•An incredible cover made by BrokenAngel53 - thank you so much love, it's beautiful!•

Every minute with him seemed to be an entirety, adding a whole new level of amazement to my life. Before him, I had only lived those moments through the world of my imagination, but Jake made me believe in the beauty of reality. Every time he smiled, his every touch and the excitement in his eyes whenever he said my name made me think, "Who is this guy? Where did he get lost?"

I found him.

While my mind was a buzzing mess, the atmosphere around the breakfast table was painfully quiet. The house screamed of tension between the members. It was the way I had imagined, lifeless, with emptiness echoing through the walls and bouncing off the decorative furniture, which held more importance than the living, breathing souls. Although the warmth of the sunlight filled the room, the coldness between the men of the house was enough to give you chills.

Even the mouth-watering scent of all the food that was served on the table couldn't be savored. The waffles on my plate gave me crazy looks, begging me to eat, and made my stomach grumble. But one look at the man sitting across me had me clenching my fist on my lap. I could read his analytical eyes. The looks in them were clearly showing his disapproval of my presence in his house.

Both Nicolas and Jake drank their coffee in absolute silence. A moment later, I felt Jake holding my hand under the table as he continued competing with his father in staring into each other's souls. I didn't know whether he was trying to settle my anxiety or seeking comfort from me, but it did give me enough nerves to take a bite of the waffle.

"How's your wound?" Nicolas asked, cutting through the skin tearing silence. My head snapped from my plate to his cold face. He resembled Jake with that look on his face. "Did you get it checked?"

"How do you know about it?" Jake's hold tightened around my hand, and I could feel the tension in his body. "Of course, you're spying on me. Fucking Sebastian!"

Nicolas set his coffee back on the table with an audible thud as his eyes moved from Jake to me then back to Jake. "That's called taking care of my son. What were you thinking? Did you think I wouldn't know your little deadly adventure in the underground fighting? You think I wouldn't care. Is that what you think, Jacob? Guess what, unlike your mother, I do care about you."

Jake released my hand, slamming his fist on the table. The impulse made me recoil a little, but I had no other option but to stay silent as the father-son duo danced their love-hate relationship.

"You're the reason she isn't here, but who cares, and certainly you don't. So, if you think your little games would make us some happy family, then you couldn't be more delusional."

A low laugh erupted from across the table as Nicolas shook his head, wiping his mouth with the napkin and tossing it aside. "Yet, you're here."

I shifted my gaze towards Jake to meter his reaction and found him glaring at his father. "I'm here to have some answers. So, tell me, father, why did you renew the lease for Salenger's property? Did you get bored or suddenly bonded with the residents of the Retirement house? What was it?"

"Why do you think?" Nicolas asked calmly. "I don't know what's your deal with that place or rather with the people living there, but I would never let you die over it. You're my blood, my son, and all that I do, it's for you. So, forgive me for loving my son."

I almost felt bad for him. No matter how many differences we have. Our family, our parents always occupy a most sacred place in our hearts. And I could tell from Jake's harsh breathing and tensed shoulders that the little boy inside him still wanted to hug his father. Maybe, it wasn't too late.

"I can never forgive you or myself for what you've done." He gritted out.

My head swirled, and I looked from father to son, trying to understand what were they even talking about? Was there more to Jake's past than he had opened up to me?

His father released a disappointed sigh, looking at him intensely. "You think you are all grown up, living your own life, handling your shit, but no, you're failing in it. And I'm here, Jacob. I'm here to look after you and make sure that you don't end up ruining your chance to be better than me. Because you are a better man."

I almost choked on my bite by his sudden display of affection for his son, and from the smug smile on Jake's face, it was clear that he wasn't buying it either.

"That's until I'm willing to take your place in the company. And not live my life as a hippie. Am I right, father?" Jake held his father's gaze and took a sip of his coffee as if in a challenge.

"I hope to see you at the Charity Ball, Jacob." Nicolas gave me a calculative look, tightening his jaw before pushing back his chair and smoothing the lapel of his suit. "You can bring your girlfriend too."

His words rubbed Jake in the wrong way because he ignored his father's request continuing to drink his coffee in casual dismissal. I hated to see the gap between them. They lacked the voice of reason at their mansion.

"Yeah, I don't-"

"We'll be there, Mr. Green," I couldn't believe I had cut off Jake and said that to his father. Did I lose my mind? Maybe a little.

Jake narrowed his eyes at me in disbelief and displeasure both. His grip on the cup tightened, soaking the bandages around his knuckles.

"She isn't what I thought after all. Amy, is it? My son never brings his chases to his house, certainly not to the breakfast table. I can only hope he doesn't run away when things get real." Nicolas stared at me and flashed me a tiny sly smile. I nodded, gulping down my nervousness and giving him a confident smile. His eyes scrutinized me for a second before turning back to a careless gaze. "You can call me Nicolas, Amy."

I kept my poker face on until his figure disappeared and his footsteps died across the hallway. I sucked in a deep breath and drank down half glass of water. That's when I felt the icy silence beside me, I could feel his cold stare, and it only made me regret stepping between the father and son.

"What was that, Amy?" Jake's asked, searching my eyes for the reasons.

"He did restore the Retirement house. Don't you think you're rude to him?" I shrugged, ignoring the chills that spread due to his cold stare. I had seen him angry before, and for some sick reason, the veins that lined his forearms and neck only made him look more intense.

In the next moment, I heard his chair scraping against the floor as he held my wrist, urging me to leave the table. I was done with my breakfast anyway. The mansion had enough drama to fill up your belly. "Jacob, Wha-"

"Don't you want to see my bedroom?" He smirked, leading us through the staircase.

His bedroom? Of course, I wanted to see his bedroom. But what's with the impulse.

Upstairs was as spacious as the living room downstairs, with doors lining up the hallway. Jake's hold on my wrist never faltered once, but his pace was in coordination with mine. Once we crossed the many paintings and pictures of his father's achievements spattered across the walls of the loft area, he came to a stop at the last door in the corridor.

His bedroom looked like his personality, dark and dimly lit. The walls were in dark colors as per his palette. It was clutter-free and well-arranged as if no one had slept in it for days, perhaps even for months. The only mess in the room were the sketches, canvas, and oil paintings that occupied the sunroom attached to the master bedroom. The overcast light restricted illuminating the room through the curtains covering the glass slider leading to the balcony. My eyes zeroed on the enormous bed with a black textured duvet and pillowcases. How typical. Everything in there was either black or grey, not that it belonged to a guy who paints.

The room smelled of his fresh lavender.

The door clicked closed, but I didn't turn around to gauge his quick strides as Jake covered the distance between us.

His grip on my hips wasn't a surprise as he twirled me around, making me face him. A glint of mischief danced in his eyes, and his hand slid up my back one vertebrae at a time.

"Did you mean it?" He asked, his tall figure hovering over me, his breath rolling very slowly on my lips. Just a little lean of our heads, and we would be kissing. Instead, his eyes searched every inch of my face.

"What did I mean?" My words were barely audible as he took a step closer while I took a step back.

"You know the thing you said to my father," he said, taking another step closer, his charcoal irises flickering with an unknown emotion. His knees bumped with mine, causing the back of my knees to collide with the edge of his bed. I felt the cold but surprisingly soft material of the bed against my back, and not even a second later, Jake's face was just an inch away from mine, his warm breath tickling my cheek, his body merely half a millimeter away from merging with mine.

"What thing?" My heart was on the verge of collision, and I couldn't avoid the way my stomach kept backflipping.

His eyes never once left mine as he moved a strand of hair away from my face, cupping my cheek and running his warm fingers lightly. "Are you my girlfriend now, Amy?"

A small smile appeared on my face. Jake looked so scared but apprehensive at the same time. I took control of myself, running my hand over his. "I could be if you want me to be."

"You're my girl, always have been and always will be." Something wild danced behind his eyes as he mumbled those Italian curses under his breath before placing a quick peck on my lips. I moved my hands upwards, sifting my fingers into his hair, pulling him back into the kiss. It was different. It was slow, passionate, and felt so very charismatic. "Whatever happened to the girl who didn't believe in commitments."

"The same thing that happened to the guy who never brought any girl to his house or the breakfast table." I laughed.

"God, I love you so much," he mumbled, molding his body with mine and burying his face in my neck. "We're going to get me a black tux and you a dress for the party."

I pulled his face off my neck, making him look at my face. "Not a dress. I'm wearing a suit too."

Jake's face morphed in confusion, his eyebrows knit together as he surveyed my face for few seconds.

"What? Am I not a lady enough for a billionaire's Charity ball?" I regretted the hidden irritation that came off quite obvious in my voice.

"Who care's about the ball. You're my lady and a badass one at that. A tux for you, then. Anyways, the real fun will be after the party." He grinned, running his eyes from my forehead to my nose and finally settling on my lips. "Because after the ball, I'm going to drive you back here, to my room on my shoulder, then I'm going to kiss every inch of your body, not a single inch of your skin will remain devoid of my touch," he paused, trailing kisses over my throat and down on the swells of my breasts. "Then I'll carry you to my bed and take you till you tap out. And by the end of the night, we're going to scent each other. It doesn't matter what you wear to the party. It'll be lying on my bedroom floor by the end of the evening."

Well, shit!

His words hazed my mind with the picture of us performing the act, and I would be lying if I didn't feel impatient waiting for it to happen. I was going to explode. My grip on his shoulder tightened, nails digging in his soft flesh as he held my gaze while kissing down from my chin to the column of my neck. Goosebumps spread across my skin as he bunched up my shirt, flicking his eyes back at me. I bit down on my bottom lip and nodded. He was seeking my permission to act on the urgency that his words had ignited within both of us. I could feel his erection through his jeans, brushing against my thigh, and I bet he could feel my need too because the moment I gave him a go, he kissed down my stomach. But before his mouth reached its desired destination, his cellphone went off.

"Shit," he groaned against my stomach.

"You should...you should take it," I said, a little breathless due to all the build between us. Jake mouthed a sorry and fished out his cellphone from the back pocket of his jeans.

"Yes, it better be -," he stepped away from my hold abruptly. "When...I mean, how? Shit!"

Colors left his face as he tugged his hair to stop himself from lashing out or screaming- I couldn't tell. I smoothed down my shirt and sat up to place my hand on his shoulder, which had tensed up as he listened to the person on the other side of the phone. But before I could comfort him, he rushed out of the room, almost in a daze.

"Jacob!" I quickly put my sneakers on and ran after him. He was already halfway down the stairs. "What happened, Jacob?"

He stopped midway and looked up at me. That look hit me straight in the heart, pain, so much pain. His red eyes locked with mine as a single tear dropped down his cheek, and his jaw clenched as he blew out his hurt. "I couldn't save her either, Amy. She's going to leave too."

I took a careful step down the stair, careful not to step into unwanted territory. "Who are you talking about, baby?"

I didn't know how and why but, the word just flew out of my lips. Maybe, I couldn't take the pain in his eyes. A vein popped in his forehead, and then he punched out his fire on the wall, soaking up his bandaged knuckles with fresh blood. Before he could run away from my comfort and hurt some more, I covered the rest of the steps between us.

"Brinda," he breathed. "I couldn't save her, Amy. I couldn't save her."