Chapter 1 #3
I pull a clean white T-shirt from my bag and grab a pair of gray shorts.
The bathroom is just across the hallway, and I head over, turning on the light.
Everything looks clean, like my mom made sure it was ready for me.
I love her. I turn on the shower, waiting for the water to warm up as I strip off my clothes.
The second I step under the stream, I let out a slow breath. The hot water is exactly what I needed. It washes away all the stiffness from the trip.
By the time I step out and wrap myself in a towel, I literally feel lighter, like I've shed the weight of the day.
I take a deep breath, running a hand through my wet hair.
Time to head downstairs.
3) The Meeting
Rava
Mom is still going crazy.
She’s banging pots, spinning around, opening and closing drawers, acting like she’s catering for New Year’s Eve, and half the country is invited.
"Do you want help?" I ask, because honestly… after living alone in Canada, cooking for myself every damn day, I’ve realized how much she did. I used to take it for granted, until the day I cried over overcooked pasta.
"No, baby, I’ve got it," she says, waving me off with the ladle. "Thank you though. Just go sit outside. Bring some water if you can." I sigh but do as she says.
Our little balcony looks like something out of a fairytale. If I have to thank the family company for anything, it’s this house. As annoying as the meetings are… mom built all this from scratch.
Total girl boss energy. The hotel business was her idea before anyone listened.
I drop into the seat next to Jin and Daisy. Jin looks up from his plate, squinting at me. "You got taller," he says.
I almost choke on my water. "Whoah. A compliment? From you? Okay, the end of the world is officially coming."
Daisy snorts, kicking his chair lightly. "I gave him a whole lecture. Emotional damage and everything. Now he loves you." She pauses, grinning. "For like… two days. Max."
I shake my head, laughing under my breath. I don’t answer, because my dad clears his throat. "And you still want to go into education?"
I stiffen. This man. Here we go.
"If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have spent four years studying it. Or looking into ways to grow in it."
He laughs. Actually laughs. "You know the salary will be miserable, right?"
Daisy groans. "Dad, he just got here! For God’s sake."
I clench my jaw. "Yes, I know," I say, my voice sharper than I planned. "And trust me, I’d rather live with less doing something I love than be a depressed, miserable man with cash in my pocket."
He exhales, disappointed.
"And you’re forgetting," I add, "I’m the one managing the hotel in France. The last one we opened. And the one in Spain. So I already help."
Mom turns from the stove and raises a hand. "He’s right, Charles. Enough. Leave it for the meeting. Now sit. Eat."
I exhale hard and pull off my glasses, rubbing my eyes. I start passing around plates.
Daisy nods. "By the way, how’s Sophia?"
"She’s good," I say quickly. No way I’m mentioning what happened earlier. It’s embarrassing enough as it is.
Jin scoffs. "Still can’t believe you got a girlfriend."
Here we go again. I already miss the old Jin.
I shoot him a glare. "And I can’t believe anyone willingly talks to you." Jin rolls his eyes.
We eat. We clean up. And finally, I collapse onto my bed. Being sun-drunk and food-drunk at the same time? Elite.
I close my eyes and let go.
…
I wake up to the sound of knocking.
No, more like pounding on my door. My eyes snap open. I blink at my phone screen.
7:02 PM. Before I can react, my bedroom door swings open and my mother steps in.
"Ten minutes. Be ready. We’re leaving for the meeting." She looks stressed, and that stresses me out too.
"And dress properly. This is important." I sigh as she leaves, rubbing my face before pushing myself up. Great.
I flip through my options, knowing anything too casual will get me another lecture. I settle on a fitted charcoal-gray blazer over a crisp white button-down, pairing it with dark slacks and polished black shoes.
It’s sharp but not too much. Formal enough to look like I care, but not enough to suggest I actually do.
Stepping in front of the mirror, I run a hand through my straight, light-colored hair, slicking it back just enough to look put together. A quick adjustment of my glasses, and that’s as much effort as I’m willing to put in.
Corporate hostage chic.
Love that for me.
"Let’s get this over with," I mutter to myself.
As I step out of my room, I catch sight of Jin at the dining table, eating what looks like his second afternoon snack.
He glances up at me and smirks. "Wow, you actually clean up nice.
Trying to impress someone at your little cult meeting?
" I don’t even slow down. I just lift my middle finger as I pass.
…
The car pulls up in front of a towering glass building. Holy shit. The entrance is grand, polished floors, high ceilings. My mother leads the way, her heels clicking against the marble.
I follow, adjusting my blazer because I don’t know what to do with my hands.
We step into the elevator. When the doors slide open, the space that greets us is something straight out of a high-end magazine. The office is massive. There’s dark wood paneling and modern, minimalist furniture. A long conference table sits in the center, surrounded by high-backed chairs.
Everyone looks expensive.
Everyone smells expensive.
Someone bathed in cologne, and I’m offended.
What catches my eye is the view, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the whole city. For a moment, I almost understand why people choose business over therapy.
Then movement brings me back. People are greeting each other and shaking hands.
Like we are not all secretly hate each other.
"Eden, Charles!" a familiar voice says.
Gio’s mother. Claudia.
I haven’t seen her in years, but she looks almost exactly the same. Maybe a few more lines beneath her eyes, but still elegant. What am I even supposed to say to her, after all this time?
"Hi, sorry your husband died and also… your son is painfully irritating?"
Yeah, no. Perfect way to get kicked out.
Or maybe, "Hello, I’m the number-one hater of your son. Truly. I have no fucking idea how you’ve tolerated him this long." Wonderful. I rub my face. The thing is… I never had a problem with her. She was always sweet to me. Caring.
The issue was never the mom. It was always Gio.
Gio, who managed to be an asshole to me specifically and somehow charming with everyone else. He talked to my siblings normally. Never snapped at them. Never messed with them.
But with me? He acted like tormenting me was his birthright. It’s like he was born with one mission: make Rava suffer 24/7. Literally since we were babies.
She extends a hand toward me, and I take it, offering a polite nod. "It’s been a long time," she says with a smile. "Yeah," I reply simply, releasing her hand.
As the small talk continues around me, I glance back at the view. Maybe this whole thing won’t be as miserable as I thought. Maybe I’m overreacting.
Twenty minutes later
Okay, I wasn’t overreacting. This is fucking hell.
I’m not really listening. My dad has been rambling about expanding hotel investments for what feels like hours. I sit there, spinning my pen fast between my fingers, barely even pretending to care.
"Rava?" Shit. I straighten immediately and snap back into the moment. My dad and a few others are looking at me like they expect an answer.
No clue what I just missed, but I know how to fake it, because I know my dad.
"Sounds like a solid strategy," I say, nodding. My dad seems satisfied and goes right back to talking, and I exhale quietly.
The door opens. I don’t look right away. I only notice the sudden, subtle change in atmosphere. Like someone walked in and sucked all the oxygen out with them.
I turn my head.
A tall guy, early twenties. Black, slightly wavy hair. Ink trailing all over one hand, sleeves rolled up. A helmet dangling from the other hand. Piercings. Many fucking piercings.
Ears. Eyebrow.
Even the bottom lip, ouch.
I barely have time to process the sheer audacity of this guy before Gio’s mom stands up to greet him.
Huh.
Gio’s mom, stood up to greet the guy that… looks like he’s in his twenties, oh my God no. No. No, no, no the fuck she didn’t.
The man beside her stands up too.
"Welcome, Giovanni. Though you’re late."
No.
How. There’s no fucking way. I swear I left him in Spain. Last update I had, Gio Fontana was miles away, busy being loud and annoying in another country. But no. No, it’s real. Too real.
"Shameless, filthy boy," my father tells my mother.
She doesn’t respond, she just gives him a side-eye.
My survival instinct kicks in.
Bathroom. Go to the bathroom. Hide. Say you’re dying. Anything. I’m getting the hell out of here, but before I can even move, my mother grabs my wrist. Her fingers squeeze. She smiles like nothing’s wrong. I let her drag me back into my seat.
I turn to her. "Why didn’t you tell me this asshole was gonna be here?" She doesn’t answer.
Instead, she gets up to shake his hand. And I have to sit there boiling, while she greets him. No escape.
I look at him again. Is that… Gio?! Now that he’s closer, yeah. It’s him. The single most unbearable person I have ever met. He has that very specific fake-ass smile, the corners way too sharp, like it’s carved in with a knife.
Yup. That’s Gio. Unfortunately.
And then he looks at me. His gaze settles. His expression is completely unreadable.
And then, because he is physically incapable of not being an insufferable dick, he reaches out a hand, acting like this is the first time we’re meeting.
"What’s your name?"
This bitch.
I let out a disbelieving laugh before I can stop myself.
"Oh, come on."
My mother’s elbow catches my side.
I force down the pure fucking irritation burning through me and exhale through my nose.
"It’s me, Rava Weston."
He gasps. His eyebrows lift, and then… he laughs.