“You sound like children,” I mumbled, my voice still hoarse with sleep.
That made my heart skip a beat.
What I saw made my sleep-heavy brain jolt awake.
I tried to smile, still caught between sleep and waking-until I felt a sudden shift in the bed and heard a thud, followed by a grunt.
“What’s wrong?” Lennox asked, sitting up behind me.
“I always get to her first,” Lennox shot back smugly.
I sat up straight, my breath catching in my throat. “Shit.”
“Figured you’d like my scent more, Louis added from the bed, his face still partially squished under Lennox’s arm.
All three men immediately stilled.
I nodded, leaning in to give him a quick kiss on the lips. “Positive.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Olivia’s POV
I stood quickly, brushing my hair out of my face. “It was my brother. Calvin. He’s looking for me.”
My heart dropped.
“Louis, stop… you’re waking her up,” came Lennox’s unmistakable voice, laced with amusement and warning.
“Why do you look scared?” Levi asked, his voice sharp.
“You love me that way.”
Before I could respond, the bathroom door opened-and out stepped Levi, steam curling from behind him. His dark hair was damp, and he wore nothing but a white towel slung low around his hips. Droplets of water glistened on his skin, trailing down his chest as he rubbed another towel over his hair.
I felt soft kisses trail over my cheeks, nose, and forehead. It was warm and gentle, nudging me out of sleep like sunlight peeking through a window.
I blinked, confused for a second. I didn’t remember changing. Didn’t remember how I got into bed. Everything after curling into Lennox last night had been a blur. A warm, safe blur.
Louis only laughed harder, breathless beneath him. “You’re just mad I got to her first.” This… was going to be a very long conversation.
Then I turned to Levi and kissed him too-soft and quick, but warm.
“You sure?” Lennox asked, frowning.
He stood near my desk, arms crossed, his eyes blazing.
Their expressions darkened instantly-equal parts frustration and protectiveness.
Until it didn’t.
Before I could say anything more, Levi walked over to the bed, his towel still wrapped low on his hips. The droplets on his skin shimmered in the morning light as he tossed the towel from his hair onto a chair and leaned down toward me.
“I’ll finish it, Lennox smirked, shoving his brother’s face into the mattress just enough to make him grunt.
“Because I didn’t exactly tell him where I was going last night,” I admitted, moving toward the dresser and looking around frantically for my dress. I spotted it folded at the edge of a chair and snatched it up, slipping it on.
The mind-link hit me hard. It was from Calvin.
“Olivia Beckham, where the hell are you?”
I recognized it instantly.
His gaze softened even more. “Are you ready for our date tonight?”
They both froze, their heads snapping in my direction.
I rolled my eyes and kissed him anyway.
The silence was deafening.
“Seriously?” he muttered. “You two already fighting?”
“Yes, it is!” Calvin snapped, the first crack in his control showing. “Their family and ours are enemies. Olivia, enemies. Do you even understand the implications of what you’re doing?” 1
Then, without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away again.
The room felt colder all of a sudden.
Olivia’s POV
I blinked. “What? Who?”
Nora swallowed hard but shook her head. “No… what is there to hide?”
My mind was spinning… “How did Anita’s father use a dark spell on the triplets?”
My breath hitched.
My eyes shifted slowly to Nora, who leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.
My mind reeled. “How? Why? I thought-“
Nora nodded.
I sat up straighter. “Wait-Anita? As in the Anita?” 4
I sat in stunned silence, every part of me trying to absorb what I’d just heard.
“But what if I’m just being weak and stupid?” I asked.
He turned and walked toward the door, but before leaving, he paused, his back still to me.
My silence must have said enough.
I stared at her. “What… did you say to him?”
“We’re not directly related,” I said firmly. “You know that, Calvin.”
Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I stood my ground.
Lolita raised a suspicious brow at her. “Is there something you are not telling us?”
Nora shifted beside me, then turned toward the door. “I’ll be back,” she said suddenly.
Nora looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Lolita bit her bottom lip, like she was dying to say something but knew better.
I was stunned… All of this had happened… and I hadn’t known? 2
“I haven’t forgotten,” I whispered. “But I’m trying to heal. And they’re trying too.”
I frowned. “Where are you going?”
“No.” He cut me off, his eyes blazing with anger. “No excuses, Olivia. This is disgraceful. Sleeping in the bed of the same people who ripped your heart apart? Whose family has done nothing but torment ours?”
Lolita stepped closer as she sat beside me.
I narrowed my eyes but let it slide-for now. My head was still spinning from Calvin’s outburst and his unexpected apology. 1
I sank slowly onto the edge of my bed, my arms folding around myself. My chest ached from the tension, from Calvin’s words, from the ugly truth of it all.
Just then, the door creaked open.
Lolita and I exchanged skeptical glances at Nora’s too-quick answer. Obviously, we don’t believe her.
Calvin stepped back inside, his face unreadable. And right behind him… was Nora.
I tried to stay calm. “It’s not that simple.”
“Don’t you know?” Lolita cut in, her voice more serious., “She lost the last pregnancy.”
“Whatever you think you’re doing,” he said through gritted teeth, “you need to stop.
Now.”
Calvin stared at me like I’d just confessed to committing treason.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.