Confrontation

Don Rafael finally lowered his newspaper.

His eyes settled on Code, calm but unmistakably stern. “Code.”

Code looked up from his coffee.

“Hmm?”

Don Rafael glanced briefly at Venisa before returning his attention to his son.

“Please don't make Venisa uncomfortable while she is in our estate.”

The table grew quieter.

Venisa immediately lowered her cup.

Code, however, did not look embarrassed.

Instead, his expression tightened slightly. “She already knows what I'm doing.”

Venisa nearly choked on her tea. Ruby's eyes widened.

Mrs. Montenorie pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to laugh.

Don Rafael stared at his son. “That is not what I meant.”

Code leaned back in his chair. “I know.”

“Then act like it.”

Code glanced at Venisa. For a moment, his expression softened.

“I won't make her uncomfortable.”

Don Rafael shook his head and returned to his newspaper.

“I leave you children alone for one evening, and suddenly I have to give warnings at my own breakfast table.”

Mrs. Montenorie laughed softly.

Venisa lowered her eyes to her tea, wishing very much that the floor would open beneath her.

Beside her, Code quietly reached for his coffee again.

And judging by the faint smile on his face—

he wasn't sorry at all.

An hour after breakfast, Venisa found herself walking beside Code through the quiet gardens of the Montenorie estate.

The morning air was cool, carrying the faint scent of roses from the hedges lining the stone path. The estate was peaceful now, far removed from the noise and guests of the previous evening.

They walked in silence for a while.

Then, without warning, Code slipped his hand around hers.

Venisa looked down at their joined hands. “Code.”

He said nothing.

Before she could pull away, he leaned slightly toward her and pressed another quick kiss to the top of her head.

Venisa stopped walking.

“Stop kissing me.”

Code stopped as well.

He looked at her with a strangely innocent expression.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I don't see the problem.”

Venisa stared at him.

“You keep kissing me without warning.”

Code shrugged.

“I always kiss you in the proper.”

Venisa's eyebrows lifted.

He said it so calmly that she almost thought he was being serious.

“I'm not your girlfriend.”

“I know.”

“Then stop acting like it.”

Code's mouth curved slightly. “At least I'm not doing what your brother did.”

Venisa's expression immediately changed.

Code continued, completely matter-of-fact. “He had the audacity to kiss you on the lips.”

Venisa went silent.

Code looked ahead as they resumed walking. “I've never kissed you there.”

“That's your defense?”

“It's an important distinction.”

Venisa stared at him in disbelief. “You're comparing yourself.”

“I'm saying I have manners.”

Venisa continued walking beside him, still shaking her head.

After a moment, she muttered, “You're still not allowed to kiss me whenever you want.”

Code's smile returned. “We'll discuss that.”

“Barcode.”

He laughed quietly.

For the first time that morning, Venisa realized that the cold, distant man everyone else saw was beginning to resemble the boy she remembered.

Only now, unfortunately, he had become much more confident about getting away with things.

A sharp engine sound interrupted their conversation.

Venisa turned toward the estate gates.

A dark car had stopped along the road not far from them. The brakes had been applied with enough force to make the gravel shift beneath the tires.

The driver's door opened.

Tala stepped out.

He shut the door harder than necessary.

His expression was tense, his jaw tight, and his eyes immediately found Venisa walking beside Code.

He didn't bother looking around at the estate or acknowledging the servants nearby.

He simply walked toward them.

Venisa watched him approach. “Tala?”

He stopped in front of them.

His gaze briefly moved to Code before returning to Venisa. “I’m taking you home.”

Venisa looked at Tala for a moment before giving a small nod.

“I was already planning to go,” she said calmly. “I was only waiting for you to come and fetch me.”

Tala's expression softened slightly. “I know.”

His gaze shifted briefly toward Code before returning to her.

“I just thought you might have changed your mind.”

“I haven't," her gaze turn toward Code. "Bye and- thanks"

Code simply nodded as he watched Venisa walk toward the waiting car.

She took a step, but Tala remained where he was, watching her.

“Wait me in the car.

Vanesa gave a faint nod.

“Fine.”

Tala watched until she was far enough away that she could no longer hear them.

Then he turned toward Code.

His expression was no longer calm.

“Stop bothering Venisa.”

Code said nothing.

Tala stepped closer. “Whatever you two shared before, it means nothing now.”

Code's eyes hardened slightly. “You don't get to decide that.”

Tala's warning hung between them. “Stay away from her.”

Something in Code finally snapped.

His calm expression disappeared.

“Whatever Venisa and I had before,” Code said sharply, “it doesn't matter to you.”

Tala's eyes narrowed.

“You're right. It doesn't.”

Code stepped closer. “But you keep bringing it up as though you were there.”

“I was there.”

“No,” Code replied coldly. “You were beside her. That's different.”

Tala's jaw tightened.

Tala said nothing.

“Whatever happened between Venisa and me was between us,” Code said. “Not you. Not anyone else.”

His gaze hardened.

“And if she decides that there is nothing left between us, I'll accept that.”

He paused.

“But you don't get to tell me that whatever we had meant nothing.”

Tala stared at him. “You're still holding on to it.”

Code gave a humorless smile.

“Maybe.” Then he glanced toward the car where Venisa was waiting. “But at least I'm not pretending it never existed.”

Tala's expression darkened.

Tala took one step closer. “She is my sister.”

Code's expression went cold.

“Then act like her brother.”

Tala's jaw tightened.

Code's voice lowered, every word deliberately sharp.

“Because from where I'm standing, you don't look like a brother to her.”

Tala glared at him. “You don't know anything about us.”

“Oh, I know enough.”

Code's eyes flicked toward him. “A brother doesn't kiss his sister.”

Tala went still.

Code gave a humorless smile.

“That wasn't affection, Tala. That was desperation wearing a family name.”

“Watch your mouth.”

“Why?” Code stepped closer. “Did I touch a nerve?”

Tala's fists tightened.

Code didn't move.

“You keep throwing that word around—brother—as though saying it enough times will make your behavior look respectable.”

His gaze hardened.

“If you're really her brother, start acting like one.”

Tala stared at him.

Code's next words came quieter, and somehow they cut deeper.

“Because right now, you look less like her brother and more like a man who can't tell the difference between protecting someone and wanting to possess her.”

Silence.

Tala's face hardened.

“You think you're better than me?”

“No.”

Code gave him a thin smile.

“I think Venisa deserves better than both of us.”

Then he stepped past him.

“But at least I have the decency not to hide what I want behind the word brother.”

Tala's voice was bitter.

“Don't stand there pretending what you had with her was some great love story. You spent years tormenting her. You were like a cockroach tearing through everything you could reach, then suddenly you decided you loved her.”

Code's eyes narrowed.

“A cockroach?”

Tala stepped closer.

“You hurt her. You humiliated her. And now you walk around this estate caring her as if none of it ever happened.”

Code stared at him for a long moment.

Then he gave a quiet, humorless laugh. “That's the problem with you, Tala.”

“What?”

“You've already decided what those memories mean.”

Code's expression hardened. “Then let Venisa decide.”

Tala went silent.

Code stepped closer, his voice dropping.

“What happened between us can be remembered in two ways.”

He held Tala's gaze.

“She can look back and call it a trauma she survived.”

A pause.

“Or she can look back and remember the ridiculous, infuriating years we spent fighting, laughing, bleeding, and somehow finding our way back to each other.”

Tala's jaw clenched.

“You're romanticizing what you did to her.”

“No.”

Code's voice became colder. “I'm refusing to rewrite her memories for her.”

He leaned slightly closer.

“If those years were nothing but pain to her, then she'll tell me herself.”

His eyes hardened.

“But if somewhere inside all that anger, she still remembers something worth keeping—something she refuses to forget—then you don't get to erase it simply because you hate the fact that I was there.”

Tala stared at him.

Code's mouth curved into a faint, merciless smile. “So stop deciding what Venisa remembers.”

He stepped past him. “She's lived those memories.”

The words landed between them like a blade.

“You were only standing beside her.” Code stopped. Then looked back.

“And you still don't understand her.”