The air inside Andrew’s private suite at the Everest family mansion felt heavier than usual.It wasn’t the decor— sleek and masculine with polished wood, leather chairs, and floor to ceiling windows. Nor was it the absence of staff. It was the silence. The kind that stretched taut between two people who had known each other too long to pretend.Van had told no one he was coming.He arrived just before dinner, unannounced, a simple knock against the thick mahogany door.Andrew opened it wearing a blazer and no tie, his usual half smirk firmly in place.“Well,” he said. “Look who finally made time for his big brother.”Van stepped in without responding.Andrew let the door swing closed behind them, then poured two glasses of brandy, offering one without a word.Van didn’t touch it.“Long day?” Andrew asked casually.Van took a breath. “Why were you meeting with Felix Durand?”The question cut through the room like glass.Andrew paused mid sip.Then, as if nothing had happened, he walked

Andrew didn’t say goodbye.He simply left a note on the long oak table in the Everest dining room, folded neatly beside his untouched morning coffee.“Gone for a long vacation. Don’t wait up. —A.”Van stared at it for a long time.There was no anger in his chest. No triumph, either. Just a quiet, cool breeze of closure. Andrew had always been too proud to admit defeat. But this wasn’t defeat— not really. It was acknowledgment.Van had chosen the hard road: truth, transparency, reconciliation. And somehow, through all of it, he hadn’t just survived. He had thrived.The company was no longer just stable —it was soaring.The Everest Enterprises had launched its most successful philanthropic initiative yet, an educational fund for underprivileged youth, inspired by Ivy’s early work as a teacher. Investor confidence was high, international deals were blossoming, and Van’s public reputation had shifted dramatically in recent months. Even board members who had once doubted him were singing h

It had been a long time since Van had truly slept in.But that morning, wrapped in a cocoon of soft sheets and the faint scent of lavender from Ivy’s pillow, he let himself drift in and out of sleep, his arm slung around her waist, her back pressed against his chest. The soft hum of the ceiling fan, the occasional cooing from the baby monitor —it was the background music to a life that had finally settled into harmony.When he finally opened his eyes, Ivy was already awake.She lay still in his arms, reading a book with one hand and gently stroking her belly with the other. The light from the window spilled across her profile like a painting. Her dark curls framed her face, and she looked content, like someone who had fought her battles and won.Van kissed her bare shoulder.“Good morning,” he murmured, his voice still husky from sleep.She smiled without looking up. “You slept like a rock.”“I haven’t slept like that in years.”“That’s because you used to sleep with a mind full of wa

The morning had started out just like the rest.Sunlight filtered in through the gauzy curtains of Van’s office as he leaned back in his chair, reviewing a quarterly report on one of their new international ventures. A fresh cup of coffee sat beside him, untouched, and soft music played from the speaker tucked near the window.It was the kind of morning that usually gave him a sense of peace— productivity without pressure, progress without urgency.But that day, a single name shattered the calm.“Sir,” his receptionist, Maya, said gently through the intercom, “A woman is asking to see you, she said her name is Bianca Hartley. She's waiting in the lobby.”Van froze.The name alone hit like a gust of cold air through an open door.Bianca.It had been a long time since he last saw her in person. The last encounter had ended quietly — but she was from a chapter in his life that he had shut down and never planned to open ever again. He was glad when she moved to another city, and Van had m

The late afternoon sunlight poured into the study, turning the cream colored curtains golden. Van was at his desk, reviewing quarterly reports, but his mind wasn’t entirely on the numbers. Outside, he could hear the muffled laughter of the twins chasing each other around the garden, Ivy’s voice occasionally cutting in with a gentle warning not to run too close to the flowerbeds. It was the kind of domestic background music he’d grown used to— and loved— over the past years.The company was thriving beyond even his most optimistic forecasts. Andrew’s departure had removed the last lingering tension in the business, and with Ivy merging her own company into his, they had become a powerhouse in the industry. Everything was stable. Safe. And he intended to keep it that way.Which was why Bianca’s return was such a disruption.She had sent another message earlier that morning, asking to meet “just for closure.” Van had ignored her the first two times, but she was persistent. When Ivy sugge