Page 4 of When Hearts Awaken

Grandma winced, but she didn’t need to finish her sentence. My parents were the last people who should take over the company. She cleared her throat. “You were always the right person for it—calm, collected, smart, my perfect darling boy.”

Reaching up, she patted my cheek and headed toward the door. Her shiny heels clicked loudly against the parquet floors. She paused and turned around. “Charles, remember what I told you before. Vaughns live with honor. Business with integrity. And…” she swallowed, “we stay away from The Association.”

I frowned. This wasn’t the first time she mentioned the organization to me. But she never told me more, other than I should stay away from it. I glanced out the window one last time, watching Liam and Firefly screeching and laughing in the sprawling green lawn below. I smiled. Maybe after my press conference, I could join them.

Ten years—it’s been ten fucking years. How did everything change so much?

“Mr. Vaughn. Sir. Sir?”

A warm voice shakes me out of my trip down memory lane and I see Julie, the brunette daytime nurse, striding in with a clipboard.

Clearing my throat, I stand up and strain a wide smile. “Julie, you’re looking energetic today.” I wink. “And how many times have I asked you to call me Charles? How are your boys? Just started kindergarten, right?”

She flushes. “You remembered. Time flies. I can’t believe the twins are already five.”

“I know. I met you when you were still pregnant with them.”

A flash of pain jars my insides, but my smile doesn’t waver. People don’t like to see negative emotions—they make them uncomfortable. Making people comfortable is second nature to me—it’s the first step of establishing trust, which is paramount in business.

I met Julie when Firefly was admitted. Back then, we were hoping she’d wake up. But now, the twins are in kindergarten, and Firefly’s still lying like a beautiful statue on the bed. Frozen in time.

And I’m still here, wishing I’d made a million different choices.

Something must’ve given my thoughts away, because Julie’s eyes soften in sympathy before she squeezes my suit-clad arm. “She’s very stable, no news. But sometimes, no news is good news, you know?”

After six years of no news, I can’t help but think that’s bad news.

Her forced optimism sounds like screeching nails against a chalkboard, but I maintain the mask on my face. If I smile enough, maybe I can chase away this guilt inside me.

“Well, you know me. Always hopeful. She’ll wake up one day, I know it.”Aren’t you tired of pretending everything is okay when it isn’t?I squeeze Julie’s hand back and she brightens, no doubt thinking her reassurance worked on me.

She cranks up the volume of the flat-screen TV playing theCBCnoon newscast. She told me she liked to turn on the TV for Firefly in case she could hear us and wanted to know what was going on in the world.

“We were all talking about your award at the nurses’ station! Best CEO under the age of forty-five! I wish I could attend a fancy event like that.”

My attention flickers to the clip they’re playing, me striding to the podium forForbes’sannual CEO awards held at the Kensington Hotel two months ago, the spotlight highlighting the deep blond of my hair, the practiced smile on my face, my jawline covered in just the right amount of scruff, the tailored navy suit fitting me like a glove. I looked every inch the charismatic, successful CEO the public knows me for.

A perfectly curated image.

It was fucking hot in that room, and Ihatedevery second of it.

I glance at Julie, taking in her wistful gaze at the screen. “Thank you. It was a fun night. Next time, if I get invited to something similar, I’ll see if I can get some extra tickets for you. Nurses should be pampered, not CEOs,” I murmur.

“Oh my God, I was totally joking! You’re too kind.” Julie giggles and shakes her head. “We’re taking good care of her, don’t you worry.” She straightens, her voice sobering. “If anything changes, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Thank you.”

She traipses over to the door and gently closes it behind her.

My smile slips off my face as I take in Firefly again. Brushing her brittle hair away from her face, I let out a deep sigh.

“Why didn’t you go to her?” Liam screams. “I told you to. What the fuck is wrong with you? Is the company the most important thing to you?”

My tie chokes my breath and with a rough yank, I tug it loose. I straighten up the items on Firefly’s nightstand and replace the wilted daisies with the fresh ones I brought with me. Tidiness and order—the perfect balm for the rioting emotions in my gut.

Calm. Keep calm, Charles.I keep myself busy for God knows how long until I find the room spotless, everything in its place, a pristine castle waiting for her sleeping princess to wake up.

A noise draws my attention to the TV.

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