ACE | JOHN B ROUTLEDGE

three.

WHEN PIERCE VAN CORTLANDT WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR, he was disappointed to see his mother and stepsister waiting for him. While Meredith seemed authentically pleased to see him, the smirk on Kathryn's face showed she was delighted for an entirely different reason, and he was not prepared for the way she would gloat.

The dark-haired vixen remained silent as Meredith hugged her son, ordering two of their staff to bring Pierce's things to one of the bedrooms upstairs. It wasn't until Meredith left the room to answer a phone call that Pierce addressed Kathryn. The harsh glare he shot his stepsister made her smile. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Just nice to know that you're always going to be the family fuck-up." Her tone was sickeningly sweet. "I mean, you had the apartment to yourself, and it took you less than a month to end up here. You're a joke."

Her words stung, and for a moment, Pierce thought about how good it would feel to backhand the girl. Wipe that smug little grin right off her stupid face. Fuck, that would be nice. "Oh, go fuck yourself, Kat. I wanted to come back, alright."

Obviously, that was a lie. In what world would he willingly give up a lavish apartment in New York to slum it in the Outer Banks? Paradise on Earth sounded like a fucking joke. Under no circumstances would he tell Kathryn why he was being punished. That girl would never let him live it down. She loved any chance she got to tell him that he always messed things up.

"Of course you did...I bet you let your fucking friends trash our place, didn't you?" Her wicked grin was taunting.

"Jesus Christ, give me a break," Pierce groaned. "Spare me, Queen Kathryn."

His relationship with Kathryn was never pleasant. Sure, they worked together when they had a common goal, but at any other time, they could barely stomach being around each other. Kathryn detested him and his mother. Nothing would ever change that.

"Oh, sweetheart, you want me to cut you some slack?" She adjusted her signature black sunglasses as she pouted her lips in mock pity. "Unlike my ever-too-kind father and your pushover mother, I am not going to overlook your shortcomings. Call me a cynic, but you will never change. Welcome home, brother." Kathryn made sure to bump him with her shoulder as she strutted out of the room.

Pierce knew it was going to be a very long summer.

***

Kiara Carerra looked more than mildly uncomfortable in the Raza's house, fiddling with the end of her sundress. She was a complete fish out of water, and usually, Kathryn wouldn't give someone like that a second thought. The conversation with Dorothy reminded Kathryn to try to talk to Kiara unless she wanted to spend the rest of her time with the kooks.

"Do you want something to drink? Beer? Vodka? Wine?" She shrugged, "Poison?" The last option made Kiara snort, quickly covering her mouth with her hand.

"All of the above?" she suggested.

"I can do that. Come with me." Kathryn said, taking Kiara by the hand and leading her through the sea of people. Once they were successfully upstairs and in her bedroom, Kathryn shut the door behind them and instructed Kiara to wait just a moment when she reached under the bed. After pulling out a large bottle of vodka, Kathryn poured a generous amount of alcohol into the girl's soda.

"Thank you. Fuck, that's strong," Kiara said after taking a small sip. "Not gonna lie, when I come to all these parties, sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating a little bit."

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't fit in with these kinds of people. No offense," Kiara responded.

Kathryn shook her head. "None taken. I feel that way sometimes. I know it might sound hard to believe coming from me. If my last name wasn't Raza, would anyone here care about me? No." As soon as the words left her lips, she tucked her dark hair behind her ear. "Uh, I don't know why the fuck I just said that?"