after they met her

thirtyone

i v a n a

Logan and Asher woke me up, barging into my room like they owned the place.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Logan called out, yanking my blanket off me.

"Logan, what the hell? It's too early for this," I groaned, rubbing my eyes.

Asher grinned, already rummaging through my closet. "We've got big plans today, Ivana."

I sat up, bleary-eyed. "Big plans that involve waking me up at this ungodly hour?"

Logan plopped down on the edge of my bed, shaking his head. "No time to waste, sis. We're going on an adventure."

"An adventure that involves going through my clothes?" I asked, watching Asher with a raised eyebrow.

Asher pulled out a ridiculously frilly dress and held it up. "How about this one?"

I looked at him like he had two heads. "Are you serious? That looks like something out of a fairy tale."

"Exactly," Asher said with a wink. "You'll look magical."

Logan laughed. "It's perfect. You need to embrace your inner princess every now and then."

"Or never," I muttered, swinging my legs out of bed. "Seriously, why are you two up so early? And why are you dragging me into this?"

"We're going to surprise visit Ray at the hospital," Logan explained, standing up and stretching. "He's been there for a while, and we thought it would be nice to keep him some company."

I paused, the sleepiness fading away. „I thought you hated Raymond."

Logan laughed. "That guy's a prick for sure, but he is still part of our family and he protects you."

What part of our family? I tilted my head with question marks written all over my face.

"Every person who works under us is part of the family, Ivana." Asher directly understood my confusion.

„Is he feeling better?"

Asher nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. Just lonely. And what better company than our princess?"

I felt a pang of guilt. Ray had been there for me all this time. I was the reason he is in the hospital in the first place, and I hadn't visited him once. "Okay, but I'm not wearing that dress."

Logan chuckled. "Fair enough. How about this?" He pulled out a simple, cute outfit—a pastel top and a pair of comfortable jeans.

"Much better," I said, relieved.

"Perfect. Now hurry up and get dressed. We've got a bodyguard to cheer up," Logan said, tossing me the outfit.

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but smile. "You guys are impossible."

"That's why you love us," Logan said, grinning.

I nodded, getting up and heading to the bathroom to change. "Yeah, yeah. Just give me a minute."

Did I love them?

I don't know. I don't know how love towards family was supposed to feel like. Yes, they became dear to me, but was this love?

As I changed into the outfit Logan picked, I felt a surge of warmth. Despite their antics, it was nice to know my brothers cared. And visiting Ray—well, that was something I had to do.

Downstairs, I only grabbed an apple.

I felt Matthew's and Gray's stares immediately. Their eyes bore into me.