Maven and Adrianna were born on opposite sides of a century-old feud-two scions of rival dynasties steeped in pride, power, and revenge. He's fire. She's ice. Their worlds were never meant to merge, yet fate orchestrates their collision with unrelen...
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The silence of my apartment felt too loud.
I hadn't turned on the lights when I got in. I didn't need to. The glow from my phone screen was enough as I sat curled up on the corner of my couch, knees tucked to my chest, Maven's post still open. Still glowing. Still dangerous.
A thousand thoughts swirled, but none of them made sense. They collided inside me like traffic with no signals.
It wasn't even a clear photo. No face. No name. No direct trail back to me.
But still—something about it felt like a confession whispered in a church full of people.
I'd always told myself that the secrecy made it stronger. That what we had, kept hidden, was ours and ours alone. But now, with people starting to guess, to point, to stitch shadows into truth... it didn't feel sacred anymore.
It felt exposed.
And worse, it felt selfish.
I loved him. That much I knew.
But the weight of that love—it wasn't featherlight like in the books. It was heavy. Thick. Like a coat worn out of season. Like something I had to constantly justify, even to myself.
Was I really choosing him?
Or was I just running from what I was always expected to be?
A Sobreviñas.
Poised. Polished. Political.
Not messy. Not impulsive. Not in love with the half-brother of the woman who undid my family.
My phone buzzed again.
A new DM.
Unknown: Is it true?
I locked the screen without reading further. Let them speculate. Let them guess.
But the more I tried to hold it together, the more it unraveled.
I missed him. Every inch of me ached for the calm I felt only in his presence.
But what scared me more?
Was realizing that if this burned down around us, I might not be able to rebuild what I had to lose.
"Rory, I'm going to explain something, and you need to listen carefully, okay?"
She looked up from her swing of legs, eyes darting from me to Maven, who had crouched down to her level with the kind of patience I couldn't muster tonight. Her brows twitched slightly as she clutched the stuffed bunny she insisted on bringing with her. "O—okay."
We were in the shadowed part of the McDonald's parking lot. It wasn't the most glamorous spot for a revelation, but it was secluded enough. The golden arches flickered behind us like a strange spotlight, casting long silhouettes on the pavement. I was tense, glancing around like we were fugitives. Maybe we were. My heart pounded with the absurd fear that someone from the family might show up here and snap a photo to send to the group chat with the caption: Explain this.
