LOGINEthan's POV The mansion grew closer with every passing mile, its familiar silhouette rising against the darkening sky, and something in my chest tightened with each meter the car covered. *I don't want to go in.* *Not yet. Not today.* I wanted to run. Wanted to disappear somewhere quiet for just a few hours, somewhere that didn't hold Grandpa's hopeful smile or Adrian's cold, knowing eyes waiting for me behind those gates. But I knew what waited on the other side of that decision too. Grandpa, puzzled and hurt by my absence. Adrian, irritated at having to explain it, or worse, irritated that I'd dared to keep his grandfather waiting. I sighed, gripping the wheel tighter. *Just go home. Just face it.* Just before the turn that led toward the Blackwood estate, my foot pressed the brake. I knew the consequences. I was fully aware of what waited for me, of how Adrian might react, of the explanations I'd have to give. And still, my leg refused to move, refused to release the press
Ethan's POVThe rest of the day passed in a strange, disoriented blur.I sat at my desk, staring at the same spreadsheet for what must have been twenty minutes without actually reading a single number on it, my mind looping endlessly back to the same handful of moments.*Grandpa's smile. The word engagement. Adrian's laughter. The darkness in his eyes right after.*None of it made sense together. None of it fit the way pieces of a person were supposed to fit.I pressed my palms against my face, exhaling slowly.*Bound to his orders. He said that like it was nothing. Like I was nothing more than a decision waiting to be made for me.*And yet.And yet some small, foolish part of me kept circling back to a different memory entirely, one that had nothing to do with warnings or cold grey eyes narrowing inches from my face.I let my eyes drift shut for just a moment, the office noise fading into something distant and unimportant.---(A few years back)It had been a warm evening, golden lig
Ethan's POVAdrian sat sprawled across the recliner, utterly unbothered, his arms stretched along the headrest, one leg crossed lazily over the other. There was a mischief lingering in the curve of his mouth, a smugness that made my blood simmer just beneath the surface.I threw my hands up, exasperated."Well?" I demanded. "Aren't you going to say something?"I expected him to speak. To calm the storm his grandfather had just dropped on me like a bomb waiting to detonate. To say anything at all about the word still ringing in my ears.He tilted his head slightly, shaking one leg in idle rhythm."What?" he finally asked, as though he'd only just noticed I was standing there."Don't you have something to say?" I pressed, cocking a brow."About what?""As if you don't know what Grandpa said." I huffed, crossing my arms. "Just now."He blinked, feigning confusion with an ease that made my irritation spike further, his lips slowly forming an exaggerated little "o" before he leaned forward
Ethan's POV I woke to an empty room. The space beside me on the bed remained untouched, the sheets smooth and undisturbed, and for a moment I simply lay there, disoriented, blinking at the ceiling before the reality of it settled in. *Adrian isn't here.* I sat up slowly, glancing toward the small clock on the nightstand. Later than I usually woke, though not late enough to explain the silence pressing against the walls of the room. I freshened up quickly, pulling on the first clothes within reach before making my way downstairs, my footsteps echoing a little too loudly against the quiet corridors. Grandpa wasn't in the study. He wasn't in the garden either, no walking stick propped near his usual chair, no half finished cup of tea waiting on the table beside his newspaper. I walked into the dining room instead, settling into my seat as a plate of breakfast was quietly placed before me. I ate a few bites in silence before finally glancing up. "Mrs. Rosamund." She appeared almo
Adrian's POVThe clock hit at 6 pm and I left for home. The moment my car reached the porsche and I walked down their voices reached me before I even saw them. Drifting down the hallway the moment I stepped through the door."You moved your knight wrong," Grandpa was saying, squinting at the board with theatrical suspicion."I moved it exactly right," Ethan replied, not even looking up. "You're just upset because I'm about to take your bishop.""Nonsense. I taught Adrian this game when he was seven. I know a cheat when I see one.""I'm not cheating, Grandpa.""Then explain the knight.""It's called strategy."Grandpa huffed, leaning back in his chair with mock offense. "In my day, strategy meant patience. Not this... this reckless leaping about."I paused in the doorway, unnoticed, watching Ethan press his lips together to keep from laughing outright."Reckless leaping about is literally what a knight does, Grandpa.""Don't get smart with me.""I'm just stating facts."Grandpa pointe
Adrian's POV Yesterday was my parents' anniversary. I woke before the sun had fully risen, the way I always do on this particular morning, my body remembering the date before my mind fully catches up to it. For a moment, lying there in the grey half light, I simply stared at the ceiling, letting the weight of it settle over me the way it does every year. *Twenty years.*Twenty years since the house stopped smelling like my mother's perfume in the mornings. Since my father stopped humming off the key in the shower, thinking none of us could hear him. I sat up slowly, pressing the heels of my palms against my eyes, willing the familiar ache in my chest to loosen its grip before the day even began. I don't celebrate it in any grand way. I never have. Each year, I simply cut a small cake, quiet and unceremonious, and distribute the rest among the beggars scattered along the street corners near the old chapel. It felt like the only honest way to remember them, not with speeches or can
Ethan’s POVHow long was he watching us? And why?Before I could excuse or walk to him, Adrians walked to me, his eyes throwing daggers and my breath hitched. "Can I just borrow my partner from you?", he asks, holding me from my arms.His hold tight made me witter in pain but forcing a smile I walk
Ethan’s POVIt was 5:00 pm and I was resting in my room thinking Adrian is off to work, when I found him walking in my room making me startled. "Aren't you supposed to come at 7:00 pm?", I blurted my thoughts loudly."Is it?", he cocks his brows at me. "I thought I was a free king, and I can chang
Ethan’s POVThe car stopped in front of the big black gates, standing tall, towering up with all its authority and glory. The name beside it engraved on the marbles in gold read “Blackwood Mansion”. I gulp as the guard signals the car to pass inside and soon an extraordinarily big garden, with a fo
Ethan’s POV"Sign this paper, and you'll get unlimited money access!", he smirks as I look at him in despair. His voice is smooth, but at the same time, deadly. He sits across from me as if he owns everything, including my fate. His face is calm, body relaxed while the darkened orbs tell a differe







