Page 133
Story: These Shattered Memories
For a moment, he doesn’t move, his expression unreadable. Then his hand finds my chin, tilting my face upward. I suck in a careful breath, holding his gaze.
“And I belong to you,” he murmurs, his voice like velvet.
“Show me,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. “Use me however you like.”
His eyes glint, a wicked smile curving his lips. “Happily.”
It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago, he walked into that bar, midnight blue eyes looking at me with so much hate. Now, looking into them, I see nothing but adoration.
Outside, the world rages on, but it feels distant. Senna is made from chaos. It thrives on imbalance and imperfection, but in Rowan’s arms, I’ve found my anchor. I’m his completely.
Tonight, and always.
Epilogue: Rowan
FIVE MONTHS LATER
The soft beat of rhythmic rap music threads through the dimly lit bar, wrapping around the steady murmur of conversations. Serene Tiger is unrecognizable from the dusty ruin it once was. Alex and Halle have turned it into something extraordinary—a space where polished wood meets sleek leather, golden light fixtures cast warm, inviting glows, and the air carries the subtle scents of cedar, tobacco, and expensive craft whiskey.
At the bar, Alex works with practiced ease, sliding a drink across to a customer with one hand while taking an order with the other. Tina, one of the bartenders, hums along to the music as she mixes a cocktail. Her smooth voice will take the stage in an hour, but for now, she’s all business.
“Hey, Sugar,” she greets me warmly with a wink.
I’m not one to blush, but something about being called ‘Sugar’by her makes me all warm inside. “Hey Tina,” I call.
Alex glances up and spots me as I take a seat at the bar. A grin breaks across his face, one of those smiles that makes my chest feel lighter no matter the day I’ve had.
“Hey,” he says, leaning on the marble counter. “What are you doing here?”
I tilt my head, feigning offence. “Not happy to see me?”
His grin widens as he leans in to kiss me, his lips soft and familiar. “Always. I just didn’t expect you. I was hoping to surprise you at home later.”
“Oh?”
He straightens, the glint of mischief in his eyes unmistakable. “I had a plan. Can’t tell you now, though.”
Before I can press him, his gaze shifts past my shoulder. “Ah. I see.”
I turn to find Xander and Hayden entering the bar. As always, their presence pulls in attention. A pair of women having drinks, openly stare, whispering to each other. Hayden, as usual, looks polished and composed in perfectly tailored clothes, while Xander wears his leather jacket and his messy hair like he gets paid to look like every bad guy from every movie ever made.
Alex leans close, pouting. “You’re not here for me.”
“I was,” I tease. “But they insisted on meeting here instead of The Serpentine.”
He hums, sceptical. “Fine. But you owe me later.”
I wink and leave the bar, weaving through the tables to where my brothers have claimed a corner booth.
The past few months have been exhausting, to say the least. After our father’s failed coup, I had his operations quickly dismantled. The warehouse where he’d been producing Haze was the first to go—every ounce of product destroyed, every scrap of Hawthorne’s research incinerated. Haze was an unstable drug and whilst most drugs are just as dangerous, the last thing I needed was something else to agitate the clans and Senna.
Our father, however, remains confined to his private cell beneath The Serpentine. I don’t know what state he’s in, neither do I want to know. He could be severely maimed by now and I wouldn’t care. To me, Jonathan Vasilyev is dead.
“Ro,” Xander says as I slide into the booth. He pulls out a cigarette, only to sigh and put it back when he spots my raised eyebrow. Alex and Halle have a strict no-smoking policy here and I’d rather not face Halle’s wrath today.
“Alex has you perfectly house-trained, I see,” Hayden says, smirking.
“Oh, he’s totally whipped. It’s disgusting,” Xander says.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133 (Reading here)
- Page 134