dows and light. I stood before the tall gilded mirror in my room, comb in hand, brushing my hair with slow, deliberate movements

lverware being polished in the kitchen. Even in silence, the weight of wealth pressed against me like a second skin

he morning light. Beauty had always been a tool in my world,a shield, a weapon, a burden. I had never wielded it f

casually against the frame, arms crossed, eyes sharp and mischievous. "You alwa

nuing to comb. "Every day

pping closer. "And today isn't just any

since tragedy had rewritten our lives. My mother had died delivering a cake for my father's forty-Second birthday. A moment meant

on settle. "You look... different today," she sai

st the strands,trying to smooth the knot of emotions in my chest. "It

ser, voice low.

ht . Standing tall, composed, hands in his pockets, watching silently.

nowingly. "Still think

the comb to my lap. "It's i

Abi said. "A man like th

t, careful. My father's voice

y fingers brush the curves of my waist automatically. In this hou

ead, posture rigid, eyes distant but haunted. Today, the anniversary, weighed on him visibly. I watched his hands tighten around the edge of the

said softly, t

e your mother's eyes, Meelan," he said quietly, voice weighted with memory. "The same bro

I had never felt such a compliment land so heavily yet so delicately. In

and responsibilities, but his mind was elsewhere, tangled in the memories of my mother. I watc

....later

mped to my throat. He stepped out, tall and unflinching, the truck gleaming under the early sun. He had broken the car

. he's here. Meelan

ed by my father was forbidden from the property, especially after dark. Yet here h

e. His eyes narrowed, a silent warning. My stomach twisted. Wha

k. A voice, low but carrying

in. "Meelan is forever mine.By the way I'm Alaiz Robbison"He

,partly from fear, partly from desire. My father's authority, my carefully contained life, the unspoken rules ,they all scream

ic. "Meelan... look at hi

dn't name. Alaiz's audacity had cut through every invisible wall in

her finally spoke, voice low, sharp: "Staff. Ev

floors. Alaiz didn't flinch, not even a muscle,not an eyelid. He simply looked at me, his e

, squeezing tightly. "M

le-breaking, the undeniable attraction.It all collided, leaving me breat

the command. Alaiz's smirk widened, almost triumphant, like a

hands to my chest. "This... this

reamed another truth I couldn't deny: I had never been

ce, every movement, every heartbeat was a wire stretched taut between danger a

authority, my mother's absence, Alaiz's defiance, and my own

father's voice commanded, sha

ain. He didn't move yet. He didn't budge. And in that moment, a p