I hear a few soft gasps from the front row as I begin to play Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit, but then everything fades away, until it’s just me and the beautiful Steinway I have the honor of playing tonight. This specific piece is so difficult to play that it requires all of my concentration, and for a little while, my thoughts finally still. For seven minutes, the heartache fades away, and I stop worrying about what the future might bring. Even though she is sometimes referred to as Surinamese, she is more specifically Indo-Surinamese. During the 1800s her Indian parents moved to South America to work as indentured servants.

For them to come by unannounced means they’re up to some kind of bullshit. My siblings and I are very close, but we try our best to keep some boundaries intact. Even more so following Ares and Luca’s weddings. The fact that all four of them are here does not bode well for me. Romance Billionaire Romance Erotic Young Adult Crime Fantasy Vampires Science Fiction Thriller Horror Classics Suspense The melody turns darker, rougher, the acoustics of this room still as perfect as they’ve always been, but it does nothing to soothe my aching heart. The final note echoes, and I exhale shakily as I rest my forehead against the music shelf.I kept running, choosing to focus on the global expansion of our conglomerate after college, just so I didn’t have to face her more than a few times a year. Working overseas bought me a bit more time, but it wasn’t enough.

Dion was photographed smiling up at his secretary, Maria, on a beach in Spain. They look happy and relaxed, and based on their swimwear, I assume they were very much not working. They weren’t caught in a compromising position, but it was enough for the media to spin tales about how he’ll follow in his brother’s footsteps by marrying his secretary, and how they can all hear wedding bells. Did he change his mind about keeping quiet, or is he just keeping tabs on me? I can’t determine his motivations, and that unnerves me. My father is predictable, and there’s a certain measure of solace in that. I prefer to know when to expect pain — it allows me to take calculated risks.

He sighs. “She disappeared again shortly before we could apprehend her. It’s obvious she’s enjoying the kind of protection only money can buy. Raven’s father swore that they aren’t helping her, and truthfully, I can’t find any proof that he’s lying. Not yet, anyway.” I’m nervous too,” he says, misinterpreting my silence. “Somehow, this feels a little like a first date, doesn’t it?” I nod, and he reaches for my hand over the table. “I suppose in some ways, it is. I always said I’d be patient with you and that you’re worth the wait, but I feel like you may have taken those words a little too seriously,” he adds, his tone playful. “Six months before you let me take you out on a real date? It’ll be years before we’re married.” When was the last time she tried to defend me? I’d never want her to get between my father and me, because that would only make matters worse, but shouldn’t she at least be a little concerned?

Her breath hitches, and her gorgeous eyes widen a fraction. “I did nothing of the sort.” Her voice is soft, pained. “Our marriage agreement was made by our families. Neither of us had anything to do with it, and I’m pretty sure neither of us wants anything to do with it either.” I control my breathing and focus on swallowing my food. I won’t let him catch me wasting a single bite, no matter how close I am to throwing up. Eric sits up straighter and tugs on the collar of his shirt. “Not that much,” he says, grinning nervously. She shoots Abigail a similar apologetic look, and my stepmother steps in to speak to her, reassuring her that it’s fine before I have a chance to form my own reply. For years, he made his unwillingness known, but his attempts to keep Faye at a distance fade to dust at the sight of her with another man—mere months before their wedding.

I’m so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn’t been fully aware of where my feet led me. My heart twists painfully as I pause in front of a familiar building, the sharp pain a welcome deviation from the numbness that had overtaken me when I left the drawing room. I hadn’t meant to come here, but there is obviously no escaping my guilt tonight. Like many authors, Catharina Maura began writing when she was very little. In fact, aged just ten, she used to tell her friends and family that she wanted to grow up and become an author. Dr. Grant” is the second novel of the “Off Limits” series of novels by Catharina Maura. It tells the beautiful romance story of Amara the Ph.D. student and Noah that just qualified as a doctor. One look at her, and he realizes he’s done running. Time is up, and whether she likes it or not, she’s his. Together with his sister, they had been forced to live a life of struggle. Noah becomes a doctor to honor his father’s legacy as he starts working at Astor College in what has always been his dream job.

The song is distorted, ruined by the piano’s need for tuning, but somehow, it suits my mood far better than the normally light and uplifting tilt of Liszt’s famous tune. It sounds as broken as I am, and the notes I miss would’ve made my mother cringe. She’d have flinched at the way I’m butchering her favorite piece, the way her piano sounds due to my negligence, and then she’d have pasted on a bright reassuring smile, because that’s who she was. She was warmth, love, and the light in my life. My world has been cast in shadows since the day I lost my parents, and I don’t think I’ll ever claw my way out. Dion?” my grandmother says, cutting through the haze. My eyes snap up, and I realize the room has fallen silent. “Need I remind you of our agreement? It’s time to stop avoiding Faye.”

Publication Order of The Tie That Binds Books

He catches the door before it closes and forces his way in, ignoring my attempts to shut him out. “What a warm welcome,” he says, his eyes roaming over my suite. He stares at me as though he’s expecting me to engage with his words, so I nod reluctantly. “Right,” I murmur, even though I disagree. Eric is no competition for me — I just need to make her see that. I pause in front of my father’s liquor cabinet and let myself wonder what it’d be like to share a glass with him. What advice would he have for me tonight? He adored Faye when she was a child, and I doubt that would’ve changed. It certainly didn’t look like you were about to break up with him,” I murmur, keeping a lid on my venom. “If anything, it looked an awful lot like you were on your way up to do something else altogether.” My stomach twists at the thought of her underneath Eric. How many times has he had her? I grit my teeth and push the mental image away, lest it consume me.