2025-06-16 22:24:11The drive to the engagement meeting felt longer than Caleb had expected. Dressed in his best and only suit, a well-maintained piece he'd meticulously cared for, he sat in the unfamiliar luxury of the car, a knot of apprehension tightening in his stomach. He fiddled with the chain around his neck, the small, intricate locket against his skin. It was his anchor, a tangible piece of a past he barely remembered
As they approached the sprawling Reed estate, the sheer scale of the place was overwhelming. Manicured lawns stretched to meet a grand, imposing mansion that seemed to breathe old money and privilege. This was the engagement meeting of the Callahan cousins, the Williams, and the Reed family, and Caleb was here to set it all ablaze.
Diana was quiet, a careful mask of poise on her face. She wore a midnight blue gown that shimmered like deep water, its elegant cut flattering her slender frame. Diamonds glittered at her throat and ears, catching the light as the city lights blurred past. Her dark hair, usually meticulously styled, was pulled back simply, highlighting her sharp cheekbones and intelligent eyes, which held a mixture of anxiety and fierce determination.
Caleb’s fingers found the golden pendant hidden beneath his shirt. It was old-fashioned, simple, unlike anything Diana wore. Yet, when she'd helped him select the suit for tonight, she hadn't once mentioned it. Instead, she’d given it a brief, appreciative glance. He clutched it. It was from his birth mother, according to Ms. Laura. His only tie to a past he couldn't remember.
The limousine pulled to a silent halt. They stepped into a ballroom already buzzing with hushed murmurs and polite laughter.. The Callahan family was already present: Mr. Callahan, imposing even seated, his assistant Richard nearby. Tony Callahan stood by a tall window, a predatory smile on his face. The Reed family was here too, Mr. Reed rigid at the head of one table, Michael lurking near him. Across the room, Leo William, Diana’s supposed fiancé, stood with his parents, Angela and William Williams.
"Well, well, if it isn't Caleb, the boyfriend of the hour," Tony's voice sliced through the genteel chatter, laced with a familiar, cutting amusement that drew curious glances. "Didn't think you'd actually show your face here, seeing as this isn't exactly your usual stomping ground. Did Diana have to bribe you with a free meal to get you to grace us with your presence?" His gaze raked over Caleb's suit, a sneer twisting his lips.
Diana stepped forward, her hand gently but firmly resting on his arm. "Tony, that's enough," she said, her voice composed but firm. "Caleb is my guest, and he's here at my invitation. Let's try to maintain some decorum, shall we?"
Tony merely scoffed,
Michael Reed stepped up, a smirk playing on his lips. "Guest? Or your latest sex toy, Tony? My Father’s been quite concerned about her recent... choices." He angled his body, blocking Diana slightly, then lowered his voice, though still loud enough to be heard. "You know, the kind of choices that deliver takeout."
Caleb’s jaw tightened. He felt every eye in the room, the Last person he wanted to see was Tony, Cathy's husband.
Tony chuckled, a harsh sound. "Right. So, he's the new toy, is he? Tell me, do you pay him by the hour, Diana? Or does he just come cheap?"
Diana moved forward, her voice cutting through the smugness. "You will not speak to him like that, Tony. He is my fiancee and he should be treated with respect."
Tony laughed, a cruel, mocking sound. "Respect? For a delivery boy? Darling, you should be ashamed. This whole charade is pathetic, if I should tell you what happened during my wedding, I swear you will want to dump this pathetic idiot."
"Tony, what is the meaning of this commotion?" A booming voice sliced through the tension. Mr. Callahan, stern and unyielding, rose from his seat, his gaze sweeping over the scene. His custom-tailored suit spoke of unyielding power.
"Nothing, Father," Tony said quickly, his posture shifting, a veneer of deference replacing his sneer. "Just a minor… inconvenience. This man is a fraud. He shouldn't be here."
Diana exhaled slowly. Michael gave Tony a slight, approving nod.
Mr. Callahan's eyes fixed on Caleb, cold and assessing. "I don't recall seeing your name on the guest list. Who are you and what business do you have here?"
Diana stepped forward, her voice controlled. "Sir, he is my... companion for the evening. He meant no disrespect. I assure you, we can leave if you want."
Mr. Callahan's gaze lingered on Diana, then returned to Caleb. "The Reed family's princess has unusual taste."
Richard his assistant gestured to the door"Fine, You may leave, I don't want him here."
"Of course," Caleb said, already turning, a wave of familiar shame washing over him.
"Wait!" Leo William interjected, stepping forward with his mother, Angela, a formidable woman in silk. "Father, Mr. Reed! Is this the 'boyfriend' who's supposed to replace our Leo? A common pauper brought in to mock our families?"
Angela William chimed in, her voice dripping with disdain. "This is an insult! Our families have generations of alliances. To bring someone like this into our midst, to ruin our engagement meeting after it was already fixed? Unacceptable!"
Mr. Reed rose, his face grim. He turned to Caleb. "I can't bare to watch this, you know the family so Diana. Since you insist this... young man is your boyfriend or fiancee, I will accept him as my son-in-law, I won't force you to get married anymore." The words hung in the air, a shocking pronouncement.
Leo William exploded. "Father! Mother! This is absurd! You would choose a nobody over me? Over the Williams' name?"
"Silence, Leo!" Mr. William roared, his face flushed. "This is for the Reed family to decide! It’s about more than just you!"
Caleb, though inwardly surprised, maintained a composed expression. "I'm flattered, Mr. Reed, truly. But I assure you, Diana and I… are not exactly in that kind of relationship." He cast a subtle, a
pologetic glance at Diana, who looked equally bewildered
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The night had folded softly over Varadele; a silver calm stretched across the city where the Callahan–Fiona Foundation stood, steady and luminous in the dark.Inside, most of the lights were dimmed; only the top floors still glowed faintly, like the last embers of a long day refusing to die out.Aimee sat alone in her office; the documents on her desk looked untouched, though she had been staring at them for hours. The room smelled faintly of coffee and rain. Beyond the glass wall, the city pulsed in quiet rhythm; headlights streaked the wet roads below, dissolving into the night.Her fingers toyed with the edge of a pen, but her mind was somewhere else—on Kasper’s voice, steady and low, echoing from earlier that evening.Welcome aboard, he had said, and something in the way he said it had unsettled her calm. It wasn’t his tone; it was the warmth beneath it, the sincerity he didn’t try to hide.She hadn’t realized how long she’d been staring at nothing until the door clicked open behi
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The archives of the Callahan–Fiona Foundation were a study in organized chaos, a labyrinth of white files and black binders housed deep beneath the main corporate tower. Aimee sat at a large mahogany table, the only light source a small, focused lamp casting a yellow pool over the documents. She was officially reviewing the pre-merger humanitarian expenditures, a task she had volunteered for to better understand the groundwork of the organization. However, her true search was for echoes of the past, for any mention of the woman whose presence in her life had always been a ghost, the worst part of it is even the woman whom she thought was her mother that she was working for turns out to be her mother's friend pretending to her mother so she thought it's best to find more details of what her mother did in the past in order not to make any mistake Aimee turned the page of an annual report from nearly two decades ago, her fingers brushing the brittle paper. The early sections detailed th
219
The morning sun poured through the tall windows of Varadele University, tinting the lecture hall in a soft golden hue. The air buzzed with anticipation. Students, journalists, and scholars filled every seat, some standing at the back, holding cameras or notepads.At the center of the stage stood Dr. Diana Callahan, her silver-streaked hair neatly tied back, her white suit immaculate. She looked poised, but her heart was pounding in a rhythm that echoed both nostalgia and fulfillment.Today marked the end of an era — her final lecture before retirement. The announcement that she would be awarded dual honorary doctorates in Medicine and Ethics had spread across the world. She was now the first woman in Varadele’s history to hold both honors simultaneously.Caleb sat quietly in the front row, a familiar figure among the audience. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes followed every move she made. Time had left gentle marks on his face — faint lines at the corners of his eyes, silver at h
218
Months later A car rolled up the long driveway, its headlights cutting through the mist. Diana, who had been standing by the large bay window of the living room, froze when she recognized the way the door opened lslow, deliberate, cautious.And then, there he was.KJ.He stood under the drizzle, a duffel bag slung over one shoulder, his coat soaked, his expression unreadable. The boy who had once run from the shadows now looked like he had walked through them and come out on the other side — older, leaner, and quiet in a way that only pain could teach.For a moment, Diana didn’t move. Then she stepped outside, the rain touching her hair and shoulders.He looked up and met her eyes.“You’re late,” she said softly, trying to hide the quiver in her voice.He smiled faintly. “Traffic was bad,” he murmured and it was such an ordinary answer that Diana couldn’t help it; she let out a small, shaky laugh.They stood there for a long while before she whispered, “He’s inside.”KJ nodded. “I k
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Diana stood slowly. For the first time in the conversation, she spoke without an edge of control. “Does Aimee know any of this? Does she know who you are?”Cathy’s throat closed. She exhaled with a sound that was closer to grief than to breath. “yes She does . but I could not bring myself to tell her. I thought it kinder to step away. That was the second cowardice. She doesn’t know the real me.”Caleb’s hand, when he reached for the small paper cup, trembled. He had the impression that Cathy’s confession was a wall being dismantled brick by brick that each brick had the grain of a life’s worth of choices. He also felt the precise, simple fact that a human life had been kept from his family’s knowledge.“You should have told us,” Kasper said, voice low. “We could have done something.”“You could have been destroyed,” Cathy whispered. “I could not risk that. I thought silence was shelter.” She laughed a short, humorless laugh. “Shelter for me. Not for you.”For a long while there was on
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. At night it had been a place of hushed machines and the faint scent of disinfectant. In the morning it was a place where the light came through the high windows and showed dust on the sills, where the cleaners’ carts crept quietly down the hall and the staff moved with rehearsed efficiency. The quiet was less menacing by day; it felt practical and ordinary.Cathy sat in the visitor chair by the small table in the hospital room. The IV drip beside her made a soft, methodical sound. She had declined the offered hospital gown and instead had a plain sweater pulled close to her throat. The skin at her temples was thin; she kept her hands folded in her lap. She had the posture of someone who had learned to make herself small in public. The bruise marks at the line of her wrist from the hospital band were almost faded now.Caleb was awake. He had insisted on seeing her again before she left. He watched her without speaking. Diana hovered near the doorway, her face unreadable. The twins ha
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