All Chapters of Shared In Tangled Sheets : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Ava woke first.Her body ached— not painfully, but in the unmistakable way of a night that stretched every boundary she had ever believed in.Tristan’s arm was draped loosely over her waist.Xander’s chest was pressed against her back.For one fragile moment, she lay between them, suspended in the warmth of what they’d done, before reality rushed in.“What have we done?” She thought to herself in hysteria.Tristan stirred beside her, brushing his lips lightly against her shoulder.Xander shifted, tightening his hold on her instinctively like he sensed something slipping.Ava’s heart raced.“Morning,” Tristan murmured, voice still rough from sleep.Xander’s eyes opened at the sound. He studied Tristan over Ava’s shoulder. Measuring, calculating, already guarding his territory.Ava sat up quickly, pulling the sheets around her.Tristan leaned back against the pillows, his gaze following her.Xander pushed up slowly on one elbow, rubbing a hand over his face.No one spoke. Not at first.

The rules were set. But rules were made to be followed or broken.Xander knew it the moment they all stepped into the kitchen that morning.The shift was subtle, so subtle that anyone else would have missed it. But not Xander.Ava moved differently around Tristan.She carried herself with a strange, quiet ease, like someone who had stopped bracing for impact. Like someone who finally understood the rules of a game she hadn’t realized she was playing.She hovered near the counter, reaching for a mug, and her eyes flicked toward Tristan before she even realized they’d moved. Xander saw it. He Felt it. The tiny jolt that ran through her body when Tristan brushed her arm on the way to the sink.“Tristan, do you want coffee?” Her voice sounded so soft and gentle when she said his name. Xander’s fingers curled around the edge of the counter until his knuckles whitened. He stayed still. Too still.Watching them move in the same small space. Watching the tiny currents of awareness between

The ballroom glowed with chandeliers and golden drapes, alive with soft music, clinking glasses, and the hum of wealthy donors who would buy overpriced items just to look like saints. Ava arrived on Xander’s arm, sleek in a backless silver dress that glittered in the flashes of the camera lights. Her smile was polite— too polite. She still felt Tristan somewhere behind her like a shadow she pretended not to search for.As the cameras flashed and couples were seen taking photos and chatting at the entrance of the building, Xander squeezed her waist. “Smile, baby. People are watching.”She did when she saw that Tristan was no longer trailing behind them.But her heartbeat stuttered when she finally spotted Tristan across the hall. His black suit magnificently sculpted his obviously chiseled body.His handsome face was the only thing she saw in the room, smiling like he owned the damn room… and her.Just then he did the unthinkable.He walked toward them like a man approaching his priz

For one suspended second, the ballroom held its breath. Ava’s eyes widened as Xander’s fist came crashing down— but not on Tristan.The blow landed squarely on the table. A brutal, earth-shaking Slam that made every glass jump,Cutlery clatter, and conversations die mid-sentence.The impact echoed like a gunshot. Gasps erupted around them. And Tristan… Tristan just stared at him.Xander’s knuckles were white, pressed into the dent he’d driven into the tablecloth. A vein pulsed violently in his neck. But when he lifted his head, his eyes were burning with something far more unhinged than rage.Possession, Fear, Loss. All twisted together.Ava could barely breathe. “Xander…” she whispered, but the word barely made it out. He turned his glare on Tristan, voice low and raspy. “You think this is a game?” His chest heaved. “You think you can embarrass me… in my face… and I’ll just sit here like a fucking spectator?”Tristan’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t move an inch. Around them, murmurs sw

Xander stormed into Ava’s office without knocking.His eyes were wild with rage, his jaw, clenched so tight the muscle twitched.Ava stood instantly.“Xander…?” She stuttered.“Why didn’t you tell me?” He questioned in return. Tristan, who had been leaning against her desk obviously in the middle of a conversation, straightened.Xander threw his phone onto the table. A video was playing— a blurry clip leaked by someone at the office.The client leaving the meeting room looking furious. Ava storming out. Tristan behind her, his hand almost touching her waist. People whispering in the background.Xander’s voice cut through the room like a blade, pulling their attention from the video playing on his phone.“Aside from this video that’s been circulating rapidly, that man said you tried to seduce him to secure the deal in a press release.”Ava gasped. “What?! He… he propositioned me! He said.. ”“I don’t care what he said!” Xander roared.“I care that you didn’t tell me immediately it hap