บท 29: The Millionaire’s Shadow: Bonds

What neither of them noticed, though, was Isis still watching them from the store window. Her piercing gaze followed their car until it disappeared down the street, her pride smoldering in the aftermath. A mortal had looked at her, the goddess, with the same indifference he showed every other average human.

The audacity was almost laughable. Almost.

He didn't even notice her—her! If Parker had even glimpsed her thoughts, he would've written her off as some vain, overdramatic attention junkie. But lucky for both of them, he didn't, and Isis was left stewing in her disbelief.

As Parker leaned back in his seat, lost in his thoughts, he had no idea that he'd just made himself a target of divine frustration. Not that he cared, anyway.

Parker leaned back in his seat, watching the world blur past through the car window, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

The air between him and Tessa was thick with contrasting energies—hers, glowing with joy, and his, detached and quietly analytical.

She hadn't stopped smiling since the Apple store, and it was almost contagious, almost.

Meanwhile, Parker's thoughts meandered to the documents he'd skimmed earlier. Divine Fitness Gym. Owned by three individuals, with him holding the largest share at 50%. Then there was some guy clinging to 35%, and a mysterious third shareholder with a modest but undeniably valuable 15%.

He let out a low scoff, running his fingers through his hair.

Just like him, the other party had just claimed the 15% not so long.

"Fifteen percent of a gym chain that's borderline international? Even that chunk's a goldmine," he muttered to himself.

The place was raking in cash, $30 million in dividends each month for just him, and that was after deducting the $20 million automatically reinvested into its expansion. A solid move, he had to admit.

The gym's brand was blowing up, branching into apparel and sports goods just for the gym.

"Not my circus, not my monkeys," Parker mumbled, barely audible. For now, he'd let the business keep running as smoothly as it was, but he wouldn't ignore it entirely.

He'd decided to swing by as a regular gym-goer, just to see the hype firsthand.

"Probably some rich night owl snatched up those shares," he guessed, thinking about the mysterious new shareholder who had joined overnight. He wouldn't lose sleep over it, though.

His life had become an unpredictable storm of late.

****

As Parker leaned back in the car, his eyes half-closed, his thoughts wandered off, drifting like clouds. Insane... how much his life had changed in just a day—literally a single freaking day. He had gone from a nobody, the Blackwoods' attic-dwelling, forgotten boy, to someone who now owned a slice of one of the most prestigious hotels in LA—Blackstone Tower.

Sure, it was just 10%, but that name alone carried weight.

And on top of that? He now owned half of Divine Fitness Gym, a multimillion—hell, maybe multibillion—dollar business. That 50% stake alone made him richer than he'd ever imagined.

'What would the Blackwoods even say if they knew?' Parker thought with a dry chuckle. 'The kid they shoved into an attic and forgot about is now almost as rich as Robert Blackwood himself.' He smirked at the thought. Yeah, that'd give them a heart attack for sure. But nah, he wasn't about to drop that bombshell. Not yet, anyway. Let them live in blissful ignorance for a while longer.

Now he had millions rolling in, a killer portfolio.

And then there was... and—of all things—a "servant."

A fucking billionaire's daughter.

Parker's gaze shifted to Tessa as she drove, her face glowing with happiness like she was on cloud nine. She was humming a tune, her fingers tapping lightly on the wheel, completely oblivious to the world around her.

She wasn't like the sycophants he'd expected when he first met her.

She wasn't groveling or overly servile. She was... comfortable. Easy to be around, even when she annoyed the hell out of him.

She wasn't just his "servant"—that much was clear. There was something about her that made him feel... different.

For the first time, Parker felt something close to happiness from being around another person. It wasn't love—fuck, no, he wasn't even capable of that, he wasn't wired for that kind of thing, not now.

But it was something else... she made the silence less suffocating, made the loneliness... less.

For the first time in his life because of her, Parker felt like he wasn't completely alone.

Was this what people called friendship?Friendship? Nah, too cliché. Or maybe just... understanding? He wasn't sure, and honestly, he didn't want to overthink it.

Either way, he decided he'd let her keep enjoying her role as his so-called servant if it made her this happy. She deserved that much at least.

And him? Parker was using her this time to figure out how to deal with people. He wasn't exactly a social butterfly, and he sure as hell wasn't looking to build a circle of friends. But he knew he couldn't live in his own bubble forever.

His life was getting too big, too fast, and sooner or later, he'd have to deal with people more than he ever wanted to.

Better to learn now than screw it all up later.

He glanced at her again, watching her grin grow even wider, as if she could feel his gaze.

"You enjoy being around me that much, or is it just the thrill of all this craziness?" he asked, his tone casual but carrying a hint of curiosity he didn't expect to feel.

Tessa chuckled, her fingers drumming lightly on the wheel. "A little of both, maybe?" she teased, shooting him a sly side glance. "I mean, come on, Parker. Life's been way more exciting since I met you."

Parker arched a brow, the corner of his mouth quirking up in the faintest smirk. "Exciting, huh? That what you call running errands and babysitting me?"

"Errands, babysitting, call it whatever you want," she shot back, her grin widening. "But don't act like you don't enjoy having me around."

He shook his head, amused despite himself. Damn, she really was something else.

"No I don't!"

He didn't?