Kaia’s POV
Tomorrow was departure day.
I thought the rest of my time would pass quietly—maybe even peacefully—until my phone lit up with an unexpected call from Noah.
“Are you coming home for dinner?” he asked.
The question caught me off guard. “Probably not. I’m busy packing.”
A pause. Then I heard the faint sound of his breathing on the other end.
“Today’s my birthday,” he said.
Right. I’d never forgotten their birthdays before. Not once—until this year.
“Sorry,” I murmured, guilt twisting low in my stomach.
Noah spoke again, softer this time. “So come home for dinner? I made pasta. Your favorite.”
I almost said no. I imagined walking into the dining room, only to feel like a stranger in my own family while the three of them orbited around Sylvie like she was the sun.
“Sylvie’s not home,” Noah added, like he could hear every thought in my head.
“Okay then,” I said.
…
When I pulled up to the Renner estate, Asher was in the yard, watering the plants. He looked up and smiled. “Come on. Noah made your favorite.”
It almost felt like old times.
At the table, Asher poured wine into my glas. Jace brought out the cake. Noah filled our plates with fresh, still-steaming pasta.
The air, which I’d braced to be thick with awkwardness, was surprisingly light. Even Jace made polite conversation, asking about the lab, like he actually cared.
Then Noah cleared his throat. “Care to join us for our trip to France?”
The fantasy of a French winter.
“I would be already in our lab in Cuba,” I said, carefully twirling my fork.
“Right…” Noah looked down at his plate.
“Can’t you postpone it?” Jace asked. “Just a few days, until we’re back.”
“I already made the appointment.”
Asher stepped in smoothly, passing me a fresh plate of salad. “Kaia’s always been the serious one. No use pressing her to come if she’s got work.”
“Want some?” Asher kept looking at me. Like there was something he wanted to say but couldn’t. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Noah told me… about the other day. Your guard. James, was it?”
“That’s right.”
“Well,” Asher began, choosing his words too carefully, “you know how people are around the Renner family. A lot of them get close for the wrong reasons. It’s important to know who actually cares about you—and who’s just after the benefits.”
I set my fork down, my appetite gone.
James was one of the only people who hadn’t treated me like I was disposable. And now, Asher was questioning his loyalty.
“James is a good man,” I said evenly. “If you’d bother to know him, you wouldn’t say that.”
“I’m just looking out for you—”
I cut in. “You stopped looking out for me a long time ago. This isn’t about me. You’re just afraid I might leak family secrets to someone who actually treats me like a human being.”
Asher’s eyes hardened. “You—”
The fragile peace shattered.
Jace slammed his chair back and stood, his cheeks flushed with anger. “I told you, Asher. She’s not family anymore. Spoiled and blind. Can’t even tell when she’s siding with outsiders.”
I stood too. “At least I wasn’t pretending.”
“Sit down, Jace,” Asher snapped, eyes narrowing. Then he turned to me. “I looked into your friend James. He’s connected to one of our rivals. The Orman Group. You need to be careful who you trust,” Asher continued. “Letting them near our product lines isn’t just reckless—it’s dangerous. If you—”
