LOGIN48. Asena I hail a taxi and give it my hotel's address.First, I have to make sure that everything is in order before I leave for the Hale mansion. I don't intend to return to the hotel since I wouldn't be needing it anymore.I hope that Richard will be happy with what I am about to do. At least, I wouldn't be around to irk him anymore. He can do whatever he wants with mom's ashes, with mine and with the company. After all, I have never benefited from it. It was all him and his little family.So, whatever he does, it's his own business. I am sure that mom and grandpa will understand me.I get to the hotel, pack my few clothes in the suitcase and then sign out.“Are sure, miss, your month is still not done and we don't do refunds," the receptionist asks me and I smile kindly." It's okay. I know,” I tell her and after she takes the keys and they make sure that the room is as I found it, I leave.I have a mind to walk but it's far and it's already dark and the last thing I want is e
47. AsenaI don't remember leaving the house. One moment I am standing in the living room staring at my father, trying to understand how a man can smile while destroying his own daughter, and the next I am outside.I am walking, breathing and existing… somehow.The world around me moves normally but I barely notice what's going on around me.Life continues but mine feels like it has stopped.I walk down the sidewalk without direction, purpose and without even knowing where I am going. My legs simply move.My legs just keep moving then the tears start somewhere along the way.At first, I don't notice them, then I realize my vision is blurry, my cheeks wet and my throat hurts. Still,I keep walking because if I stop, I am afraid I will completely fall apart.The city around me becomes a blur of buildings and noise. I don't pay attention to any of it. All I can hear is my father's voice.“The wedding is in seven days.”Seven days.The number repeats endlessly inside my head.Seven days
46. AsenaI don't know why I came.The entire taxi drive to my father's house, I asked myself that question over and over again.Why?Why do I even answer his calls?Why do I still listen when he commands me?Why does one word from him still make my stomach twist into knots?I am twenty-four years old, I live alone and I support myself yet somehow, one phone call is enough to turn me into the frightened little girl who spends her childhood walking on eggshells.The familiar gates come into view and my chest tightens immediately. There is no warmth of home since this place stopped being home years ago. It is merely a house to me now. It's a beautiful prison wrapped in expensive furniture and fake smiles.The guard lets me in without question and I walk toward the front door slowly. Part of me wants to turn around, to run. Unfortunately, I have never been very good at running from my problems.The door is unlocked and I push it open and step inside.The maid, Mrs. Harper, spots me firs
45. CaspianThe mansion feels wrong without Asena.I am angry and pissed at everyone and everything for no apparent reason. I didn't realize how much space one woman had occupied until she left.Now everything in our room and in the house reminds me of Asena; the breakfast table where she argued with me about coffee, the library where she fell asleep reading, the couch where she curled up beneath blankets while pretending she wasn't waiting for Zavian and me to return home and the bathroom where her toiletries are still as she left them.The maids know better than to touch anything.The flowers in our room get replaced, the sheets get changed but everything else stays exactly as she left it as though she might walk back through the front door tomorrow.We don't want her to find any changes when she moves back in. We want her to know that we waited for her.But she didn't come back and seven days have passed. Seven very long days and somehow, every one of them pisses me off and I am
44. AsenaI remember the way the Hale mansion disappeared behind me.I kept staring through the car window long after the gates vanished from sight, my fingers twisted tightly in my lap while my heart refuses to settle.I had left, I had actually left.After everything: the hospital, the kisses, the late-night conversations, the sex… and their confession… I left anyway.Part of me feels relieved but the other part feels like I am ripping something important out of my chest.The driver didn't ask questions when I asked him where to drop me and for that, I was grateful.He just glanced at me through the rearview mirror and simply nodded.The night time Las Vegas shines around me in all its expensive glory.Everything feels so alive and bright yet somehow, I feel numb.My thoughts keep drifting back to the twins; to the way neither of them tried to stop me and to the pain I saw in their eyes when I walk away.I hate remembering it because it almost makes me turn around but thankfully, t
43. Asena Caspian's expression remains steady and so does Zavian's. Neither looks embarrassed, i mean, why would they be embarrassed from confessing? On the contrary, the emotions on their faces scream honesty. "We don't expect you to say it back."Zavian's voice breaks the silence."Then why tell me?" I ask in a small voice. His gaze never leaves mine. He stares, his eyes soft. "Because if you walk away tonight..." He pauses and something painful flashes through his eyes. "...you deserve the truth first. You deserve to know why we did what we did and why we are keeping you close." He confesses. Hearing that hurts far more than it should and the room becomes blurry suddenly. I blink rapidly trying to hide these stupid tears, stupid emotions and this stupid heart.Everything hurts because now nothing is simple.If they are monsters… they are monsters who saved me. If they are dangerous… they are dangerous people who hold me when I cry. If they are killers… they are also the fi







