Eliana As the dining room emptied, I lingered behind, fidgeting with the hem of my dress, waiting for everyone to leave so Pearl and I could clear the tables and then I’d be able to go see Damian before someone else walks into the study. The clattering of dishes and murmurs of conversation faded into the distance, leaving me alone with Pearl. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, feeling a little tightness in my chest as we cleaned."Hey, I'm gonna head to Damian's office," I said, wiping my hands on a napkin, trying to appear calm. "I need to talk to him about something." I smiled.Pearl raised an eyebrow, curiosity etched on her face, and she leaned against the table, her arms crossed. "Everything okay?" she asked, her voice l laced with concern.I nodded, a small smile playing on my lips, and I glanced away, feeling a bit self-conscious. "Yeah, I just need to tell him that my memories are back." I replied, my voice a bit shaky.She nodded, understandingly, and pushed off from

XavierI pushed myself off the couch, feeling the weight of the day's events catching up with me. The exhaustion was starting to creep in, and all I wanted to do was just crawl into bed and forget about everything. "Damian, I think I'm going to head to bed, I’d advise you to do the same," I said, trying to stifle a yawn, my voice coming out a bit muffled.His eyes looked up, a hint of a smile on his face, "Good night, you deserve to get some rest, remember tomorrow is the day you tell Eliot about my investment. I’ll prepare some documents and email them to you." he said, his voice low and soothing like it was just a regular conversation.I nodded, unable to form the words to reply, and turned to leave, my movements a bit slower than usual. "Hey, where's everyone else?" I asked, pausing at the door, my hand on the handle.Damian's expression turned thoughtful, and he leaned back into the couch, his eyes gazing off into space. "Everyone's asleep, it’s been a long day for them too," he

Xavier"Alright," Eliot said, his voice still l filled with reluctance, his eyes narrowing as he leaned back in his chair. "Schedule a meeting with this Damian Reynolds." He ordered.I nodded, immediately feeling a sense of relief that he took the bait wash over me, and quickly pulled out my phone, trying to look confident. "Okay, when were you thinking?" I asked, shifting my gaze from the phone screen to him.His gaze drifted off, like he was thinking, his expression thoughtful. "Preferably online and I don't want Preston Baldwin knowing about this." He stated firmly. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes as I raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit curious, and tried to keep my tone casual. "You think he might watching?" I asked. His eyes snapped back to mine, his expression grim, like he'd already said too much and I was prying too much. "Just schedule the meeting, Xavier." He fumed.I nodded, feeling a shiver run down my spine, and quickly sent a text to Damian. The response came back

Xavier “Ugh,” I groaned as I woke up the next morning my head was pounding unbearably. I slowly opened my eyes, trying to remember what exactly had happened the night before and immediately the memories came flooding back, the celebration, the wine, the laughter... oh goodness, the wine.I had more than a few glasses and it caused me to end up with a hangover.I groaned, rubbing my temples, and sat up, feeling the room spin around me. What time was it? I squinted at my phone, trying to focus on the screen. 10 am. Wait, wasn't it supposed to be a work day?Then I remembered that Eliot had given me the day off. “That’s right, it’s a free day.” I sighed try to control my head which was all over the place. I threw off the covers, feeling a bit more awake, and swung my legs over the side of the bed. But as I stood up, more memories came. I had hours of planned meetings with Damian and Victor so we could discuss the last phases of the plan.My heart sank, and I let out a string of cur

Xavier After leaving Damian, I headed straight to my room, desperate for some rest. I walked into my room, expecting to be alone with my thoughts, but instead, I found Pearl sitting on my bed, looking like she'd been crying, her eyes red-rimmed and her face pale. My heart sank as I recalled how Damian dismissed her from the meeting even though it was in the nicest way possible. I immediately went to her and sat down beside her, my voice soft. “Pearl, what's wrong?" I whispered.She looked up at me, her eyes filled with accusation like I was the one that hurt her. "Why don't you guys want to let me in on your plans? Do you think I'm not trustworthy or something?" She asked, her voice shaking. I sighed, feeling a pang of guilt, and took her hand, trying to reassure her. "Pearl, it's not that at all. It's because you're a major target, okay? We want to keep you safe." I explained. If somehow, Eliot found out about my ties to her, the entire operation would be ruined.She pulled her h