Sean was hungry for a fight.After the meeting they just had with their father, Tate could tell that the bulky man wanted to break something—whatever he could lay his hands on. Perhaps, pump his fist into the first face that he found obnoxious or clutch his own hair and scream. He could always tell when his brother was on the verge of doing something stupid, which was almost every other day.It was why he took him to their usual spot at the nightclub. Nothing annoyed Sean as much as losing to their sister's wit—a sentiment that Tate understood completely, a sentiment Tate shared. But he also knew that nothing soothed the man's soul more than a night away from work. Music and the beautiful women that paraded the club, they were a balm for his soul. The best part was that he could buy the all with money and he had lots of that.Sean hunched over the table which was covered with every kind of wine imaginable. There was chardonnay, champagne and rosé. At least those, Tate could recogniz
The house Kayla had bought for Louisa and Tia was far larger than the one she shared with Reynold's. The structure sat nestled on a reticent street of the suburbs and it was surrounded by neatly manicured lawns that soaked in the summer sun. It was two stories high and boasted of a quaint front porch. A wide garage graced the building and it was all fenced round with whitewashed wood. The space at the foyer and the back of the house were both vast enough to fit a family barbecue.Kayla stared up the stairs on the front porch. Nearly all the lights in the house were had been turned on.She parked in the Rolls Royce facing the open street, just in case she had to leave as quickly as she had come. The walk to the door at the porch was a short one, but it seemed like ages before Kayla was in front of it. She raised her hand to press the doorbell, but the door twisted open before she ever made contact.Kayla blinked, surprised."Kayla," It was Reynolds. He poked his head out of the house
Reynolds could not believe his good fortune.He had hoped to get back with Kayla, but he had not expected it to happen so soon, or that she would be the one to ask him. He had missed her sorely. Maybe a little too much. But he knew Kayla. When his wife set her mind to something, there was no convincing her otherwise, except she changed her mind herself. It was one of the many things he loved about her— the driving force that was her determination. Throwing himself into work had helped him take his mind of her.When she asked him to return home with her, he was so stunned that be asked her if she was certain she wanted him to. "Are you sure you want that?"She nodded. "I have never been more certain of anything." said she. That was all Reynolds needed to hear. He grabbed his car keys and gathered what little belongings he had strewn around the house and tossed them into his duffel bag. They took his car, leaving the Rolls Royce Kayla had arrived in behind. Jovian would return the c
Ceneau never thought he would have to say yes to any woman in his life.The thought of waiting to be married on an altar, or watching as a veiled woman walk towards him from the end of the aisle, it was all beyond him. He had planned always to live the way he had been living forever: two miles at a time. Fortunately, the Johns were just the kind of family to finance and encourage such a life. So far, he had stayed on track, writing his books, traveling around the world, modelling when he got the chance. A small part of him knew that one day, sooner or later, nemesis would finally caught up with him.Finally, nemesis had caught up with him in form of his father wanting him to marry the daughter of some other business tycoon. None of it sat right with him. None of it. More and more, each day he felt like he had been placed in a cage like a wild animal and the metal contraption only kept reducing in size, edging him in. Thoughts of his impending marriage were a hand around his throat.C
She called Ceneau's cell phone number over and over again, and although it rang each time, not once did he receive her calls.Kayla was at a restaurant with her husband, Reynolds. They had decided to eat out. It was the fourth night since she asked him to return to their home and their relationship was finally going smoothly again after weeks of turbulence. Nearly everything was going smoothly again. Everything besides her brother's proposed marriage.Ceneau Johns had vanished into thin air and his wedding to Mr Zhang's daughter was merely weeks away. She was a trying to panic.Rey had excused himself to visit the rest room and she immediately snatched up the opportunity to dial Ceneau's number. He was as silent as nothingness for days and it starting to make her panic. He had left the country for São Paulo to continue his book tour. None of them had heard from him since then, although there were reels on Instagram from his nights out clubbing—which was basically every other night s
They arrived at the restaurant in a black Lamborghini.When they emerged from the vehicle, Grant Emerson saw that they were without their chaperones. It was dark outside, night having fallen earlier than most days, so they could not see the two cars idling across the road. In one of those vehicles sat Grant Emerson. The other vehicle was a cop car. Hidden in the dark and without its sirens on, it was not enough to draw their attention.Grant sat behind the wheel of his car and watched Reynolds step out of the car and gently help his wife down. They were laughing about something. Other than the day that Kayla came to his office with empty threat and false prophecies of doom, Grant was absolutely certain he had never seen the woman without her stone-faced guard. The woman was always in dark clothes lurking nearby. The same was the case with her husband. Each time he spotted the man, he was followed closely by his guard.Without their guards, they were vulnerable outside. He was surpr
The drive to the house was quiet.The men blindfolded Rey so he could not learn where he was being taken to. For several minutes, he only listened to sound of the car as it raced down the street and the pattering of the rain on the roof of the car. When they arrived at their destination, they took him out of the car still blindfolded and led him into a house. The rain fell lightly on them as they exited the vehicle, wetting Rey's hair and clothes slightly. He counted their steps as they walked to the foyer of the house and entered it.After depositing him on a hard steel chair, they ripped off the blindfold. He made sure to seem as relaxed as possible in all of this—leaning back into the chair like a prince on a gilded throne—and it achieved the desired effect. It made the men uneasy. Not many men sat so easy after been blindfolded and taken miles into the unknown. But Rey was not just any man."Where is Grant?" He asked, completely at ease.The smaller one of the men had an ugly sc
Kayla had no words for Lei, and Lei did not seem to have any words for her either. They drove all the way to the house in terse silence. Soon her assistant was pulling the car to a halt in front of the house."Here we are, ma'am." Lei said.She left the vehicle running and it rumbled quietly. Kayla considered telling the woman to go to hell and never show her face at her house again, but there was a tugging in her chest that pulled her towards Lei. Yes, the woman was her aide and assistant, her bodyguard and confidant. But at the same time, she was her friend. Lei had grown up with her and had watched her cry, lash out out her brothers, feel joy in all its brightnesses, grieve in silence, grieve loudly, loathe, love. So many things, infact, and that’s why now as she stood, she ran her finger across her silver ring and let herself think."Your mother," she said finally. "Is she safe?"The question seemed to stun her assistant into reticence. She gripped the wheel, her shoulders hunc