Claymore, Texas, albeit vast in terms of square footage, was more a small town by definition, with its low population count and lack of commercial development. The town’s busiest street was just a mile long, and business competition in major industries was virtually nonexistent. Claymore only had one bank, one hospital, one insurance firm, and even just one barbershop, too. All of it used to belong to the town’s founding family. Now, these properties, along with 60% of the town’s land, belonged to Afxisi.

Just a few minutes away from the town center was an uphill road leading to Amaryllis Plantation, Claymore’s largest residence, and the beautifully preserved antebellum estate, like many of the town’s properties, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In honor of its history, Andreus and the others had collectively decided to continue with the tradition of opening its doors to the public. Although admission was completely free, the public was only limited to the plantation’s Great Hall and the sprawling grounds in front of the house. Everything else, such as the plantation’s four residential wings and the common areas at the back of the house, were off-limits to the public.

Hallie flipped to the next page of the ten-page brochure as Andreus’ truck rolled down the last few meters of the driveway. “Is that the allée?” She pointed to the oak-lined side road at the right, which the brochure identified as a vastly popular location for wedding and fashion shoots.

Nothing.

She glanced at Andreus in exasperation. “I didn’t make you promise not to talk to me anymore, you know.”

But the stubborn man still didn’t speak a word, and Hallie bit her lip hard. It had felt awfully good to finally get everything off her chest, liberating even, but maybe…she had been too honest?

Her gaze turned ahead, where the whole gang was waiting for them by the steps.

Six-foot-seven Helios Andreadis, often described as a sun god because of his leonine looks and powerful build, towered everyone else even when he was standing at the back, his gaze trained on his young family. For a change, his two-year-old twins appeared to be behaving themselves, standing behind the skirts of their violet-eyed mother like the cutest pair of charmers.

Next to them was Kellion Argyros, the charmer of the group, with his arm around his pregnant wife Aria.

And then there was her older brother Yuri – cut from the exact same cloth as Hallie with his identical black hair and blue eyes – standing next to his newly expectant Greek heiress wife. Kalliope was waving energetically at them, and the younger woman was the first to run as soon as Andreus’ truck rumbled to a stop.

“Welcome home, Hallie!”

She happily hugged her sister-in-law back even as Kalli’s tight squeeze threatened to crack her ribs.

“How about giving others a turn, sweetheart?”

Yuri’s words had the younger woman reluctantly stepping back. “I just wanted Hallie to know for certain how much I missed her,” Kalli said with her usual disarming innocence.

“You did,” she assured the other woman right away.

In the midst of kisses and hugs being exchanged, Kellion noted the way Andreus kept himself apart from the rest, a brooding look on the other man’s face.

“What’s up with him?” he asked her.

Seeing Kellion nod at Andreus’ direction, Hallie said cheerfully, “Don’t mind him. He’s just adjusting.”

Helios raised a brow. “Adjusting?”

“To the bombshell I dropped on him,” she told them with a sheepish smile. “I realized that the best way to get over him is to let nature take its course.”

MJ blinked. “Which means…what exactly?”

“I’m, umm, done pretending I’m not in love with him?”

The noise level around her plunged into such absolute silence that only the sound stridulating crickets made could be heard.

But even so, Andreus’ silence remained persistent, with his handsome face stoic as everyone turned his way.

Oh no, you don’t, Hallie thought. The time when he always had the upper hand was over. If him permanently breaking her heart was inevitable, then she was determined to get away with as much fun as she could before he left her for good.

And so after clearing her throat, she then announced, “In return, Andreus will act like he can’t ever get it up---”

Andreus, who had been leaning against the side of his truck, leapt off with a hiss of incredulity. “What the fuck?”

“No matter how much I try to seduce him,” she finished with a sweet smile at Andreus’ direction.

The other men tensed as Andreus took one threatening step towards her. All of them had witnessed multiple times the violent edge of Andreus’ temper, and numerous individuals had been sent to the hospital for a much lesser slur.

“You---” Andreus broke off, and Hallie knew the exact moment he remembered what he had promised, with the way color suddenly darkened his cheeks.

The men exchanged looks of disbelief when Andreus simply threw a look of impotent anger at Hallie before stalking away.

“Oh, wow.” Aria began to clap. “I don’t know what the heck Tokyo did to you,” the redhead exclaimed admiringly, “but you go, girl!”

A moment later, the door slammed shut behind him with a loud bang, and as the sound worked to release everyone from their mutual state of astonishment, the men’s low, rumbling laughter blended with the softer peals of merriment coming from their wives.

After all these years, it appeared that Andreus Economou, the most badass member of Afxisi, had finally been brought to his knees.

A little over an hour had passed when Hallie was finally shown to her third-floor bedroom in the southwest wing, which was Yuri’s side of the plantation. “If you want to talk,” her too-handsome brother began.

Hallie rolled her eyes. “Do you really want me to talk about my sexual frustrations---”

Yuri blanched.

“Exactly.” Her brother’s gaze turned thoughtful then, and Hallie did her best to keep her face blank.

After several moments, Yuri asked, “What is all this really about?”

Nothing.

“This isn’t like you,” he pressed gently.

No, she thought, it isn’t.

“You understand there’s a very high probability this – whatever this is – will hurt you more in the end?”

Hallie slowly nodded.

“And you’re okay with that?” Yuri drew a heavy breath at his sister’s silence. Sometimes, when he saw her like this, he couldn’t help blaming himself, knowing that if it weren’t for him Hallie would never have met Andreus. If it weren’t for him, she would have never known how it was to have her heart broken.

But if it weren’t for Andreus, would Hallie ever know how it was to fall in love?

“No more questions,” Yuri said finally with a brief smile. “I’m just glad you’re back with us.” He kissed her forehead. “Hopefully for good this time.”

Hallie worked hard to keep her smile in place as she saw Yuri out of her room. But the moment she closed the door, her legs literally gave out, and she crumbled to the floor.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

OH MY GOD.

It was as if her life had suddenly turned into a sequel to Jim Carrey’s Liar, Liar and she had been cursed to speak the truth and nothing but the truth –

Or so help me, God, Hallie prayed fervently.

I’m seriously praying here, God.

Please.

I’m really counting on you here.

After keeping her feelings to herself all these years, how was it that she couldn’t keep her mouth shut about it now?

First she had told Andreus himself that she was still in love with him. And now her whole family knew, too. Who was next? US Weekly?

It took a while before she could get her ungainly legs to work, and after managing to sit on the edge of her bed, Hallie finally had the chance to look around her. In her world, no girl was ever too old for pink, and her bedroom was a perfect reflection of that. As with her stationery shop, she had relied on phone calls and video chats to convey her wishes to the team handling her room’s renovation. Faded floral pink for the wallpaper, whitewashed floors, and a birch canopy bed – all white, zero curtains, queen-sized, and with four large drawers underneath. The rest of the room was a minimalist’s take on shabby chic: birch furniture that didn’t take up much space, a slim, wall-mounted cabinet to stow her giant TV screen out of view, a pull-down writing desk that hid her laptop and craft supplies, and a cottony loveseat placed next to the window.

This room symbolized the start of her new life, and everything in it was it should be.

So why didn’t it feel right? Why didn’t it feel enough? Why was it never right – why was it never enough whenever he wasn’t around?

Closing her eyes, she pictured an infuriated Andreus in her mind – the way he had looked earlier when she told the others about her feelings for him – and her lips curved in a helpless smile.

But then another image of him supplanted this, of Andreus looking at her as she told him she still wasn’t over him, and it was how he had always looked at her – everything he ever wanted, but nothing he could ever have.