LOGINColin’s fingers tightened around the phone.“What do you mean she’s gone?”His voice came out sharper than he expected.The driver’s breathing was uneven on the other end, like he was running or driving too fast.“Sir, we were already at her house. Just outside the gate, the moment I opened the car, a van blocked us.”Colin’s heart dropped.“What van?”“I don’t know, sir. Three men came down. Then two more from another car. They said something about a loan. That she thought she could hide forever.”Colin’s blood turned cold.“A loan?”“Yes, sir. Miss Melissa was shouting that she didn’t know what they were talking about. I tried to stop them, but they had weapons.”Colin was already moving.His feet carried him toward his car before his mind fully caught up.“Where are you now?”“I’m following them, sir.”“You’re what?”“They took her into the van. I got back into the car and followed. I’m keeping distance so they don’t notice me.”Colin yanked his car door open.“Send me your live lo
For the first time that night, Colin hesitated.It was brief.But she saw it.The coldness cracked for just a moment, and underneath it, there was pain.Real pain.Then he looked at her fully.“That depends on your relationship with Miranda from now on.”Melissa froze.Colin’s voice remained calm.“If you settle things with her and continue being friends, then I’ll consider you my sister too.”Melissa’s chest tightened.“But if not,” he continued, “then I have no business making friends with my sister’s enemy.”The words were gentle.The meaning was not.Melissa understood him perfectly.He was putting her exactly where he believed she belonged now.Not as a woman he once wanted.Not as someone who had a chance to be loved by him.Just Miranda’s friend.And if Miranda rejected her, then even that small title would be gone.Melissa’s lips trembled, but she forced herself not to cry.“I understand.”Colin held her gaze for another second.Then he nodded.“Goodnight, Melissa.”She wanted
Melissa sat on the hospital bed with her left leg stretched out, her ankle raised on a small pillow while the nurse wrapped a bandage around it.She had cried earlier.Not because the pain was unbearable, although it was sharp enough to make her hiss whenever the nurse touched the swollen area.She cried because of everything else.Richard.Miranda.Colin.The way the night had collapsed so quickly that she still could not tell where the first crack had started.“Try not to put pressure on it for a few days,” the doctor said, scribbling something on a chart. “It’s a sprain, not a fracture, but you’ll worsen it if you walk carelessly. Use the support when you need to move. Ice it. Rest it.”Melissa nodded quietly.“Thank you.”Colin stood by the wall with both hands in his pockets.He had been there from the beginning.He was there when she was brought in. He was there when the nurse examined her ankle. He was there when the doctor asked what happened. He even stepped forward once when
Noah’s smile softened.“You tell me.”Miranda looked at him like he had just signed up for a storm without checking the weather.“No, Noah. I’m serious.”“So am I.”She inhaled slowly, her fingers tightening around the edge of his jacket.“You’re looking at this like it’s simple. You’re looking at me like I’m just some woman you like, and all you have to do is prove it.”“Is there something else I need to do?” Noah asked innocently. Miranda’s voice grew quieter."I'm saying I’m not simple.”“That’s fair.” “I’m serious, Noah." She shook her head. “Look at me; I’m divorced and pregnant.”“I noticed.”She glared at him.He gave a small, guilty smile.“Sorry. Continue.”Miranda looked away, frustrated that he could still make her want to laugh when she was trying very hard to be serious.“You’ll be raising another man’s child if this becomes serious.”“I know that.”“You think you know, but you don’t. It’s easy to say it now because everything feels emotional. But later, when people s
Miranda stood frozen.Not shocked anymore.Not confused either.Just… recalibrating her entire understanding of the last ten minutes of her life.Her eyes moved slowly from Noah to Melissa.Then back again.Like she was checking if the world had suddenly changed language without informing her.Finally, her voice came out carefully.“…So Melissa… the person you like is Richard?”Melissa blinked.Then sighed.Then nodded slowly.“Yes.”The word dropped like a weight.Miranda’s face tightened immediately.“Wait.” Melissa quickly lifted her hands. “Before you say anything, just listen…”"No," Miranda cut in, voice sharp now. “Let me speak.”The room went quiet again.Even Colin stopped adjusting Melissa’s ankle. The two men exchanged a worried look.Miranda took a step forward.“You couldn’t tell me because it’s Richard?”Melissa’s lips parted.“I tried.”“No,” Miranda repeated. “You didn’t try. You hid it. You were tiptoeing around, making me believe it was Noah. You two weren’t that clo
The name left Miranda’s mouth like she had forgotten how to breathe properly.Noah stood at the end of the hallway, one side of his face still freshly dressed. He looked like he had run out of the hospital with unfinished treatment.Because he had.Colin stood beside him, face hard, eyes moving from Miranda to Adrian, then to Richard, then back to Miranda.Noah didn’t move.He didn’t even blink.His eyes were on Miranda like the rest of the world had suddenly become background noise.Miranda’s heart dropped into her stomach.No.No, no, no.How much did he hear?Her lips parted, but nothing reasonable came out.“Noah, I…”Noah took one slow step forward.His voice was low.“Did you mean everything you just said?”Miranda froze.Her throat closed.Colin looked away briefly like even he knew this was too naked to watch.Noah’s eyes stayed on her.“Everything you just said,” he repeated. “Did you mean it?”Miranda swallowed.Her mouth opened.Closed.Opened again.“I… I didn’t know you w
Then his gaze lowered.And landed on the puddle near her feet.A slow smile appeared on his face.Petty.The woman turned sharply toward one of the guards again.“If anything happens to my daughter, all of you will answer for it!”Noah picked a pebble on the floor and threw it hard in her direction
Melissa folded her arms immediately. “What issue at hand?”Noah looked at Miranda first before speaking.“Mr. and Mrs. Jones are returning to the country in two days,” he said. “And Colin might not be back until then as well.”Melissa rolled her eyes, confused. She didn’t understand the point Noah
Miranda didn’t answer.Not a word.Not even a shake of her head.Nothing.Just silence.Noah knew she wouldn’t answer the question even before he asked. He just couldn’t hold in the urge to ask. And somehow…Her silence said too much. It didn’t reduce the impact it made despite the fact that it w
Colin held his gaze.“…I do.”The answer came without hesitation.Noah nodded once.“Then go.”Colin exhaled slowly.“Alright. My sister is in your care.”He turned slightly.Then paused.“I’ll be back soon,” he added. “Mom and Dad will be back as well.”A faint smile touched his lips.“And this ti







