Faux Vows, True Desires

Growing up, Keith narrowly escaped being poisoned several times. He was too young to remember any of it, but Shirley filled in the gaps of his memory. Loyal nannies had taken the brunt for him, and though they were saved each time, the fear lingered, casting a shadow of vigilance over Keith's life.

Darlene sipped some warm tap water before standing and following Keith to the kitchen doorway, hands shoved in her pockets. She watched him open the fridge and retrieve some ingredients. "What are you planning to whip up?" she asked casually.

"You've come all this way, and you must be starving. Making a feast would take too long for your empty stomach. How about I fix you some spaghetti for a midnight snack?"

Darlene chuckled. "Good call. I can't really wait around."

She needed to get back to Pinehurst before dawn to avoid her sister's prying eyes.

This clandestine visit was not without its troubles.

"You're a decent cook then?"

"Decent enough. I mean, no one's ever called my cooking 'a culinary disaster,' if that's what you're asking."

Keith filled a pot with water, set it to boil, and then added the spaghetti.

Meanwhile, he prepared some sliced meat, veggies, and chopped scallions, planning to serve Darlene a hearty spaghetti with meat sauce.

"I like my spaghetti with a fried egg on top," she said.

"Sure thing."

After prepping the meat, veggies, and scallions, hearing Darlene's preference for a fried egg, Keith quickly retrieved two eggs from the fridge and began to fry them up. While Keith had the fridge open, Darlene noticed it was well-stocked and commented, "Do you make yourself a late-night snack every evening?"

"Only if I'm hungry, but I rarely have spaghetti."

Usually, it was his bodyguards who used his kitchen to make themselves a spaghetti snack.

had a particular

family, you live like this, such a hard life," Darlene mused

family, seemingly living a life of luxury, but in reality, his existence was no better than that of an

was large, and with size came complexity-jealousy, ambition, and scheming

some people

of her own family, the Bishops. Her sister had endured so much to protect their estate and rebuild the Bishop Group that

Group weren't as ruthless as those in the

family and witnessing countless inheritance battles among the elite, Darlene thought it was

Yet, they couldn't avoid sharing the burden of the family enterprise. Stefan, who took his mother's surname, was meant to run the Coleman Group, but his

Keith remained silent.

he thought all wealthy families were like the

was only after Lucinda came back into his life, bringing a brother-in-law into the fold, that Keith realized there were outliers like the Andersons. Meeting Frederick and Jeannie he was given a new perspective on the world of the

a small fortune to have me investigated," Darlene broached

your help, I escaped danger. You saved my life, but I didn't even know your name to repay you. I don't like owing favors, so I wanted to find

to ask why he had people watching her, but she swallowed her words. To ask would be

was a

having her agency search for

she wasn't ready to admit she

really. I'm honored that you'd remember such a

to finish preparing the meal. He added the prepared ingredients into the

a small gesture to you, but to me, it was a life-saving grace.

moment of silence,

My line of work comes with its own dangers. To protect myself, I've always

and I'd rather not

my