𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲

𝗚𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲:
A Watch

❅𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲❅

"He looks the exact same," I said, shaking my head as I ate more of the curly fries.

Nelli lazily raised her brows, "They all do," she corrected me, dipping a few of the fries in the ketchup.

I let out a deep sigh, relaxing back into the plush couch, "I know you say it's not awkward with them—"

"Because I hold surface-level conversations with them," Nelli cut me short in emphasis, still standing by the fact that she's my best friend.

But Nelli's mom is quite literally like a sister to the Moretti's parents.

And then her father used to be one of their right-hand men.

Nelli spends every holiday with the Moretti's.

Something I used to do.

"You can be their friend, Nelli," I suddenly said, determining that it wasn't up to her to hold a grudge.

Nelli rolled her eyes, "We've had this talk millions of times, and every time I tell you no," she said, smiling slightly as she popped more fries into her mouth, "You're my main."

I felt my lips twitch up, shaking my head as I grabbed more of the fries to dip in ranch, "You're my main," I murmured back to her, nudging her slightly.

Nelli's smile grew, "My aunties are chill though," she assured me as she dipped some of her fries in my ranch container, "I always sneak off with them and the other adults during the holidays."

I smiled at the idea of Tazmin and Lena.

I always would refer to both of them as Mrs. Moretti for years since I was taught respect.

But eventually, they convinced me to call them by their first names.

It happened on my ninth birthday—they had pulled me aside personally to gift me a necklace that their daughter had engraved my initials on for me.

Lena refused to put the necklace on me until I agreed to call her by her first name.

I recall Tazmin laughing almost uncontrollably at the time, finding Lena's demands to be entirely unserious.

But she didn't argue them.

And neither did I.

Especially because I couldn't leave that room without the engraved necklace on.

Or it might've hurt a certain Moretti's feelings.

Now I don't give a single fuck about her feelings.

I'm not even sure where that necklace is.

"Now I get to have you here during the holidays, so I'll be okay," Nelli suddenly determined, grabbing one of the teriyaki wings.

I forced a smile, "If only it could just be us," I said, sighing deeply as I rolled my shoulders back.

Nelli rolled her eyes, "We can make it feel like it's just us—we don't have to be around anyone you're not comfortable with," she assured me, biting into the saucy wing.

I raised a brow, "We're both mutually clear on who anyone is?" I purposely asked her.

Which earned a hum from my best friend, "A certain Moretti," she said, avoiding her name out of consideration, "And... Dani—yes we gotta keep you far away from her."

I felt my brows unconsciously raise, "I actually forgot about her there for a moment," I said, shaking my head as I tried to convince myself this all would be fine.

But it already feels chaotic.

It feels like so much of the past is already being dredged up.

"Good, keep forgetting about her and help me finish this food," Nelli said, motioning down to the to-go containers of food sitting between us on the couch, "I hate being the only one eating."

I laughed, "I know, I know," I said, grabbing another wing to continue eating with her.

❅

The next morning I was up early.

Not to teach any classes, considering I only teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Today is dedicated to more illegal activities.

Like heading to the shipment docks to ensure everything is running smoothly, and then I'll be back at the hotel for the rest of day—meeting with dealers, a few CEO's that we invested in, and then some city officials who I'm meant to keep a close relationship with.

Very standard stuff.

Even if it's so fucking boring.

I at least got a couple of hours to unpack some more and then get a run in at the gym in my building.

Then I got ready, taking the time to shower and pick out my outfit.

I settled on a black dress with a collar that I folded over, curling my long dark hair and applying makeup to my face.

Then I slipped on my shiny black Miu Miu heels and sprayed myself in my favorite perfume, adding some light silver jewelry to my neck and wrists.

As usual, my breakfast had to be taken to-go so I opted for a banana and a protein bar, mimicking the exact same breakfast I had yesterday.

Miami traffic wasn't quite as busy at ten in the morning so I already felt grateful for a calmer start to my day.

Even the shipment docks seemed weirdly nice, especially with the sun shining and the bay of water peacefully lulling.

"Ms. Chun," one of the workers immediately bowed his head as soon as I got out of my car.

I pursed my lips, noticing the other worker nodding her head down in acknowledgment.

I'll never get used to this weird power.

I'm not a fucking queen.

"How does this week's shipment look?" I said, deciding to skip over their weird fucking greetings.

"Good—there's eight cargo containers total," the brunette man spoke as the red-haired woman beside him grabbed the nearby clipboard.

"three more are supposed to come in sometime today or tomorrow," the woman told me, earning a brief nod from me.

"Good," I said, knowing my dad specified eleven containers, "Call the hotel once they're all loaded in fully," I instructed.

Even if my attention naturally diverted over, noticing the tinted black Escalade that came to a smooth halt.

It was a car that reminded of a certain family.

Especially with the overly dark tint and the extreme gloss the paint held.

It made my heart race out of my fucking chest, anticipating who would get out.

And if it would be her.

The passenger door opened first, revealing a man with a buzz cut.

Someone I didn't recognize.

His jaw was sharp, his light eyes squinting under the harsh sun.

He wore a black collared shirt with matching dress pants and shiny loafers—along with a gold chain and pinky ring that caught the reflection of any shred of light.

Clearly, I'm fucking paranoid about a car model.

This is getting to be insane.

"Issac—Freya," the man spoke as he approached us, not bothering to address me given he didn't even know my name, "I'm here for the usual shipment."

The woman nodded immediately—whose name I now knew was Freya.

I definitely need to do better at getting names down so I know people personally.

"Mazin said fifteen?" Freya asked as she looked over the clipboard.

Until she naturally glanced up to me.

Which quickly made me aware of my reaction.

Specifically how I cleared my throat, nearly choking on my own saliva.

At least I can say I wasn't being paranoid.

This man works for the Moretti's.

"I should..." I glanced down at my wrist, which was inconveniently bare of the watch I normally wore. Fuck, "Yeah, I should go," I said, awkwardly glancing up from my wrist.

And while the workers seemed to look at me almost awkwardly, the man beside me pursed his lips to hold back his amusement.

"What's funny?" I asked, not bothering to ignore how on the verge of laughing he seemed to be.

The man immediately shook his head, "Oh nothing, I just—I really like that watch," he said,
motioning his head down to my bare wrist, "It doesn't take up a lot of space either."

I lazily raised my brows, "Yes, well it's a newer model—really futuristic and all," I decided to say, going along with his joke that he seemed to think was really fucking funny.

I swear guys are so immature.

"T said you were funny," the man said, naturally making my brows furrow.

He's referring to Tahir.

So this random man does know who I am.

Or of me.

"Ronan," the man suddenly introduced himself, holding his hand out for me, "I'm the Moretti's right-hand man."

I nodded almost hesitantly, "Virelai Chun—as you know," I said, reaching my hand out to firmly shake his.

"Yeah, I've heard a decent amount about you," Ronan said as we lowered our hands.

I raised a brow, "I'll assume all good things," I said, tilting my head slightly.

"All good things," Ronan said, firmly nodding his head.

I pursed my lips for a moment as I analyzed his face.

It felt like there was this weird knowingness behind his eyes.

Like he knew a lot more about me.

Specifically, something that involved one of the Moretti's.

He probably does.

"Good," I said, taking a step back from him to conclude this conversation.

"T said you're family so just let me know if you need anything and I got you," Ronan said as I turned on my heel.

"I appreciate that," I said, even if there was no way in hell I would be asking their right man—her right man to do anything for me.

I would handle everything on my own or with the help of my own team.

Who already seemed to have my day scheduled and mapped out for me.

I barely had to do anything upon arriving at the Chun Hotel.

Each meeting was planned along with helpful notes of what I needed to discuss with them each.

It was tiring but not terrible.

All I really had to do was sit in a chair and talk for hours.

The only terrible part is that my social battery died halfway through.

But I'm technically the boss so I just rescheduled my last two meetings and assigned someone to unpack my office for me.

Given I have to teach classes until the afternoon tomorrow, I wouldn't have the time to unpack so much.

My plate already feels beyond full right now that it almost made me anxious.

"I heard you were trying to cancel on me," I heard a familiar voice say.

I immediately glanced up from my laptop at the voice, watching as they both walked into the conference room I sat in to finish the rest of my business.

"Reschedule not cancel," I corrected him as I stood from my chair.

Which caused Tahir to instinctively pull me into a hug that I reciprocated back.

"Was it me? You know the whole watch thing—"

"Let's not talk about the watch thing," I cut Ronan short, which immediately made an amused smile grow on his lips as he stood off to the side of Tahir.

"That shit was funny," Tahir said as he pulled back from our brief hug.

I raised a brow, "He told you?" I said almost defensively.

And suddenly it felt like me and Tahir were younger again—acting like nothing but siblings.

Now Ronan felt like he was thrown into that mix.

"Yeah, it made me laugh all fucking day," Tahir assured me with one of his usual laughs.

I shook my head, glancing over to Ronan who awkwardly scratched his neck, "You know I kill people frequently right Ronan?" I purposely said, clearly joking with him, "I have various styles and techniques for people who spread embarrassing stories about me."

Tahir laughed again, "Alright John Wick," he said, shaking his head as he smiled even wider in amusement.

"You know I remember John Wick and I were actually friends," Ronan added, crossing his arms over his chest.

I raised a brow, "Even after you spread embarrassing stories about him?" I purposely said.

"Yeah he had one of those invisible watch things too," Ronan added, laughing when I flicked him off.

Which naturally made Tahir laugh too.

"Fuck both of you honestly," I said, rolling my eyes at them.

And I swear it only made them laugh harder, patting each other's shoulders in some weird bromance way.

Tahir shook his head a few times as he tried fighting away his laughter, "Look we didn't come here about the uh... watch thing," he said, sucking in a deep breath as he coughed to replace his laugh.

I pursed my lips together, entirely unamused.

Even if their laughing annoyingly made me want to laugh as well.

"And I assume you aren't here about the rescheduled meeting either," I said, immediately causing Tahir to shake his head.

"We're having dinner at August—your favorite place," he explained, adjusting the black Prada button-down he wore.

"We as in..." I trailed off, wanting to know who would be in attendance.

"Come on, you can't avoid her for much longer—and I think a familiar place would be a nice place to meet again," Tahir tried to convince me, "Remember how you guys would get the Oreo cheesecake and—"

"I'm already really busy," I immediately cut him short before he could finish that sentence, "But good for her for being open to sharing a group dinner with me," I added almost sarcastically.

I know it's been years, but I still hold that same old fucking grudge.

I mean it completely impacted my entire life.

I would've never even left for Korea if it wasn't for her.

"Yeah, well she uh... she kind of doesn't know but—"

"What the fuck, T," I sighed, cutting him short as I firmly shut my computer so I could begin leaving.

"In his defense, it was going to be like the parent trap," Ronan added—like that bit of information added value, "We watched that and a few other movies for research."

I blinked a few times, glancing up at both of the men.

Or should I say boys?

I swear they looked like two boys draped in expensive clothes and gold jewelry—staring at me with big eyes and anticipation.

"I'm not going," I said once again, my tone nothing but firm and earning dramatic sighs from them both, "I have to teach tomorrow and I also need to start on my lesson plans and—"

"Wait, you teach?" Tahir asked, which immediately made me nod almost in confusion.

Because Omara's in my class and—

I told her not to tell anyone.

"I do actually—at UMiami," I briefly explained as I grabbed my laptop bag.

"Oh yeah, Omi goes to UMiami," Tahir said, mentioning his sister who left out that little bit of information, "She would freak the fuck out if she knew you were back.

I nodded awkwardly, "Yeah," I said, unsure of what to say.

Which naturally made Tahir raise a skeptical brow at me, eyeing my face for a moment.

"You're being weird," he determined.

I furrowed my brows, "I'm being weird?" I said, pretending to not know what he meant.

Gaslighting is a part of being a girl boss I guess.

"She's definitely being weird," Ronan added in observation.

Which made my eyes narrow at him, "Keep playing and John Wick will be your only friend," I said, immediately making Ronan raise his hands in defense.

"Well, we aren't going to dinner until Vee tells us why she's acting weird," Tahir said with a nonchalant shrug.

I rolled my eyes, determining that it wasn't that big of a deal.

And Tahir is not the one you want to call a bluff on.

He'll wait you out for hours.

I remember years ago, I hid in the pantry to scare him and he got me back weeks later—organizing an entire day of him scaring me.

"Omara's in my class," I finally said with a deep sigh, "I didn't want her to say anything because—"

"We already know why," Tahir cut me short with a disapproving look, "And not you getting Omi to lie for you."

I briefly pursed my lips, "It's not a lie if no one asks her specifically," I pointed out.

Tahir hummed, entirely unamused, "Well, I don't want anyone to say I didn't try to help," he determined, taking a step back with Ronan, "I organized an entire fucking dinner so I did my part."

I immediately nodded, "You did your part," I said, knowing it was best if no one tried to meddle with this.

"Okay then," Tahir said with a firm nod, "I'm leaving it up to you guys then," he concluded, sliding his hands in his pockets as he stood near the door with Ronan.

"Good," I murmured, packing up the rest of my stuff.

Until I realized their lingering presence.

"What is it?" I asked, glancing up from my bag to them.

Tahir shrugged, "We'll walk with you downstairs," he said, eyeing my stuff as a way to tell me to hurry up.

I rolled my eyes, "Let's go then," I said, rushing to grab the rest of my things and shove them into my bag.