🔥 Shane 🔥
The hall buzzed with laughter and clinking glasses.
I stood at the front of the ballroom, tapping a glass with my fork to catch everyone's attention.
Ting. Ting. Ting.
The noise faded. Hundreds of eyes turned toward me.
I cleared my throat and held up the speech.
Before I began, I saw Tyla step away from her parents and walk back to her friends across the room.
She didn't look bothered at all. Just calm. collected like nothing had happened.
I clenched my jaw and forced myself to focus.
"Good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us to celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday."
My voice carried, steady and smooth.
"He's a man who built more than a family; he built a legacy of hard work, strength, and kindness."
My gaze swept the crowd, but the tension in my chest didn't ease.
"From him, I've learned that success isn't just about wealth; it's about honesty and lifting others up."
Another glance toward Tyla's group. They were laughing, carefree.
"Tonight, we honor his life and the lessons he's given us."
I inhaled deeply, shoving down my frustration. Th
"So, here's to family, hard work, and a future as bright as he's made ours."
I raised my glass.
"Cheers to Grandpa."
đź‘‘tylađź‘‘
I walked up to my mother.
Her eyes were already burning.
Great.
"Tyla Gracias Jackson," she snapped the moment I approached.
She used my full name.
Yeah—she was mad.
"I told you not to cause trouble tonight. Ethan…" She whirled toward my brother. "...Didn't I ask you to watch her?"
Ethan shrugged, that classic *not-my-fault* look plastered on his face."I tried. She never listens."
"It was an accident,"* I said, crossing my arms. "People bump into each other. Drinks spill.It happens."
"You could have apologized and walked away. Quietly. But no; you had to pick a fight with the heir of the Williams family in front of everyone. Do you think this is some kind of street fight?"
Before I could roll my eyes, a sharp ting-ting-ting cut through the room.
Shane Williams stood at the center of the ballroom, poised and unshaken, commanding every gaze in the room.
My mother's jaw tightened.
"We'll discuss this at home,"* she hissed, her voice cold as ice.
Fantastic.
I turned and walked back to Claudia and Rose.
Claudia leaned in, scrolling through her phone with a smirk.
Her voice dropped to a mock-dramatic whisper.
"Tyla Jackson clearly needs a publicist and a nanny," she recited in a mock-gossip whisper.
"Why does she always make scenes at these events?"
"She ruined his suit."
"Can someone please keep her off the guest list next time?"
"The Jacksons need to teach her some manners."
"This isn't a playground—she's embarrassing the whole family."
I arched a brow. "Wow. It's not like I burnt the gala down".
"You kind of did,"Rose muttered, still not looking up.
I didn't answer
Then Claudia's tone shifted.
"But honestly? She's got fire. I respect that."
"There's something electric between Tyla and Shane. The tension is real."
"If those two ever got together? **Event of the year."
"A Jackson-Williams alliance? Power couple goals.
"See? People are shipping you two," Claudia said, grinning.
"Yeah. Until she burns the Williams empire to the ground" Rose said flatly.
I looked at Rose, who gave no sign of amusement, while Claudia just kept grinning.
"Cheers to Grandpa," Shane finished, and the room erupted in applause.
Scene: outside the gala
After the gala, I stepped into the cold night air, desperate to vanish, to collapse into bed and pretend the world didn't exist.
But before I could even take a step, I caught sight of Shane, his eyes cutting through the darkness like a predator locking onto his prey.
He moved fast, too fast, and before I could slip away, his hand closed around my wrist like iron.
He yanked me into the shadows, his voice a low, dangerous growl.
"You think after what you pulled tonight that I'm done with you?
I shoved him back, meeting his gaze head on. "I'm not playing your game."
"Jackson." His voice dropped to a near whisper, a dangerous edge curling through the word as his fingers traced slow, deliberate patterns across my collarbone.
The heat that flared inside me was both maddening and terrifying. My knees threatened to give out.
A traitorous heat flared under my skin. My knees threatened to buckle.
Then.
His lips crashed against mine.
Fierce. Claiming. Wildfire.
His mouth moved with a hunger I didn't understand, like he was trying to consume me, erase every line between us.
My breath hitched. He tasted like peppermint and danger, intoxicating and addictive.
His hand fisted in my hair, pulling me closer, erasing every inch between us. His body pressed into mine, heartbeat raging against my chest, matching the chaos inside me.
I wanted to hit him, to push him away.
But my body betrayed me, trembling with a need I couldn't control.
My nails dug into his chest, gripping his shirt like an anchor.
His tongue teased mine, slow. Relentless, drawing me deeper into the storm.
Then, just as I was about to lose myself, I tore away, gasping, lips swollen, lungs burning,my heart a chaotic drum.
Shane's eyes were dark. Unreadable. A twisted smirk played on his mouth.
"You've never had a choice," he murmured, his breath warm against my ear. "But soon, you will, whether you want to or not."
His lips were still warm from mine when he said it.
"You ruined a five-thousand-dollar suit in front of two hundred people."Shane's thumb brushed my bottom lip, smearing the remnants of my gloss like a warning."Made me the laughingstock of my own event."
I should have kneed him in the balls. Should have spat in his face.
"Here's the thing,"he murmured, voice slick as poisoned honey. "I always collect what I'm owed."
The bastard had the audacity to smirk. Like this was some game he'd already won.
I wrenched free, my breath ragged.
"Funny." I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, staining my skin crimson. "Because all I see is a rich boy who still tastes like my fucking drink."
His eyes went black.
Good.
I stepped back, gave him the finger, and said, "Try again, rich boy."
My car pulled up right on time. I jumped in, laughing as I watched him standing there, furious, in the rearview mirror.
The jerk actually tasted good.