Who Dresses In A Three-Piece Suit For Breakfast?

I rested my back against the door of my room, breathing heavily, my legs shaking.

This… this was madness, it was too much, and I wanted to leave. I wanted to pick my bag and leave right this fucking minute.

My heart was racing with an emotion I hadn't felt before—shame. It burned me, made me dizzy, and nauseous. I threw the robe on the floor and marched to the bathroom, struggling to stay standing.

I turned on the shower and didn't even wait for it to heat up, just entering under, gasping when the cold water hit and stung my skin. But I welcomed the coldness.

I had to get my shit together if I hoped to stay sane. The Varkas brothers weren't sane—maybe Kross a little bit—and if I indulged them, then I might join in their insanity. I wasn't going to do that.

I would maintain my cool like I've done for years. Nothing was going to change that now.

***

A knock jolted me awake from a much-needed sleep, and I groaned into the pillow, burying myself deeper into the bed. The knock came again and I had no choice but to stand.

I walked to the door with my eyes almost closed and opened it. A maid was standing there, her head bowed and hands folded in front of her.

“Good morning, ma'am,” she greeted softly, her eyes still fixed on my feet. “Mr. Varkas has asked you to join them for breakfast.”

I looked at her, then turned my head to look at the clock inside my room. I looked back at her again. “It's even seven yet.”

She nodded as if she understood me. “Breakfast is eaten really early in this household, ma’am.”

I sighed and rubbed my eyes, chasing the sleep away. “Thank you. I’ll be down in a sec.”

She nodded and walked away. I closed the door, sighing as I moved to the bathroom. I think it was going to be hard to stay sane.

***

Twenty minutes later, I walked down the stairs, already sweating on how I would find the dining room, but someone was already waiting for me to take me.

When I stepped into the dining room, I paused, my eyes slightly widening. Everybody was well dressed—oh, and the brothers were here. All three of them. Just my luck.

And I wasn't just talking casually, nice clothes, but three-piece suits, complete with a tie. And Mom was there, dressed in a fancy, red dress and her hair perfectly styled.

It was barely seven, for goodness’ sake! What hell have I woken up into?

They haven't noticed me yet, so I looked down at my shorts and t-shirt coupled with my hair tied up in a messy bun and I contemplated going to change. But before I could even make any decision, Mr. Varkas raised his head and his eyes landed on me.

“Oh, there you are,” he said and all eyes turned to me.

Self-conscious. I had never felt that before. I was quite confident in myself that I was beautiful. Tall, curvy, with natural red hair that people had always envied. I knew I was beautiful, but I really didn't use all that beauty for anything. But now as I felt the eyes of these well-dressed and put-together people—my mom included—I was ugly and dirty.

“Uhm…” I cleared my throat and walked to the table, trying to appear unaffected by the eyes on me. “Good morning.”

“Dear, where are you dressed like that?” Of course, she would ask. I raised my head and my eyes met my mom’s.

“It's breakfast,” I replied to her, all sense of self-consciousness flying out the window at the sight of her irritation. “It's not a fancy dinner that I need to dress up for.”

The irritation flared up in her eyes, but she still managed to keep her expression pleasant.

“Leave her be, Vera,” Mr. Varkas said, folding his newspaper and keeping it aside. He turned to me, a small smile on his face. “How was your first night in your new home?”

I fought the urge to look over at his sons who I could still feel their eyes burning into me. I managed a small smile that probably looked like it was carved into my face. “Pleasant.”

Pleasant was far from it, but nobody needed to know that.

Mr. Varkas nodded and picked up his newspaper again. And just like that I was dismissed.

I didn't mind it one bit and just filled my plate.

Halfway, through the silent, tense breakfast and I still felt eyes on me. I couldn't resist it anymore so I had to look. I finally raised my head and sitting directly opposite me were all three of the Varkas brothers.

How did I know they were just three? Well, the fourth one will be here, right?

All their inhuman eyes were on me and I looked back at them one by one. Kross just watched me with a blank expression on his face like he was trying to assess me. Axel had a small smile on his face as he looked at me with a… dreamy expression. And Kade–

Wait, Kade. My eyes snapped to him, and met mismatched eyes.

There were lights everywhere, and I finally saw his face. Why the hell do these men have to be so good-looking? It wasn't fair.

Like his brothers, Kade was handsome, too good-looking to be real. He had long black hair that was tied up in a bun much neater than mine, and his eyes… His eyes were the most unique feature of him. They were mismatched. The right one was ocean blue, and the other stormy gray.

It was striking, to say the least.

“Like what you see?” he asked when I continued staring, his voice just as soft, yet raspy like last night.

I tilted my head, an eyebrow raised. “Maybe.”

His expression remained blank, but something flickered between his eyes. Seeing him in broad daylight, you wouldn't think he was the man who had me pinned against the wall, and shaking with pleasure. He was just like Axel said he was—a cold, heartless bastard. But unlike Kross who was ice, he was simply just cool.

“You’re giving him all your attention and I'm jealous.”

I finally managed to look away from Kade and my eyes moved to Axel who was… pouting. Like he was really pouting like a damn child.

“W-what?” I asked, looking over at his father, but his attention was still on his newspaper. I looked over at Mom and she was looking at her plate with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Axel had my attention once again when he spoke. “Do you really like cold bastards, Rosette? I mean you do seem like the type, but seriously?”

I just gave him a flat look. “I don't like cold bastards.”

Axel raised an eyebrow. “Then what kind of bastards do you like?”