BRANDONAthens, Greece“Okay, take a deep breath. This might irritate your skin a little, but it’s normal. You have to be very, very careful.” I looked at Cassius’s eyes as he started to remove my bandage.The procedure and the medication took four months. I had eleven operations and three plastic surgeries. Cassius said that my cheekbones were dislocated—the reason why the flesh wounds were always raw. It got infected because it wasn’t treated immediately. He said I was lucky it did not spread to the other part of my face. I still had more operations to go for my ribcage and the scars on my chest.“Are you ready?”I nodded. “More than ready...”Cassius started to carefully undo the bandage.“I was waiting for this moment, buddy—all my life. I waited for this,” he said.“I know, and I’ve been such a prick to you,” I admitted.“Heard something from Oliver? Did you talk to Alayna? Do they know about this day?”“No. I talked to Oliver, and they seemed fine.”He stopped. “Are you saying y

BRANDON Athens, Greece My grandfather tossed the glass of wine. Deep inside, I was grieving. I promised him that I would protect the family because he knew I could be trusted. But right now, I might’ve failed him. What I was doing wasn’t enough. “How?” he howled as if someone had died again. “How could you not tell me such information? Since when have you known about it?” I wouldn’t have wanted to believe it myself. “I was wrong for not telling you.” I clenched my fist. “But I thought we agreed that you would let me do these things my way. You got into my private files, Grandfather. Did you think I’m doing nothing?” I know that it will hurt him, finding out a family was killed by his own flesh and blood. “Helen lost her life because her son murdered her. He made her transfer everything to his name then killed her. I didn’t mean to get into your files. I trust you, my boy, but you should’ve told me about this. Oh, Helen, my sister,” he whimpered. “What did they do to you? Oh! Wh

BRANDONA few hours earlier“Cassius, I need a favor. We are still in front. Come here and take Alayna.”He and Oliver come in a flurry. I step out of the car and open the door on the passenger side.Cassius rushes to her and gently shakes her shoulder. “Alayna? Alayna, can you hear me?” He caresses her flushed cheeks with his thumb, but she doesn’t respond. “What happened to her?”I curse under my breath. The way he holds her is too familiar. I fucking want to tear his arms off, but I calm myself. “She fainted.”“What did you do?”“We never had a chance to talk. She was crying the whole time,” I say.“God, I think she needs to give this a rest. You just couldn’t wait until she’s ready,” he snarls and looks at his brother. “You both know it’s not good for her.”Oliver doesn’t answer, but he nods.“Alayna?” He touches her face. “Oh, God. Are you okay?”“Don’t wake her. She fell asleep.”“Don’t tell me what to do because you can’t take care of her!” Cassius snaps. “I’m taking her from h

ALAYNAThree weeks of vacation in the place where I was born seemed like a short time, so naturally, I wished I could stay. I’ve missed my family terribly—my mother and my twelve siblings. If I go back to New York, I’m only going to remember the hell I’ve been through with Brandon, and it’s a reality I can’t avoid. Nonetheless, it’s impossible for me to move on. Brandon and I never really had a long time to get to know each other, but it still hurts so much that I’m afraid it’d take long to finally let go of my feelings for him. To heal.Cassius believes that this is for the best. I’ve tried hard to put the negativity away and give myself more time to adjust. He wants me to enjoy myself with my family, but it’s not that easy. I know everything is temporary.Mom thinks Cassius is my boyfriend—and my boss’s cousin. I told her we’re only friends, but she wouldn’t believe me. Who would? Every day he’s in our house, and he only returns to the hotel after dinner.I don’t give much thought t

ALAYNA“Mom, don’t cry, please? I know it’s hard that we’re going to be apart again, but you know I have to leave, right?” I hold her face between my palms then brush her tears away. “Elman, can you take care of everything for me? Can I count on you?” I ask him as the eldest.Elman sniffs back his tears and wipes his nose with his shirt. “Yes, Laynie.”They are all crying like there’s no tomorrow. It breaks my heart every time I leave home.“Oh, Alayna.” Mom envelops her arms around me. She can’t stop crying. “Can you call me face-to-face when you return to New York?”“Yes, I will, of course.”“Laynie,” Cassius calls, using my nickname. “Everything’s packed. We’ll leave whenever you’re ready.” He closes the cab’s trunk after settling our things inside.“Your boyfriend.” Mom looks into my eyes. “He’s a good man. You better be good to him.” She sniffles again. “No one’s going to check my blood pressure every morning now,” she adds, a final attempt to get us to stay.I chuckle between te