เข้าสู่ระบบYULIAI stared at Kendrick's message for what felt like the hundredth time.Meet me at the penthouse after the party.Butterflies fluttered wildly inside my stomach. It had only been a few weeks since we'd found our way back to each other, yet every meeting still felt forbidden. Dangerous.Every secret glance, every stolen kiss, every text message carried a thrill that made my heart race. Maybe we were crazy. We may have been making everything harder than it needed to be. But whenever I was with him, none of that seemed to matter. Without realizing it, I smiled. A knowing laugh pulled me back.“Hmm…” Adeline narrowed her eyes at me. “That smile again. What's going on?”I locked my phone and tried to appear innocent. “Nothing.”She snarled at me. “Yulia Adley.”I chuckled, leaning closer. “I'm meeting Kendrick at his penthouse after this.”Adeline's lips slowly curled into a mischievous grin. “Oh?”She nudged my shoulder. “So that's why you've been glowing all evening.”“Stop it,” I
KENDRICK“Shit.” The word slipped under my breath before I could stop it.Yulia's eyes widened for the briefest second. She stepped away from me, smoothing her dress as though putting distance between us would erase what had just happened.“Excuse me.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.Before I could stop her, she disappeared around the corner, leaving me alone with Natalie. Silence settled between us.I stared after Yulia for another second, my pulse still racing from the kiss we'd been foolish enough to share. I should've known better. We both should have. We'd spent the entire evening pretending, carefully measuring every glance and every interaction. Then the moment we were finally alone, all of that discipline disappeared. Natalie looked from the direction Yulia had gone, then back to me.I ruffled my hair. “Natalie.”She gave a small shrug. “I actually came out here to take a call.”I nodded. Whether that was true or whether she was trying to make this less awkward, I coul
YULIAMy eyes stayed fixed on Kendrick and Natalie. She stood too close, and she looked too comfortable beside him.Her hand rested lightly against Kendrick’s arm as she smiled at him, and even though I knew I had no reason to feel threatened, something unpleasant twisted in my chest.It wasn't jealousy. At least, that's what I told myself. It was just the situation, the timing.Everything between Kendrick and me was already complicated enough. We were pretending in front of everyone that we were nothing more than family. We had to be careful. We had to watch every look, every touch, every reaction.Now, standing in front of me was a woman who had once been part of his life. A woman who looked completely comfortable beside him.“Yulia.”I blinked and cut my eyes at Adeline. “Yes?”She raised an eyebrow. “Fix your face.”“Wh— what?” I asked, confused.She leaned closer, lowering her voice. “Fix your face. Right now.”I frowned. “Why? Is something wrong with my make-up?”She snorted sof
KENDRICKThe Fernsby Estate had never been this loud, not with music, but with movement.Caterers crossed the marble corridor carrying trays of champagne flutes. Florists adjusted white orchids for the third time. Staff moved between the ballroom and the garden terrace while the event planner spoke rapidly into a headset.In the middle of all of it stood my mother. “Those candles need to be symmetrical,” she said, pointing toward the staircase arrangement. “And someone tell the quartet they start at seven-thirty, not seven-forty.”I watched her for a moment from the doorway, fighting a smile. At fifty, Daphne Fernsby still ran an event like a military operation.I walked toward her. “Mother.”She turned immediately. “Kendrick, thank God. Tell them the champagne tower is too far left.”I glanced at it. “It’s literally in the centre.”She squinted at it. “It’s not.”“It is.” I insisted.She narrowed her eyes.I laughed softly and took her hands. “Go get ready.”She frowned. “But —”I c
YULIAI shifted in my seat and glanced sideways at Kendrick for what had to be the fifth time in ten minutes.He kept one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting lazily on my thigh, looking entirely too calm for someone who'd refused to reveal the location.“Where are we going?” I asked again.He didn't even spare me a glance, but curled his lips. “You'll see.”I sighed dramatically. “You've been saying that for the last twenty minutes.”“Be patient.”I folded my arms across my chest, pouting. “Fine.”My gaze drifted out the passenger window as London passed us by.After everything that had happened with our parents, every outing together made my chest tighten a little.I looked back at him. “Kendrick?”“Hm?”“What if someone sees us?”He glanced at me briefly. “Sees us doing what?”“You know…” I gestured vaguely between us. “Being… intimate in public.”“We're sitting in a car, Peaches,” he joked.I eyed him warily. “You know what I mean. What if someone recognises us? What if t
YULIAI let out a yawn and stretched while sitting on the toilet. My bladder had woken me up with an urgent need to pee. I flushed and washed my hands. Rubbing my tired eyes, I adjusted one of Kendrick’s oversized gray shirts, swallowing my frame; the hem brushed the tops of my thighs. Looking in the mirror, my hair was tousled thanks to a night of incredible, sex-induced sleep. I washed my face and applied toothpaste to a spare toothbrush to start my morning routine. After that, I left the bathroom.Kendrick was still asleep, likely due to the blackout curtains. Even in the subdued light, my gaze fell on his lightly hairy chest. His hair also looked tousled, and one arm was stretched above his head while the other lay near his stomach.“Fine arse,” I whispered.A smirk teased my lips as I stepped closer to him. The comforter sat low on his hips, exposing his eight-pack and V-shape. Quietly approaching, I paused briefly before leaning down and gently kissing his lips. Kendrick sl
YULIA“So you’re telling me that you’re living with the Kendrick Fernsby?” Adeline asked dramatically, raising both hands to make quotation marks in the air. I laughed, taking another sip of my pineapple smoothie. I had decided to meet her at The Good Life Eatery because their smoothies were ridic
KENDRICKI shouldn’t have kissed her. It wasn’t even a kiss worth overthinking—just her cheek, a brief moment of contact that should’ve meant nothing.But it did, and that was the problem.I ruffled my hair, staring blankly at the surveillance analytics displayed across my MacBook’s screen while ab
YULIA“This is it?” I asked, glancing around the parking lot filled with cars. “Yes.” Kendrick parked his car and turned to me. “Ever been to a street race?”I shook my head wildly, speechless all of a sudden. His expression barely changed, but his eyes said otherwise . “Then prepare yourself. Yo
KENDRICK“What were they thinking, letting her live with you?” Victor asked, leaning back lazily in the chair across from my desk like he owned the space.“Safety.” I shrugged, flipping through the folder in front of me without bothering to look up. “Apparently, her father thinks London will collap







