┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓

Fear

┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛

Chapter 2: Fear (Tristan's POV)

A sharp exhale left me as I watched Amara walk out that door without looking back. 

Bitch. I guess she won't make it easy to win this time either. Then I suppose it's a good thing I always love a challenge. 

Amara Milano was, to put it simply, a pain in the ass. In the years that I'd known her and watched her, from childhood to now, she hadn't changed one bit. She was still the same. Cold. Conniving. Calculated. 

The buzzing of my cell phone snapped me out of my daze and I glanced down at my screen. I felt a frustrated groan crawling up my throat. Suppressing it, I answered the call. "Mr. Patterson," I muttered, rolling my eyes. Swiping my jacket off the bench, I made my way out and got to my car just as hers pulled out of the parking lot. 

"You disappeared again, Tristan," the man scoffed, "we're meeting Banks and his attorney tomorrow and you disappeared without a warning." 

"I was working, Mr. Patterson. On your case, in fact. I'm well aware that our meeting is tomorrow." 

"And what are you doing about it?" 

My jaw ticked as I unlocked my car and slipped inside. "I'm trying to do what you couldn't and convincing the plaintiff to drop charges against you. I've already met with Mr. Banks' attorney." 

He paused in anticipation. "And? Did they agree to drop charges?" 

I exhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of my nose. "No." 

"Who the fuck is his attorney?" 

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again. "It's Amara Milano." 

"I knew it," he hissed, "take care of it, Tristan. At any cost." 

I glared at my screen as it turned black once he hung up on me before I tossed my phone into the passenger seat. 

Amara had a knack for being the bane of my existence. I despised her and yet somehow, my hatred for Amara didn't begin the moment I laid my eyes on her. I now found it hard to believe that there was a time when the sight of Amara didn't make my blood boil, a time when we actually got along, a time when we were friends. 

But those times were long gone and Amara grew to become one of my biggest rivals. 

No matter how well she had the world fooled, she couldn't fool me. I saw right through her act. Amara was nothing but a smooth talker when you put her in a courtroom. It didn't matter how much evidence she had to back up her claims, her words hit every fucking judge like a siren's song. 

She never ceased to win and even her losses seemed like her opponent's defeat because if she lost to them once, she made sure they lost everything else in life. 

Where Amara was challenged in our world, always underestimated, I was feared. Amara played her games strategically and took her enemies down in a calculated manner but I was considered to be more brutal with my retaliations. She kept her hands clean and mine were tainted with blood. 

The one person who always tested my patience with those punishments was Amara. Despite that, I could admit how respected she was in this world and all of it, she earned for herself. 

Considering her limited experience as a lawyer, she had an extraordinary number of wins under her belt, almost enough to beat me but not quite. It was simply because I'd been an attorney longer than her, and had more experience than her, that I could beat her. After all, she was five years younger than me. 

Slowing my car down to a stop and parking it in its usual spot, I got out and headed up to the penthouse of Midas Apartments. Losing to her in this case wasn't an option, accepting my defeat in front of her never was. 

Amara and I were alike in some ways; we didn't like to lose. 

Somehow, she was the first and only person I ever came across who never cowered before me, instead, always tested me. Her traps never worked on me and neither did she fall into mine. I realized a long time ago that ours was a battle that would last forever and until it did, I would seize every opportunity to win against her. 

Climbing up the stairs, I entered my room and tossed my car keys on my dresser, unclasping my watch before I slid it off and tucked it back into its box. I wasn't even done unbuttoning the sleeves of my shirt when the phone rang once again. 

"Fucking Patterson," I mumbled under my breath, tugging my phone out. Only when I looked at the screen, I realized it wasn't Patterson at all. "Michael," I greeted, putting the phone on speaker before tossing it on my bed. 

"Lovely," he said sarcastically, "it's very respectful of you to call me by my name. I'm your uncle, Tristan. At least act like it sometimes." 

"What do you want?" I questioned as I unbuttoned my shirt and shrugged it off, tossing it on the bed temporarily. 

"How's the Patterson case coming along? He called me a while ago, and sounded rather shit scared considering you're his attorney." 

Grabbing a plain black t-shirt, I slipped it over my head. "If you're so worried, perhaps you should fight his case this time," I replied. 

"If I was an attorney, I would." 

Ignoring him, I changed into a pair of sweatpants as well. 

"I'm hosting a party this weekend," he said, finally cutting the bullshit and getting to the point. 

"I won't be coming," I told him, gathering my clothes and going into the bathroom, tossing them in the hamper. 

"How can I host a party and my own nephew doesn't show up?" 

I paused at the shuffling and scratching coming from inside my hamper. Towering over it, I took a look inside and was greeted by an immediate meow. "Paris," I said, lifting the black kitten out as it began climbing up the hamper. 

"You're going to Paris?" Michael echoed in my ear. 

I huffed, "No." 

"Oh. The demon cat, isn't it?" 

Entering my bedroom, I set him down on the bed and made my way downstairs and into the kitchen. 

"Anyhow," he continued, "it's a party you have to attend. It's important to keep building a clientele. I invited Elijah Milano." 

"And why would you do that?" I asked, suppressing the urge to hang up the phone. I didn't have time for all his antics and scheming. 

Despite knowing that my uncle had practically raised me, I couldn't bring myself to give him the respect he demanded, mostly because he did a shit job and left me feeling worse about the turn my life took years ago. 

"Sometimes, it's good to invite the enemy into your den. Once you beat Amara in the case tomorrow, you'll get the perfect opportunity to gloat in front of her father," he explained. 

God, Patterson really can't keep his mouth shut. 

"There's no need to gloat when you win. Actions speak louder than words, Michael." 

"Well sometimes, a few words are necessary. See to it that you're here for the party." 

"I won't make any promises." 

"I expect to see you there, Tristan," he said, a sharper edge to his voice this time around, "you know I don't like to repeat myself." 

"I'm not a child anymore. Repeating yourself won't make me cave in. I'll decide if I'm going to attend or not but I appreciate the invitation, Michael." Before he could say something else to get on my nerves, I hung up the phone and set it face-down on the countertop. 

Glancing over to my right as something clattered on the table, I caught a glimpse of Paris just as he jumped onto the counter and crawled over, rubbing against me as I ran a hand over the length of his spine, along his swishing tail. 

"I bet this apartment is too big for your tiny self. Do you get lost roaming around?" 

A gentle and steady purring echoed softly in the room and I scratched the top of his head and under his chin. Paris was a stray kitten I found creeping onto my balcony a few months ago and once I made the grave mistake of letting him in to give him some food, I couldn't get rid of him. 

It took time to get used to Paris, actually giving him a name rather than calling him 'it' when I didn't even know his gender, and getting used to the sight of a small black kitten roaming around my apartment. 

Pausing as my phone buzzed with a text, I swiped it up and read the message Rhys sent me. 

'Next time you go to Judas, pay for your entry yourself, asshole. Next time Amara sends me your bill, I'll kill you myself.' 

I snickered softly under my breath before replying to him. 

Amara was... always a tricky gamble. I knew damn well that she hated getting involved with me just as much as I did with her but she never hesitated when it came to taking something from me, even if it meant doing it through other people. Other people typically being Rhys. 

She had her own reasons to avoid me and I knew them damn well, I almost agreed with them. But riling her up just as much as she effortlessly did to me was a pleasure, one I couldn't walk away from at times. 

Amara didn't fear me... I considered her an equal and she simply challenged me in ways that I hated to be.

.

.

.

.

.

Chapter 2

I just HAD to take a break for a few days after finishing 'Darkest Temptation' and uploading the first chapter of this book.

Plus, I was on spring break all this time but now I'm back to school, so work with me pls <3

anyways, what do we think of Mr. Tristan Harper from this one chapter lol

next ch: money