LOGINPRESENTSELENE’S POV:Three days in, and I still hadn’t figured out how to exist in Corey Allister’s penthouse without feeling like I was trespassing.The place was immaculate in that expensive, untouched way. Everything was so pristine it almost felt sterile. There were no plants, no splashes of color to soften the edges. Even the air smelled cool, faintly metallic. There was nothing unnecessary in the place, only the things he absolutely needed. The lack of furniture made the penthouse feel larger, emptier—like a showroom instead of a home.On the second day here, I switched my phone off.Grayson had called until the battery threatened to give up entirely. Missed calls stacked on top of each other, voicemails I couldn’t bring myself to listen to. Maya was the only one I had contacted. She showed up to Corey's place within an hour, slightly angry but mostly worried. Telling her was enough to quiet the guilt, at least a little. She assured me she would take care of the boys—who wer
PRESENTGRAYSON’S POV:“There won’t be any vacations. Will there?” Julian asked, lounging in my chair as he offered me a glass of whiskey.“Obviously,” I drawled, leaning back against the sofa in my office - old office.I took a sip, the liquor burning its way down my throat. “How’s corporate life treating you?”He laughed. “Your company’s a disaster, Vexley. I can’t believe you handed me a sinking ship.”I winced.“I told you exactly what you were signing up for,” I said, offering Julian an apologetic shrug. “Fair enough,” Julian said as he picked the decanter and walked towards the sofa, settling himself on the other end.I pulled the decanter towards me to refill my glass.“Corey Allister paid me a visit,” Julian informed, making me halt mid-pour.“I’m surprised it took him two days,” I said with a snort. “What did he say?”“That he knows what you’re playing at and that it won’t work,” Julian said casually. “Though for all his bluster, he looked rattled.”I nodded. It was somethi
PRESENTGRAYSON’S POV:I learned a long time ago that silence is only powerful when it’s chosen.Today was the day it stopped being my weapon.Even though I'd prepared for it for so long, I still felt that familiar pang of anxiety shoot through me.I smoothed down my suit and straightened my back, looking around the people that sat in the conference room.My board members, my legal team, people who'd known my father - known Aurum Holdings - since before I was born.There were matching looks of disappointment on their faces, like they couldn't believe this was happening.Once, that look would have crushed me. Teenage Grayson had lived for approval, for the fragile validation of people he believed he was meant to impress. Adult Grayson knew better. I didn't care what any of them thought of me. They didn't matter enough.It was freeing in a way I didn’t know was possible.I cleared my throat.“It was an honor working with you,” I said, addressing the room. “You may not understand my dec
PASTSELENE’S POV:“What?” I demanded, gaze darting from Theo to Josh to Nate and then back to Maya. “Why are you all looking at me like this?”Josh took a very dramatic, swaying step forward, like he was drunk. “The class would love to know what Principal Duncan wanted to talk to you about?”I shot him a look.“Uhh…nothing important,” I said, slightly concerned at the collective unhinged behaviour. “Are you guys okay?”“It’s not ‘nothing important’, Selene,” Maya said gravely. “You have to tell us what he said.”I blinked. “These idiots, I get but why are you encouraging this behavior, Saeed?”“Seriously, Ninety-Eight,” Nate drawled from where he was leaning against the wall, pretending to be unbothered but I could tell he was just as curious as the rest of them. “Why don’t you just answer the question?”I groaned, dragging a hand down my face. “Oh my God. Fine. He wanted to talk about that academic decathlon they do every year.”“And?” Theo urged, looking way too eager.“And he want
PASTGRAYSON’S POV:I didn’t know weekends could be this tortuous before I’d gone and kissed Selene.And kissing wasn’t even the problem. I’d kissed girls before and it hadn’t meant anything. I hadn’t waited for their texts or replayed their smiles in my head. I hadn’t suffered for a glimpse of them in a crowded hallway.It was the feelings that were making everything so complicated. I wasn’t supposed to feel. It wasn’t supposed to happen. Not with Selene Hale. Not with anyone. That was how I stayed salvageable in my father’s eyes.With Selene, I’d always known that distance was the only answer. If I could make her hate me, maybe I could bury what I felt before it tore me apart.But I wasn’t successful at even that.Instead, I’d told her I wanted to kiss her—said the thing I’d been dreading out loud. I didn’t know what possessed me. And then she’d kissed me, and every coherent thought had vanished like it had never existed at all.Two days had gone by and I was still a mess of contra
PAST Selene's Pov My heart was a hummingbird but I forced myself to hold steady as I met his gaze. His blue eyes were piercing, oceans that threatened to pull me under. And I was an entity made of anticipation, almost shivering under the intensity of his gaze. He was so close I could feel the wetness of his clothes soaking into mine. “It would make all the difference,” I whispered. “Would you run, Hale?” He asked, his hand cupping my face. My breath caught in my throat. “I only run when you do, Vexley,” I breathed, “You know that.” “Ask me again, Selene,” He said quietly, almost a breath. “Ask me again what I want. Why I’m here, trying to get you to look at me, spewing bullshit if it meant you staying for a second more.” I couldn’t think straight. There was a buzzing in my veins that made me feel lightheaded, like I’d drift off if he let go of me. “What do you want, Grayson?” I asked. For a second, I thought he wouldn’t say it. That he’d pull back, throw another
PRESENTGRAYSON’S POV:“So?” Selene demanded the second she crossed the threshold of my office, arms folded over her chest so tightly like she wanted to weld them there forever.“Take a seat,” I said with every ounce of patience teenage Grayson would’ve burned through in a second.She rolled her ey
PRESENTSELENE’S POV:“Hale!” Grayson’s voice made my skin erupt in goosebumps and I swallowed down the sudden burst of fear that crawled up my throat.The girl I was chatting with stood up straighter, her wide eyes darting towards the door of his office, where Grayson stood, thunder etched into e
PAST SELENE’S POV:Zoey picked up my call on the second ring. My world could be falling apart but I knew I could always count on her to always be meticulously consistent.“Oh, my God, finally!” Zoey exclaimed, her face popping onto my screen. Her dark almond eyes shone with mischief, her dark hair
PASTGRAYSON’S POV:“Dude!” Nate exclaimed from the bed behind me, tossing his controller aside. It bounced twice before landing on the edge of the mattress.I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face as I whirled around in my chair to face him.“You clearly cheated,” Nathan said with a ro







