Lahat ng Kabanata ng Theirs To Possess And Ruin: Kabanata 161 - Kabanata 170

Vivienne The brush moved slowly across the canvas, dragging color into shape as I worked on the sky, soft blues blending into a dull orange that didn’t quite match anything real but felt right in my head. Painting had never been my thing before, but lately it was the only way to keep my thoughts from tearing me apart. When my hands were busy, my mind stayed quiet, and right now, quiet was the closest thing I had to peace. I leaned back slightly, tilting my head as I studied the mess in front of me, trying to decide if it looked like a sunset or just something broken pretending to be beautiful, and honestly, it felt a little too accurate. My fingers were stained with paint, my hair tied up carelessly, loose strands sticking to my face because I’d been at this for hours without noticing time passing, and for once, I wasn’t thinking about Zach, or the men, or the mess I’d created with my own stubbornness. Then the knock came. It was firm, controlled, not hesitant, and that a

VivienneI looked at them and waited, but no one said anything, and that silence… it pressed down on me in a way I didn’t likeIt was heavy and steady, like they were all thinking the same thing but no one wanted to be the first to say it out loud. It wasn’t the loud, aggressive tension I was used to with them, not the kind filled with growls and sharp words, but something quieter, colder, more dangerous, and that scared me more than any fight ever could.I forced myself to stay still, even though my fingers were itching to move, to grab the file again, to tear it apart and find something, anything that made this less real, but there was nothing to find. Marcus had done exactly what he always did, twisted something old or forgotten, and turned it into a weapon.“What do you want to do?” Dante finally asked.The question landed directly on me, simple, calm, but heavy with responsibility, and for the first time in a long time… I had nothing.I shifted slightly in my seat, my shoulders

VivienneThe room felt smaller now, not in a bad way, just… different. I stood there for a second, suddenly unsure what to do with my hands or my words or even my breathing. Asking him to stay had felt necessary when the words came out, but now that he was actually here, the weight of it settled on me in a way I wasn’t ready for.I cleared my throat lightly and moved toward the bed, sitting on the edge as I glanced at him. He didn’t rush or make it awkward. He just walked over slowly and sat on the chair near the window, giving me space like he always did, like he knew I needed it even when I didn’t say it.“Thanks,” I muttered, looking down at my hands because looking at him felt too much right now. “For staying.”Ryker nodded once, his voice low and calm. “You don’t have to thank me for that.”I let out a small breath and rubbed my arms, even though I wasn’t cold. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t easy either. Too many things sat between us, things I still hadn’t fixed

VivienneI groaned as Ryker and Asher dropped yet another pile of books in front of me, the sound of heavy leather hitting the table echoing louder than it should have, probably because my head was already pounding from hours of reading nonsense that barely made sense. I dragged my hands down my face slowly, resisting the very real urge to cry, scream, or just flip the entire table and be done with it, because I had been sitting in this damn private library since morning, digging through ancient laws, outdated contracts, and underworld codes that were written like the people who made them enjoyed confusing others for sport.“This is ridiculous,” I muttered, staring at the open book in front of me like it personally offended me. “Who writes laws like this? Half of this sounds like drunk men arguing over ownership of goats and somehow deciding it applies to people.”Asher chuckled lightly behind me, not even trying to hide it, while Ryker just shook his head and moved one of the stacks

VivienneMy heart was spiking madly, not the controlled kind of fast but the messy, uneven kind that came when your body knew danger before your mind could fully process it, and for a second I hated it because I wasn’t supposed to react like this anymore, not to him or the past I had already buried and clawed my way out of, but Marcus had a way of dragging things back to the surface just by existing.Before the panic could settle in properly, the men moved.Not dramatically or in a way that would draw attention, but it was there, subtle and solid as they shifted closer around me, Kane on one side, Ryker slightly behind, Asher too close to my right, Dante stepping just ahead like a quiet wall between me and whatever was waiting inside that room, and it grounded me in a way I didn’t expect, the chaos in my chest slowing just enough for me to breathe again.“Calm down,” Kane muttered low enough that only I heard, his voice rough but steady, and even though he didn’t touch me, the heat of