"I know that. Sorry for putting you and Malissa through this. I’m such a selfish brother…" Harvey apologized sadly.


    "You are…but I don’t mind," Hayden quickly replied.


    "Thank you, Hayden…" Harvey thanked his brother warmly.


    Hayden didn’t know what to say anymore so he just nodded at his brother. The conversation died down, but it seemed like Harvey wanted to discuss something else. Hayden waited patiently for his brother to start the conversation that they couldn’t keep avoiding anymore.


    "About Ethan’s request to meet with you and Malissa, what will you do?" Harvey asked as his eyes stared sharply at Hayden.


    "I won’t allow it. I won’t let the two of them meet even if I’m present," Hayden replied without a second thought.


    "Even if she wants to meet him?" Harvey challenged.


    "Why would she want to meet him? She has no reason to," Hayden snapped back as a frown formed between his brows.


    Harvey could tell that he was rubbing Hayden the wrong way; however, this issue concerned more than Hayden’s rtionship with Malissa, and he couldn’t afford to back down from this.


    "I hate how you’re not telling Malissa anything and I’m sure that she hates not knowing anything," Harvey expressed his concern.


    "If I tell her too much, she’ll get herself more than half killed just like Amelia…or worse…" Hayden retorted.


    "How long are you nning to keep her locked up down there?" Harvey asked as he quirked a brow at Hayden.


    "Not long…" Hayden replied vaguely.


    "Don’t you think you’re overreacting about all this? I know you were mad at her for entering my wing of my mansion but the real reason you locked her up is because you’re scared that she’ll get in touch with Ethan, right?" Harvey stated his educated guess.


    "He did ask to see her. That crazy bastard…" Hayden muttered darkly.


    "I hate the Silvas and if I was the way I was before I met Amelia, I would annihte them by force. However, I think you should talk to Ethan and see what he really wants," Harvey suggested with a serious look on his face.


    "I already know what he wants," Hayden stated with certainty.


    "That spoiled boy doesn’t want me to head Torex. He was the happiest when I supposedly died. Ethan was always fond of the idea of his friend taking over Torex," Harvey said before grinning at Hayden.


    "I was never fond of that idea…" Hayden replied.


    "Peace between the two gangs led by the two boys that he chose. That was the dream that Jack had. It doesn’t hurt to hear Ethan out. Maybe Torex can benefit from some mini peace treaty so that we can move on and focus more on raking in cash," Harvey said dreamily.


    "Always the businessman, aren’t you?" Hayden teased, although he was half serious.


    "Of course. I told you that I was trained differently," Harvey said followed by a chuckle.


    "I don’t want to get Malissa involved," Hayden stated tly.


    "Just like Amelia, she’s been involved ever since the day that she was born. Despite Jack’ste efforts in trying to separate her from the gang, I sort of always knew that she would end up back here. She grew up well, I can tell…" Harvey said calmly.


    "I’ll think about it…" Hayden said softly.


    "If you decide not to go, do you think I could go as your stand-in body double? Do you think Ethan can tell us apart?" Harvey asked with a curious expression on his face.


    "Don’t you dare think about it…" Hayden warned as his eyes narrowed at his brother.


    Harvey looked at his brother’s scornful face and burst outughing loudly. Hayden couldn’t tell if Harvey was being serious or if he was just joking; however, it wasn’t worth the risk to test Harvey and his wicked ideas.


    …


    That night Hayden returned to my room looking quite moody. Whatever he talked to his brother about probably didn’t go well and he wasn’t bothered to hide it from me. After entering the room, Hayden immediately headed for the bed and sat on it.


    He nced over at me before gesturing with his hand for me to join him. Wordlessly, I sat next to him on the bed with my legs curled up under me as I waited for him to say something. From the look on his face, it seemed like he had something that he wanted to say but he was hesitating to say it.


    "Hayden…" I called out his name questioningly as I stared at his face.


    "Mind if I stay the night?" he asked as he turned to look straight at me.


    His clear blue eyes met mine and once again, I couldn’t look away from his intense gaze. Honestly, I was surprised that Hayden wanted to spend the night with me here instead of going back to his room. What surprised me even more was the fact that he was asking.


    "You can stay…" I replied softly as I felt my blood rush to my cheeks.


    "Thank you…" Hayden murmured.


    His arms wrapped around my shoulders as he pulled me into a warm and tight hug. I was hugging him back tightly before I knew what was going on. He kissed my hair and then my ear, making my body tremble slightly in his arms. I could smell his familiar scent and the heat of his body on mine. Slowly, Hayden pushed me onto the bed and got on top of me.


    "What are you thinking about?" I asked softly.


    Unlike the many times that we’ve done it before, Hayden’s eyes seemed unfocused like his mind was elsewhere and there were many emotions that I couldn’t read in his eyes apart from his desire to have his way with me.


    "You…" he replied in short before his lips sealed mine in a heated kiss.


    His demanding and aggressive kiss surprised me, but it wasn’t unpleasant. I raised my hands up and wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him closer before running my fingers through his blond hair. Hayden must have liked it because he started moaning softly into our wet kiss as his tongue danced wildly within the depths of my mouth.


    --To be continued…