ANMELDENALYANA POV “Then be careful what you decide to believe.” His voice stayed with me even after I left the study. It followed me down the hallway, into my room, into the quiet that should’ve felt comforting but didn’t. Everything felt different now. Not because something dramatic happened, but because something shifted. A line had been crossed. Not loudly. Not obviously. But I felt it. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at nothing, replaying every word Julian said. The way he chose them. The way he avoided others. The way he looked at me like I was getting too close to something he didn’t want me to touch yet. Placed. That word didn’t make sense no matter how many times I turned it over in my head. My father wasn’t the type to be placed anywhere. He worked hard. Took whatever job he could get. He wasn’t part of anything strategic or hidden. At least… that’s what I always believed. I pressed my fingers against my temples, letting out a slow breath. “Stop overthinking,” I mu
ALYANA POV “His name being in those files isn’t a coincidence.” The words settled between us, heavier than anything he’d said before. I didn’t move. Didn’t even breathe properly for a second. Because there it was—the first real shift. Not a full answer, but not avoidance either. Something real. I held his gaze, trying to steady the sudden rush in my chest. “Then what is it?” Julian didn’t answer right away. His eyes stayed on mine, unreadable in that quiet way he always had. But I could feel it—he wasn’t brushing it off anymore. That alone made my pulse pick up. “It means he was involved,” he said finally. My fingers tightened at my sides. “Involved in what?” “Work.” “That’s not enough.” “It’s the truth.” “It’s a part of the truth,” I corrected. A flicker crossed his expression, gone before I could fully catch it. “You want everything laid out clearly,” he said. “Yes.” “That’s not how this works.” “Then make it work.” The words slipped out sharper than I meant, b
ALYANA POV “You’re not ready for what comes next.” His words didn’t leave right away. They stayed there, hanging between us, pressing into my chest like something unfinished. I held his gaze, refusing to look away first this time. “You don’t get to decide that.” Julian didn’t react immediately. His expression stayed steady, but I saw it again—that small shift in his eyes. Like he was choosing his next move carefully. “I’m not deciding for you,” he said. “I’m stopping you from walking into something blindly.” “That’s the same thing.” “No,” he replied, his voice still calm. “It isn’t.” I exhaled slowly, trying to keep my frustration from spilling over. “Then explain it to me.” “I already did.” “You told me half of it.” “That’s all you need right now.” “That’s not your call to make.” The words came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t take them back. Julian’s jaw tightened slightly. He looked at me for a second longer, then stepped away, putting a bit of distance betw
ALYANA POV I didn’t sleep. I tried. I lay in bed, eyes closed, forcing myself to relax, but my mind wouldn’t stop replaying everything Julian said. My father’s name. The documents. The way Julian looked at me when he admitted it. Before the fire. That single line kept circling in my head like it was trying to mean more than it already did. By morning, my body felt heavy, but my thoughts were too loud to ignore. So I got up. The mansion was quieter than usual. Or maybe I was just noticing it more now. The long hallways, the distant footsteps of the staff, the soft hum of the air conditioning—it all felt… sharper. Like I didn’t belong here any more than I did before. I went straight to the study. The same room. The same desk. The same folder. It was still there. Exactly where I left it. For a second, I just stood by the door, staring at it. My chest tightened, but I forced myself to walk forward. If I was going to stay here, if I was going to keep dealing with Julian— I
ALYANA POV The rest of the morning passed slower than I expected. Not because there was nothing to do—but because I kept noticing things I hadn’t paid attention to before. The way people adjusted their tone when Julian walked past. The way conversations paused for half a second before continuing. The way everything stayed… controlled. Even when it looked relaxed. I stayed near his office for most of it, going through more reports he assigned. At first, I thought he’d just leave me alone with it, but he didn’t. He stayed. Not hovering. But present. Every time I paused too long on something, he noticed. Every time I flipped a page too quickly, like I was trying to move past something I didn’t understand, he noticed that too. “You skipped that section,” he said from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder. “I didn’t skip it.” “You skimmed.” I turned back to the document, exhaling quietly. “I got the idea.” “That’s not the point.” I frowned slightly, tapping the edge of the
ALYANA POV By the time I stepped out of Julian’s office, my head felt full. Not overwhelmed. Just… occupied. Numbers, projections, decisions—everything he showed me stayed in my mind, but what lingered more wasn’t the work itself. It was him. The way he explained things. The way he watched me when I asked questions, like he was measuring how far I could go. Like he already had an idea of what I was capable of, and he was just waiting for me to reach it. It was frustrating. And strangely… grounding. I walked slowly down the hallway, my heels quieter against the carpeted floor compared to earlier. People moved around me, focused, efficient, but no one stopped me. They looked. Of course they did. But this time, it felt different. Less curious. More… aware. Like they already knew who I was supposed to be here. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. “Alyana.” I turned at the sound of my name. The same woman from earlier approached me, tablet still in hand. Her posture was
ALYANA POVI didn’t realize how much time had passed in the gallery until the light outside the tall windows started turning warmer.Afternoon.The quiet inside the room felt different now, softer somehow. I had spent hours walking from one painting to another, sometimes sitting on the bench in the
ALYANA POVThe east wing felt different from the rest of the mansion.Maybe it was just my imagination, but the air there didn’t feel as stiff as the other parts of the house. The hallways were quieter, and the large windows along the walls let in more sunlight. Dust motes floated lazily in the bea
ALYANA POV The moment I heard his voice, I got nervous. I didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was. Only one person in this house spoke that calmly in the middle of the night, like nothing ever surprised him. Julian. Leo’s fingers were still wrapped around my wrist when the sound of
ALYANA POV Dinner felt like sitting in the middle of a cold war. No one said it out loud, but the friction between the brothers was a physical weight in the room. Every movement, every look, and every word felt calculated. Julian sat at the head of the table, his posture so stiff it was intimid




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