“I can’t believe that asshole,” I snap as I storm into my best friend’s office. She raises a brow and slowly looks up from the drawing tablet on her desk, her pencil still in hand.

“Let me guess,” Raven, my best friend and sister-in-law, says. “Xavier Kingston did something entirely unforgivable… for the second time this week?”

I cross my arms and scowl at her as I sit down, my eyes roaming over the beautiful studio she’s created, designs and fabrics strewn all around. Even her mess looks artistic, and I have no idea how she does it.

“He hacked into my computer and stole my design plans for his new theatre,” I begin to explain, regaling her with yet another tale of my nemesis’s obnoxiousness. “He didn’t even try to change them — he left every last detail as I designed it, almost like he’s mocking me, telling me that there isn’t a single thing I can do about it if he wants to steal my ideas.”

Raven’s eyes widen as I thrust my phone in her face, replaying the interview Xavier did with The Herald, of all newspapers. “Oh wow,” she murmurs when Xavier proudly showcases the design of his new theatre, her eyes wide.

I’ve seen him show off my work as though it’s his on three different morning shows and every newspaper imaginable in the last twenty-four hours, and each time I see his stupid smirk, my anger burns a little fiercer.

“That’s… Sierra, you worked on those designs for months. How could he even have gotten his hands on them?”

I sigh and run a hand through my long, dark hair. “I don’t know,” I tell her, feeling a lot more defeated than I’d care to admit. “Silas reviewed all of our security measures, and there’s no way he physically broke in. We can’t actually find any evidence of a cyber security breach either, but how else could he have done it? Somehow, he hacked into my computer.”

Raven stares at me that way she does sometimes, like there’s something on her mind, but she isn’t sure she should voice her thoughts. “What?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.

“I’m just trying to figure out why he’d suddenly steal your design plans. I was under the impression that you’d both put your feud behind yourselves — was I wrong?”

I sigh and look out the window, my heart heavy. From the moment my older brother Dion introduced me to his best friend, Xavier, I’ve disliked him. That dislike grew into full-blown hatred throughout the years, as we became business rivals. My hatred for Xavier was further fueled by each of his attempts to interfere with every major business decision I’ve made, more often than not sabotaging me under the guise of looking after me in Dion’s absence. I don’t understand how Dion doesn’t see it. Xavier Kingston is the devil in disguise, yet somehow, my sweet older brother thinks the world of him.

“It’s been over three years since we last truly butted heads over anything,” I tell Raven, my stomach twisting in an unfamiliar way. Xavier stopped messing with me as much as he used to when Dion moved back home from London, but I should’ve known the tentative peace between us wouldn’t last.

“So why now?” Raven ponders. “Those designs are clearly yours. I’ve watched you draw them up myself. It’s almost like —”

“—Like he’s provoking me,” I snap. “That damned asshole is provoking me, going on live television with my designs, claiming them as his own, and being showered in praise while he’s at it. It was bad enough that he announced the opening of his theatre right as I was about to acquire one myself, and now he blatantly steals my designs for said theatre? He seems to think that us treating each other civilly for a while means he can suddenly get away with murder. He’s wrong.”

Raven tucks her long dark hair behind her ear and smiles, her eyes twinkling. “I was going to say that it’s almost like he misses you. You haven’t been attending any public events that you knew he’d be at, and for the last six months, you’ve been pulling out of every project he’s claimed an interest in. There was a time when you’d never go a week without seeing each other, even if it was only in boardrooms.”

I draw a shallow breath, my treacherous heart beating a little faster. “Don’t be ridiculous,” I admonish, my tone weaker than I’d have liked. The mere thought of Xavier missing me makes me feel a little funny. “He’s too preoccupied with Valeria to even spare me a second thought, hence my confusion about his latest actions.” My voice drips with disdain as I say the name.

Valeria appeared on his arm years ago, and she’s attended countless events as his plus one ever since. I’d never seen him with a woman before then, and there hasn’t been anyone else since her. The way he dotes on her is sickening. While I’m always subjected to the most vicious parts of him, all he ever directs her way is pure adoration, like he hangs onto her every word. Xavier looks at Valeria like she can do no wrong, and each time something she says makes him laugh, I find myself staring at him, wondering why he seems like an entirely different person around her.

“He’s always refused to comment when asked about her, Sierra, and I just don’t believe that he’s dating her. If he were, he’d just have said so. Besides, I’ve never seen the two of them act in any way that could be described as intimate.”

I roll my eyes at her naivety. “Haven’t you seen the article The Herald published, about how he supposedly commissioned ten different jewelry pieces from Laurier?” I ask, an emotion I can’t quite identify twisting my stomach. “Apparently, just the gemstones and diamonds are worth twenty million in total. You don’t do that kind of thing for just any woman.” I rise to my feet and begin to pace, my emotions in turmoil. “I don’t even understand how he managed to so much as speak to Laurier. Regardless of his notoriety and money, Laurier was one of few people I didn’t think he had access to. Money isn’t enough to get an appointment, so how the hell did he buy ten pieces when I can barely get Laurier to make me one a year?”

Raven looks over her left shoulder and clears her throat. “I don’t know,” she murmurs, her voice a little shaky. “Maybe he called in a favor? Who knows?”

I raise a brow, suddenly feeling like I’m missing something. “Who would be dumb enough to make a deal with the devil?”

My gorgeous best friend laughs, her whole face lighting up. “Who, indeed,” she says, amusement dancing in her eyes. “You know? For someone who claims to hate Xavier Kingston, you’re awfully concerned with how he’s spending his money and who he spends his time with. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re jealous. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that you’ve stopped going to events you know he’ll be at so you don’t have to see him with her.”

I part my lips in denial, pure outrage rushing through me. “I’m simply surprised he’s got time for corporate espionage,” I retort, running a hand through my hair in frustration. “I’ve been trying to be the better person, and you know it, Rave. I tried my best to stop reacting to his bullshit, but he must’ve known that I’d never let this slide. Those designs meant a lot to me.”

Raven nods, a knowing glint in her eyes. “Yeah, I bet he knew exactly what he was doing.”

I grit my teeth and glance down at my red nails, a bespoke color my other sister-in-law, Celeste, gave me. “That damn piece of trash,” I mutter under my breath, my blood boiling as I think back to his smug smile as he showcased my designs on the news this morning. “I’m going to make him regret so much as setting eyes on my drawings. If he wants war, I’ll give it to him.”