Aras hadn't sat back down—but he hadn't followed Naiya either. Instead, he stayed where he was, one hand braced against the back of an empty chair, jaw tight, eyes shadowed. To anyone watching, he looked detached. Unbothered. He wasn't. Xander noticed.
Of course he did.
"You're unraveling," Xander said quietly, not looking at him.
Aras scoffed. "Relax. I'm fine."
"You're lying," Xander replied calmly.
"And you don't lie well when it comes to her." Aras's fingers curled slowly.
"Don't." Xander finally turned, eyes sharp.
"You think I don't know? You think I don't see the pattern? Every choice you make lately—it's damage control. " Aras leaned back, forcing a careless smirk. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
For a moment, Aras said nothing. Then, quieter—dangerously so—he muttered, "I don't get to choose."
Xander stiffened. "What?"
Aras's eyes darkened. "I made a deal. Years ago. One mistake. One moment I thought I could fix on my own." His jaw clenched. "My father made sure I never forgot it."
Xander's voice dropped. "Blackmail?"
Aras didn't answer. He didn't need to.
"I stay where I'm told," Aras continued flatly. "I play the role. I keep the peace. Because if I don't—something gets released. Something that would destroy more than just me."
Xander studied him carefully now. This wasn't recklessness. This was restraint under pressure.
"And Naiya?" Xander asked.
Aras exhaled sharply. "She's the one thing I didn't plan for. The one variable I can't control." His mouth twisted. "Which makes her the most dangerous." Aras exhaled sharply.
Across the table, Naiya sat rigid, staring into her glass. She felt it—his gaze, heavy and unrelenting. She didn't look back. She couldn't. Not when every instinct told her that whatever held Aras in place was powerful enough to break him… and anyone too close. Emry leaned subtly toward Ocean, lowering his voice.
"This family is rotted from the inside." Ocean nodded once.
"So is mine." Their eyes met. No judgment. Just recognition.
Meanwhile, Connor shifted beside Amaiyla, unease crawling up his spine.
"Your brother—" he began quietly to Emry.
"Is complicated," Amaiyla finished, forcing a small smile.
"We all are tonight." Xander leaned back, scanning the table—the cracks, the silences, the secrets hanging unspoken. So many people pretending they still had choices. They didn't know it yet. But Aras was already living proof of what happened when fathers decided your future for you—and used your past as a weapon. And whatever had been buried was clawing its way back to the surface.
The table felt heavier after the parents left. Like something unseen had taken a seat among us.
Connor leaned closer again, his concern no longer subtle.
"Amaiyla… something's wrong. I can feel it. Please talk to me."
I shook my head, staring at the condensation sliding down my glass.
"Not here." His jaw tightened, but he nodded. He always respected my boundaries. That was part of what made this unbearable. Across from us, Xander observed in silence, his expression unreadable. Then, calmly, deliberately, he spoke.
"You should be careful, Connor," he said.
"When people avoid conversations, it's usually because the truth is inconvenient. They want to avoid facing or admitting the truth which can be damaging. " Connor stiffened.
"Is there a reason you're saying this to me?" Xander met his gaze evenly.
"Just an observation." The tension thickened.
Aras hadn't returned to his seat. He stood a few steps back, arms crossed, watching everything with sharp detachment. Naiya sat upright, refusing to look at him—but she could feel him. She always could. Xander shifted his attention smoothly." Aras, you're pacing."
Aras scoffed. "Maybe I don't like cages." Xander's eyes narrowed at his brother's comment.
"Careful." said Aras.
That was when Aras snapped—just slightly. "You think I chose this?" he muttered. "You think I enjoy playing a part?"
The table went still. Emry straightened. Ocean's gaze flicked to him instinctively.
"What are you talking about?" Emry asked quietly.
Aras exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "I made a mistake. A long time ago. One moment. One choice." His jaw clenched. "Father decided it would define the rest of my life."
Xander's voice dropped. "He's holding something over you." Aras didn't deny it.
"I stay where I'm told," Aras continued.
"I do what's expected. Because if I don't, it doesn't just ruin me." His eyes flicked briefly to Naiya.
"It destroys people who don't deserve it." Naiya's breath caught. She finally looked at him.
"Then stop looking at me like that." Aras met her gaze fully now, raw and unapologetic. "I can't."
The honesty shook her more than anger ever could. Before anyone could speak, Xander turned back to Connor—smooth, composed.
"You see?" Xander said lightly.
"That's the thing about choices. Sometimes we think we're free… until the past reminds us otherwise."
Connor's fingers curled into his napkin. "You keep talking in riddles."
Xander leaned back. "Only because you already understand them." Connor felt it then. Not accusation. Surveillance. He scanned the room unconsciously—waitstaff passing, phones on tables, eyes lingering just a beat too long. A cold realization settled in his chest. Someone had been asking questions.
He leaned toward Amaiyla. "Have you noticed… we're not alone in this?" Her heart skipped. She had.
Before she could answer, Naiya spoke, her voice steady but edged with steel. "Whatever game is being played, it ends when someone gets hurt."
Xander smiled faintly. "Games end when people stop pretending."
At the far end of the table, Emry watched Ocean again—really watched her. She wasn't oblivious. She never was. Their eyes met, held. Something unspoken passed between them.
Recognition.
Possibility.
And danger.
Across the restaurant, behind velvet curtains, two fathers leaned over a contract, finalizing details that sounded innocent enough—dates, destinations, guests. Neither son knew. Neither daughter suspected. But a clause had already been embedded. Quiet. Invisible. Activated not by refusal… but by resistance.
Back at the table, Connor exhaled slowly. "I don't like this," he said quietly." I feel like I'm being measured."
Xander's gaze locked onto him. "You are."
The words landed like a warning. Or a promise. And in that moment, Amaiyla understood something with chilling clarity. This wasn't about a wedding. It wasn't even about control. It was about leverage. And every single one of them was already standing on a fault line— waiting for the first crack to split them wide open.
The shift didn't announce itself. No raised voices. No dramatic confrontation. Just a feeling—subtle and unmistakable—that something had already begun. Amaiyla felt it first. It started as a vibration in her phone, tucked away in her clutch. One notification. Then another. She didn't check them, but her pulse spiked anyway. Her father never texted twice unless something had gone exactly the way he wanted.
Across the table, Connor rubbed the back of his neck, unease settling deep in his bones. He couldn't shake the sense of being watched—not just by Xander, but by something larger. Invisible. Methodical.
"I think someone's been looking into me," he murmured to Amaiyla, barely moving his lips. Her breath caught.
"What?"
"Nothing obvious," he continued quietly.
"Just… questions. An email last week. A call that hung up when I answered. I brushed it off." His jaw tightened.
"I shouldn't have." Xander heard every word. He didn't react—but his silence was confirmation enough. At the other end of the table, Naiya finally stood. Calm. Composed. Dangerous in her restraint.
"Aras," she said evenly.
"Walk with me." It wasn't a request. They moved a few steps away—still within sight, but far enough to breathe.
"You're being controlled," Naiya said softly. "And you're letting it happen." Aras laughed under his breath.
"You think I don't know that?"
"Then fight it."
"I already tried." His expression darkened.
"What did you do?" She studied him carefully now.
"Enough to make my father ensure I never try again," he replied quietly.
"One mistake. One incident. Covered up." He paused. "But never erased."
Her stomach twisted.
"So that's it? You sacrifice yourself?"
"I sacrifice my choices," he said.
His eyes met hers, intense.
Back at the table, Emry's phone buzzed. He glanced down—and stiffened. Ocean noticed instantly.
"What is it?" Emry hesitated, then showed her the screen. A legal notification. A custody review request. Filed that morning.
"I didn't ask for this," he said quietly. "Someone did."
Ocean's expression hardened.
"Your father." Emry didn't deny it. "That's leverage," she added softly.
"He's reminding you who still owns the board. "Emry exhaled slowly.
"He won't touch my kid".
Ocean met his gaze: '' He already have''.
...
Meanwhile, Amaiyla finally checked her phone.
One message.
From John Hollingsworth.
It's done.
No explanation.
No warmth.
Just certainty.
Her chest tightened. Across the room, the velvet curtain shifted as the parents returned. Smiles in place. Decisions made.
"Everything is settled," John announced pleasantly.
"The wedding will proceed quickly. Limited guest list. Overseas." He looked directly at Amaiyla.
"You'll be informed of the details."
Xander's brow furrowed.
"I haven't signed anything." John looked at her with a satisfied look and smiled.
"You won't need to my dear daughter.''
That was the moment it clicked. Connor felt it. Naiya sensed it. Emry understood it. Something had already been activated.
Xander turned sharply to his father. "What did you do?"
Harold Reyes met his gaze coolly. "Protected you."
Xander stood. "From what?"
Harold's voice lowered, "From consequences you don't see coming." Silence fell.
Amaiyla's hands trembled. "You don't get to decide my life."
John's smile didn't waver. "I already did."
Connor stepped forward instinctively. "You can't force her—"
Xander's hand came up sharply. "Stop." Connor froze.
Xander's expression was tight now—not cruel, not smug.
Controlled.
Furious.
"This isn't just about Amaiyla," Xander said slowly.
"Is it?" John said nothing.
Harold adjusted his cufflinks. "You'll understand soon enough."
That night ended without resolution. But not without consequence.
...
By morning:
*Connor would receive proof he was being investigated.
*Emry would be threatened through his child.
*Aras would be reminded what happens when he looks at Naiya too long.
*And Amaiyla would realize the engagement wasn't a promise...it was a trigger.
*And whatever clause had been hidden inside that contract? It had already begun to close around them.
...