The office felt pretty tense, even with the afternoon sun streaming through the window.

Zayden was at his desk, tapping his fingers in a way that showed he was on edge.

Aylin was sitting next to him, her laptop open but not really doing anything with it.

Leo was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, while Reyes sat in another chair, posture straight as always.

Liam was near the door, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but there.

"We need to tell him," Aylin said, finally breaking the silence that had been hanging for five minutes.

"I get it," Zayden replied, still tapping his fingers.

"Then why are we still talking about this?" Leo asked.

"Because," Zayden said, stopping the tapping at last, "once we tell Zayn, there’s no turning back. He’ll either listen and back off from Emma, or he won’t, and we’ll have caused a rift for no reason." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"He deserves to know," Reyes said softly. "If he’s serious about Emma, and it seems like he is, he should know what he’s getting himself into."

"Exactly," Aylin said, nodding. "We can’t let him dive in without any clue. Alexander is dangerous. If Zayn gets too close, and Alexander figures out that I’m connected to him..."

She didn’t need to finish; everyone understood what she meant.

Liam chimed in, "So what’s the plan? Just call him up and drop the ’hey, your girlfriend’s dad is a murderer’ bombshell?"

"Not over the phone," Zayden said. "He needs to hear it face-to-face, so he gets how serious this is."

"And so he can’t just hang up and ignore us," Leo added with a small smirk.

"That too," Zayden admitted.

Aylin checked her watch. "He’s supposed to have dinner with Emma tonight. When is he picking her up?"

"Seven," Zayden replied. "So we’ve got..." He glanced at his watch. "About an hour and a half."

"We should call him now," Reyes suggested. "Get him here before he heads out for the date."

Zayden pulled out his phone and quickly typed: "Need to talk. Important. Come to the mansion before your date."

He hit send, and they all stared at his screen.

One minute ticked by. Two. Three.

"Read," Zayden said flatly when he saw the notification pop up.

But there was still no response.

Five minutes flew by.

"He’s totally ignoring you," Leo said.

"Yeah, I noticed," Zayden muttered.

Aylin reached over and grabbed Zayden’s phone. "Let me take a shot at this."

"Love—" Zayden started, but Aylin cut him off.

"He won’t ignore me," Aylin replied confidently, already pulling out her phone. "He’s mad at you, not me."

She typed: "Hi."

The reply came almost instantly: "Hi."

Aylin smirked a bit. "See?"

She typed again: "How are you?"

"I’m good, what about you? Long time, Einstein."

Leo actually laughed at that. "He calls you Einstein."

"Old nickname?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, from when I helped him out with his physics homework in high school," Aylin explained, typing back.

"😂😂😂 I’m fit and fine like always."

Then, without wasting time, "Pick up the call. It’s urgent."

She tapped the call button before Zayn could reply.

He picked up on the second ring. "Einstein. This better be actually urgent."

"It is," Aylin said, her tone getting serious. "Listen, I need to talk to you. Can you come here? To the mansion?"

There was a pause. "I’m literally getting ready for my date. I’ll swing by after—"

"No," Aylin interrupted firmly. "First, you come here, and then you can do your thing."

"Aylin—"

"Zayn." Her voice left no room for debate. "This is important. Please."

Another pause, longer this time. Then: "Okay, Einstein. I’m on my way." His voice became playful. "Or should I say, sister-in-law, I’m coming?"

Despite the tension in the room, Aylin laughed. "Shut up and get over here. Now."

"Okay, okay. On my way."

Aylin ended the call and looked over at Zayden. "He’ll be here in twenty."

Zayden pulled her in and kissed her on the forehead. "What would I even do without you?"

"Probably crash and burn," Leo said with a smirk.

"Definitely crash and burn," Reyes added.

Zayden flipped them both off without taking his eyes off Aylin.

"Such charm," Leo joked. "So graceful."

"I can’t stand you guys," Zayden grumbled, though there was no real heat in his voice.

"You know you don’t," Aylin said, standing up and pulling him along with her. "Let’s head to the study. It’ll be cozier for this chat."

*****

Twenty-three minutes later, they heard the front door open, and Mr. Moore’s voice welcoming someone.

Zayn walked into the study a moment later, looking... really good. Way too good for someone who was just having a casual dinner.

He had on a perfectly fitted charcoal suit, a white shirt with the collar open, and no tie. His hair was styled just messy enough to look effortless, and he smelled like pricey cologne.

"Damn," Leo said. "Who are you trying to impress?"

"Shut up," Zayn shot back, but he was smiling as he went over to hug Aylin. "Einstein. Looking sharp."

"You too," Aylin replied, hugging him back. "Though maybe a bit dressed up for someone who’s not that into this girl?"

Zayn pulled back, his smile growing. "Never said I wasn’t into her."

He then moved to Zayden, and the brothers shared a quick bro hug with some back-patting that said more than words.

"Z," Zayn nodded.

"Zayn."

Zayn acknowledged Reyes and Liam before fist-bumping Leo. "So," he said, settling into one of the armchairs like he owned the place, "what’s so important that you had to interrupt my pre-date vibes?"

"You have a pre-date routine?" Liam asked, amused.

"Doesn’t everyone?"

"Nope," Reyes replied bluntly.

Zayn shrugged. "Your loss."

"Let’s stay on track," Zayden said, shifting their focus back to the serious stuff.

The vibe in the room changed; the fun atmosphere seemed to drift away.

Zayn noticed it right away. His smile faded a bit. "So, what’s up?"

Zayden leaned in, resting his elbows on his knees. "I’ve got to ask you something, and I need you to be real with me."

"When have I ever lied to you?" Zayn shot back, trying to avoid the question.

"About Emma," Zayden pressed on, ignoring the distraction. "What do you think of her? Are you serious about this?"

Zayn’s face turned a bit cautious. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just answer the question."

Zayn took a moment, checking out his brother’s face. Then he seemed to decide. "Yeah, I’m serious about her."

"How serious is serious?" Aylin asked gently.

Zayn looked at her, then back at Zayden. "Really serious. Like... I’m in love with her seriously."

Leo whistled softly. "Whoa."

"I’ve never felt this way before," Zayn continued, sounding genuine. "When I’m with her, when I think about her... it feels different. She’s totally different."

"And?" Zayden prompted.

"And I’m planning to tell her tonight," Zayn said plainly. "I’m going to let her know how I feel."

"That’s moving quickly," Reyes pointed out.

"When you know, you know," Zayn replied. "Right?"

He looked at Zayden as he said this. Zayden, who had known Aylin was the one just days after meeting her, couldn’t argue with that. Damn it. He really is in love.

Zayden’s jaw tightened.

"Would you marry her?" Zayden asked quietly.

Zayn answered without a second thought. "Yeah. If she’d have me, for sure."

The room fell silent.