Noah visited the Hale household so frequently that he no longer needed to ask permission to enter. The doorman recognized him and automatically unlocked the elevator. The Hales barely registered his presence. Keeley greeted him as she did her own children, asking, "How was your day?"

He enjoyed Violet's apartment; it felt as much like home as his own.

When dinner was announced, Kaleb slumped onto a chair, clad in an oversized white t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. His impressive stubble suggested he hadn't left the house in weeks, and perhaps he hadn't.

Violet had confided that his recent breakup seemed to be affecting him more than he admitted. Since returning home, he'd spent his time playing video games and clinging to his siblings.

"I want to play Seven Up after dinner; who's in?" Kaleb announced loudly.

Violet looked to Noah, who shrugged. He'd come to play cards anyway; the other games didn't matter.

"I'll play," Nathan volunteered. He'd just arrived from school and looked as exhausted as his brother.

"Me too. It's been a while since I've played Seven Up," Keeley said, smiling. "Aaron?"

"Sure."

And just like that, they were playing—after dinner, of course. Keeley made whole-wheat linguine for Violet, who preferred a low-fat diet. Everyone else liberally applied Alfredo sauce, but Violet's portion received a small amount of tomato sauce instead.

Once the plates were cleared, Rosie jumped onto the table to sniff the cards Nathan was dealing. She did this almost every time Noah played cards at Violet's house. One would think she'd lose interest after a while.

Seven Up was a simple card game the Singleton family had played for generations. The goal was to be rid of all your cards by the end of a round. You couldn't start without a seven, and players could only put down one card per turn. The card had to be the next highest or lowest in the suit, relative to a seven.

For example, if a seven of diamonds was played, the next player could only play a six or eight of diamonds, or a seven of another suit. This continued in sequence: five, four, three, two, ace (following a six) and nine, ten, jack, queen, king (following an eight). This applied to all suits.

The strategy involved holding onto cards to block opponents, but skipping a turn was only allowed if you had no playable cards. At the end of each round, each remaining card counted as one point. Cards closer to seven were valuable because they blocked more plays. While some luck was involved, it was primarily a game of strategy; it was possible to win even with many high or low cards if you planned well.

Noah preferred playing cards with the Hales; his father always won, making it no fun. Eventually, his mother banned his father from playing with them because someone always ended up crying. Noah didn't discover the truth behind his father's unusual skill—that he was a multiple-time World Poker Champion—until his teens. How fair was it for a world champion to play against children? Around that time, he started teaching Violet the games his father had taught him, hoping for a fairer contest. The Hale children became avid card players.

Kaleb's poker face was terrible; it was easy to see when he was holding a needed card. He'd simply smirk, grin, and hold onto it as long as possible. This wasn't against the rules, but it wasn't popular. It was smarter to conceal held cards to surprise opponents.

Noah relaxed as he heard Nathan and Kaleb arguing over the nine of clubs Kaleb was clearly holding. The past few weeks had been difficult, but this normalcy was comforting.

He belonged here. He'd always have a place in Violet's life, even though she was dating someone who clearly disliked him.

He'd waited too long. Her conversations revealed her interest in this man. He didn't understand why; Jeremy Ward was a snob.

When Violet had her first boyfriend, Noah promised himself he wouldn't interfere. But since they weren't officially a couple, it was fair game, right? He had a bad feeling about this one.

Jeremy seemed calculating; Noah suspected he could manipulate Violet into a relationship with minimal effort. That wouldn't be fair to Violet's tender heart hidden beneath her cool exterior. She deserved better.

He doubted Jeremy genuinely liked her. Others who'd shown interest were only interested in her looks. There was so much more to Violet! Noah suspected Jeremy had ulterior motives. He was already Aaron's chosen successor, but dating the boss's daughter would further cement his position.

Why couldn't Violet see that? Was her affection blinding her to his true nature?

(The final paragraph about website piracy has been removed as it is irrelevant to the editing task.)