Amaiyla (continued)
"This isn't your fault," Xander said sharply.
I laughed once — short, humorless. "That's easy to say when you're not the collateral."
His eyes darkened, but before he could respond, both our phones buzzed at the same time.
Midnight.
Of course it was.
CLAUSE 17-B — COMPLIANCE CHECK-IN REQUIRED
My chest tightened. "What does that even mean?"
Xander was already scrolling, his expression hardening. "It means we're being measured."
Measured.
Like an experiment.
A video call opened on its own.
John Hollingsworth's face appeared first — calm, composed, every inch the man who'd raised me to believe control was love. Beside him sat Harold Reyes, his gaze sharp, calculating.
"You're together," my father said pleasantly.
Not Are you okay? or How are you holding up?
Together.
"Yes," I said through clenched teeth. "We're together. Congratulations."
John smiled thinly. "Good. Cooperation looks good on you, Amaiyla."
Xander stepped forward. "You said one week. No interference."
"This isn't interference," Harold replied smoothly. "This is verification."
My father leaned closer to the camera. "All scheduled appearances will be attended. Together. Meals. Events. No deviations."
"And if we don't?" I asked.
The pause was deliberate.
Then my father spoke softly — dangerously.
"Then the inquiry into Connor Jackson becomes… less informal."
The room tilted.
I felt Xander's hand close around my arm, steadying me before I even realized my knees had weakened.
"You promised," Xander said coldly. "You said you wouldn't use her."
John didn't even blink. "I promised results."
The screen went black.
Silence crashed down around us.
"I didn't know," I whispered. "About Connor. About how far they'd go."
"I did," Xander said quietly.
That hurt more than anything else.
"You knew," I repeated.
"Yes," he admitted. "That's why I didn't stop it."
I pulled away from him. "So this is just a strategy or game to you?"
"No," he said immediately. "This is war."
Something shifted then — not trust, not forgiveness — but alignment. We were standing on the same side of the blade now.
Naiya POV
On her run, Naiya stopped at a small coffee shop to rest. After placing her order, she sat on a bench facing the street.
As she looked out at the beach, a calm settled over her—one she hadn't felt in a long time. Then she saw Aras.
He stepped out of a black car and turned around. Something about him stirred her curiosity. She rose without thinking and left the coffee shop. Drawn toward him, she took a few steps—then stopped and froze.
Tammy Veraga was with him. Naiya had never met her, but she knew her reputation well enough. Stunning. Ruthless. Cunning. A woman who never hesitated to dirty her hands if it meant getting what she wanted.
Naiya tried to move, but her legs refused. The way Tammy's hand rested on his arm—possessive, deliberate—set her teeth on edge. As if she had already claimed him. Naiya wanted to cross the street and tear them apart.
Just as she turned to leave, Aras looked up.
Their eyes met.
For half a second, the world tilted. Then it stilled completely.
The noise faded.
The distance vanished.
There was only him.
Only her.
Until Tammy shifted beside him. Her fingers tightened, just slightly.
"Is that her?" Tammy asked, her voice light—too light.
Aras didn't answer. His gaze stayed locked on Naiya as she turned and ran toward the beach, the echo of her presence still burning between them.
"Interesting," Tammy said. "She looks like a complication."
"She's not part of this," Aras said coldly.
Tammy laughed. "Everyone is."
Later, Naiya came to pay a surprise visit to Amaiyla to check on how things were going. Their mother also requested her to come and see how she and Xander were cohabitating. She sat beside me on the couch, knees pulled to her chest.
"He won't look at me anymore," Naiya whispered. "Not the way he used to."
"Does he look happy?" Amaiyla asked.
She shook her head. "No. He looks trapped."
That was when Amaiyla realized something. Something important.
Tammy Veraga wasn't the enemy.
She was leveraged too.
And whatever deal Aras had made with his father — with Harold Reyes — it was eating him alive.
Amaiyla didn't know then that Tammy was fighting her own war. Or that one day, she'd stand beside her— not against her.
Not yet.