The Memory Keeper: Twisted Roots

Khai's POV

Everything was suffocating me. The weight of it all-Poppa's doubts, the embezzlement crisis, the looming threat of Letty, and Rain... all pressing down on me like an endless storm. The walls of my life were closing in, trapping me in a mess I could no longer control.

Poppa's voice echoed in my mind from our last conversation. "Khai, you're slipping. The corporation's starting to notice. The board's questioning your decisions. The Stanton name is losing its shine under your watch." His words cut deeper than I wanted to admit.

It was his way of saying he was losing faith in me. But how could he understand? How could anyone understand what I was juggling? How could I tell him that the person I needed to protect most wasn't the company or the legacy, but Rain?

Days blurred into one long stretch of meetings, numbers, and tension. The office became my refuge, an escape from the chaos at home. I found myself staying later, diving deeper into work, just to avoid facing Rain.

But home was worse. The silence stretched between us, and when we did speak, it ended in arguments, frustration simmering just beneath the surface.

One night, I came home late, exhausted from the endless scrutiny. Rain sat in the living room, her face drawn, eyes tired.

"You're late again," she said quietly, not looking at me.

I set my briefcase down, exhaustion sinking into my bones. "I had a lot to handle today," I replied, sharper than intended.

She finally looked at me, her expression unreadable. "You always have a lot to handle. You're always busy. What about us, Khai? What about me?"

Guilt washed over me. She had every right to be upset. I had been distant, consumed by everything but her.

"I'm doing this for us, Rain," I said, my voice quieter now. "For our future."

She shook her head, a sad smile on her lips. "But we're falling apart in the process. You're pulling away, and I don't know how much more I can take."

Her words hit harder than expected. I couldn't deny it anymore. I was losing her in the name of responsibility, in the name of protecting a legacy slipping from my grasp.

Everything felt like it was pressing down on me, suffocating me with no escape. Poppa's doubts, the board's scrutiny, and the embezzlement scandal weighed heavily on my mind. But none of it compared to the fire burning inside me-the all-consuming thirst for revenge against Letty and her accomplices. I wanted them to pay for what they did to my family, to Rain.

Days turned into weeks, and the distance between us grew wider. I buried myself in work, spending long nights at the office, sifting through reports, chasing every lead. I barely went home anymore. When I did, it was too late-she was either asleep or waiting up, disappointment etched on her face. The rare moments we shared were filled with tension.

One night...

"You don't even look at me anymore, Khai," Rain's voice trembled with frustration. "I feel like I'm living with a stranger."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Rain, I have a company to run. We're dealing with a crisis-millions are gone, and I have to fix it."

"You're always fixing something," she shot back. "But what about us? You can't keep shutting me out like this."

I sighed heavily. "I'm not shutting you out, Rain. I'm doing this for us-for our future."

Rain scoffed. "Really? Because it feels like you're doing this for your revenge. You're so caught up in it that you don't see what it's doing to us."