

  “Put your number in. We’ll talk later. But you need to leave. Now.”

  He took his time typing, like we were at brunch or something. When he handed the phone back, I saw he’d entered his name as Your Boy Toy.

  I rolled my eyes and shooed him. “Go first. We’ll talk later.”

  I didn’t wait for a response. I turned on my heel and headed inside.

  Taking a breath to compose myself, I pushed open the doors and immediately felt the weight of several pairs of eyes land on me.

  Olivia stared at me like I was a roach that had just crawled in.

  “Ayra,” she said, her voice as chilly as her stare. “How kind of you to finally join us. Even if you’re five minutes late.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you’ll live,” I replied, sliding into a seat.

  I could feel Chris’s eyes burning into the side of my head, but I ignored him.

  Lucy, the youngest Yaldon, was busy on her phone. She was an influencer who loved being famous and rich, and Olivia despised her for engaging in mediocre activities.

  In her words, “You're a Yaldon Lucy, you could be more.”

  Ryan, Chris's Dad, looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. But he was still stuck here.

  “Now that we’re all here,” Olivia said, “we have two matters to address today. The first being Ayra’s recent media conference… outburst.” She made sure to emphasize the last word with clear disapproval. “And the second concerns—”

  The door swung open, slicing through her sentence.

  My heart nearly stopped as my one-night stand sauntered in with the confidence of someone who belonged there.

  The room fell silent. All the members of the family straightened in their seats, expressions shifting from annoyance to surprise.

  Olivia's face remained grim, not a brow out of place, "Well, that. Welcome home, brother. I thought you wanted to rot in Switzerland."

  Brother? My mind reeled. This couldn't be happening.

  Olivia's brother?

  He cast a glance around the room before his gaze settled on Chris.

  "I heard you've been causing some troubles, nephew," he said, voice carrying the same teasing tone he'd used with me outside, but with an undercurrent of authority that hadn't been there before.

  Then, deliberately, his head turned toward me. Our eyes met across the room, and a slow, knowing smirk spread across his face.

  I almost choked on air. I just slept with my ex-husband's uncle.

  Brielle may not be getting that Kelly after all.