LOGINDAMIANIt felt like I was standing in an empty well, and it was raining. It was raining so heavily, and then slowly, slowly, the water built up, and I couldn't move. I couldn't crawl out, and the water was getting up to my neck, and there was nothing more I could do but wait to drown.But… but I… I didn't want to drown. I wanted to be pulled out. I wanted help, and I wanted to be saved. But who would save me without judging? Who can make it safe enough for me to drop my guard and just breathe? Was there a person like that?“Yes,” a voice whispered. “Yes, there is, and you know it.”“Yes,” I whispered back. “Yes, I know, but she hates me. She doesn't want to see me, and she doesn't want me in her space. I know she’s kind, and she’s soft, but I can't keep exploiting that. I’m not a monster.”“Just this once. Just this once. Just this once.”Just this once: that was what was repeating in my head over and over as I made my way back home and straight to her room. I… I would make sure she k
KAIDORAI couldn't stop thinking about Skylar and Cassandra. I couldn't stop thinking about why they would cause a scene and what it had to do with me. Beg for my forgiveness? What does that even mean and why?The funeral was finally over, and I could ask the men what was going on, but then…“Damian, boo. I’m so sorry for your loss.”I watched as another woman hugged Damian, and… and something ugly creaked open in my chest, shocking me. Was this… was this jealousy? Why did it feel so bitter? And what was this urge to rip her away from him? As I kept staring at the woman, my eyebrows furrowed as I noticed something: she looked familiar. And when my eyes trailed to her high ponytail, it clicked. It was the tall lady I saw that day in the parking lot the day I went to the office. Long, smooth legs. Shiny, high blonde ponytail. Yes, it was her. And I remembered her speaking on the phone, saying something about a surprise. “Shit,” I heard Elias curse, and my frown deepened, and that was
DAMIANI hate feeling things. Not all things, but things that made my chest tight and made it hard to breathe. Things that made it hard to function like I always do. I hated things that made my throat tighten and my eyes sting.I wanted all this to be over and for things to go back to the way they used to be. I wanted to no longer feel these complicated feelings that didn't have an outlet and did nothing but suffocate me. But will things go back to the way they were?No. They won’t.The funeral progressed, and when we moved outside, it started raining. I stared up as the first raindrop hit my cheek. Another one landed, and I just closed my eyes as it rained on me until one of the bodyguards came with an umbrella, and I looked back down, sighing.I looked around, at the people dressed in black, wearing sunglasses, pretending they cared, acting like their world had been rocked, and my eyes landed on her. She stood straight, with her hands folded in front of her, looking so beautiful in
KAIDORAI kept telling myself that it didn't matter. That maybe it wasn't important to them, and that losing the company and everything for ten years wasn't too big a deal. “It doesn't matter,” the voice whispered to me over and over again. “It doesn't matter, Kaidora. It’s not your business anymore.”It kept repeating in my head as I checked out from the hotel and carried my bags to the car. I found an apartment far from this place, from this city, and I was moving in today. I told myself not to look back, not to let it get to me, and just leave it all behind. But then I thought about Elias, soft and trying to act tough. I thought about Damian, hot-tempered, and yet gentle. About Roman, burdened, and yet so caring. I thought about the kind of hardship they might face, and then I asked myself a question as I drove out of the hotel, “Was that what I wanted?”“No,” the answer came immediately. “No, it wasn't."And that was all I needed to change direction and drive toward the mansion,
“To my sons, this is the end for me. As it slowly drew near, and I could feel my body and mind weakening, a lot of things became much clearer to me, like how I've always been a father, and never a dad. To Roman, you don't have to carry the world alone on your shoulders. Let your brothers share that weight with you. To Damian, anger is never going to solve anything. Sometimes, let peace lead. To Elias, you don't have to be scared of feelings. You should feel everything. It’s too late to say this, but as I write this with tears in my eyes, I wish I could have been more present in all your lives. I wish I had loved you all with everything, because at the end of the day, all the money and power don't matter as I meet my end. None of that but family matters. And to Kaidora, you might think what I'm about to do is cruel, and it probably is. Not only that, but selfish as well, but please, don't hate me for it. We must not have spent much time together, but your father was my best friend,
I frowned at the man, looking at him, but he was too busy placing his briefcase down to notice the look. So I asked, “What for, sir?”He turned to me. “To read the will, miss.” And it seems I was the only one who didn't see this coming because the men just looked… stiff. I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but I don't want to be here for that.” I never asked for it anyway, and now they could decide what to do with it since their father was de–no longer in the picture.The look on the man’s face was patient. “There’s no way we can proceed if all parties are not present.”“But–”“Kaidora, please,” Roman cut me off, his voice also patient. “Just sit for a while. It won't take much time.”I looked away from him with my jaw tight, moving into the main room and taking a seat far from them.“Mrs Elara has to be present as well,” the lawyer said, and someone was sent to fetch my mother. After a while of keeping us waiting, she slowly made her way downstairs, not looking at anybody as she took he







