Chapter: Chapter 29: Fury and the Aftermath ~Isabella's POV~ “Isabella?”Dante’s voice was a low, dangerous growl, laced with genuine concern, the sound pulling me back from the brink of pure terror. I was still impaled by the shock of the power tussle, the pressing weight of William’s rough hands still gripping my shoulders. My breath came out in a ragged rush, my suit jacket slightly twisted, my hair clinging damply to my temples. I opened my mouth, but no proper response formed....just a choked, useless sound. Before I could mutter anything intelligible, like a simple "Yes" or "Thank you"....Dante’s composure snapped, his focus laser fast as he turned back. His rage filled gaze averted from me and settled back on the pathetic figure of William....who was still sprawled awkwardly on the Persian rug, blinking up in confusion, but slowly regaining his senses. The transformation was chilling. The cool, controlled charm I associated with Dante vanished, replaced by a primal, frightening intensity. He moved not with the grace
最終更新日: 2025-10-03
Chapter: Chapter 28: Reckless Intrusion~Isabella’s POV~ The air that had felt so crystalline and clean only moments before now seemed thick with the scent of raw, masculine fury and the metallic tang of fear. My breath hitched, not in terror, but in sheer, cold annoyance. “What the hell are you doing here, William?” I demanded, the sheer audacity of his intrusion stripping away any veneer of politeness.I pushed my chair back....a sharp, scraping sound on the polished mahogany floor, and rose to my full height, placing the imposing desk like a barrier between us. My gaze, usually carefully moderated, was now sharp and uncompromising.“And what in God’s name gave you the guts to barge into my office unannounced? Did you think the rules of common decency suddenly didn’t apply to you?” Chloe, my assistant, was a study in trembling contrition, still attempting to smooth down her suit jacket after the collision. “I am so sorry, Ms. Cassagrande. I told him he had to wait. I really did try to stop him.....”I silenced her wit
最終更新日: 2025-10-02
Chapter: Chapter 27: Crossing sacred lines ~Isabella's POV~ The air in the study thickened, the scent of aged leather and Dante’s cologne suddenly cloying. The low, seductive rumble of his last words "It's about your son...Tariq"....had struck me not with a bang, but with a silent, paralyzing chill, a cold sliver of ice aimed right at the heart of my carefully constructed world.Of all the secrets he could have unearthed, all the vulnerabilities he could have exploited, this was the line he had deliberately stepped across. A sacred boundary. My son.I turned fully back to him, forcing my body to remain still, my face a carefully crafted mask of polite inquiry. Inside, however, my entire being had recoiled, a coiled spring of pure, animalistic defense.“What about my son?” I asked, my tone surprisingly civil, almost conversational. It was a conscious effort, a refusal to let the icy paranoia that was rapidly bubbling in my stomach break the surface. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing my fear.Dante didn’t answer
最終更新日: 2025-09-30
Chapter: Chapter 26: Mind Games ~Isabella’s POV~I should’ve known.I should’ve realized the moment I saw that message, the cold chill that ran down my spine, the overwhelming sense of dread that flooded me....this was Dante’s game all along.It was so obvious now. Only he would be audacious enough to send that picture, to trap me in a moment of vulnerability. And to think, I’d spent hours....hours....torturing myself over who could have sent it. Trying to conjure a faceless enemy, a phantom from my past who knew my deepest secret. I had built a fortress of paranoia around myself, convinced that someone, somewhere, had finally discovered that Melissa Mondragon was still alive. As if anyone else would be so bold, so daring, so calculated. But of course, it was Dante. Of course.The man never did anything without a reason. He played a game, and I was his pawn, whether I liked it or not. And now here he stood, a smug look on his face, watching me unravel in front of him.But what I couldn’t understand was why. Why g
最終更新日: 2025-09-07
Chapter: Chapter 25: Closer than you think~Isabella’s POV~ Morning came too soon, as the first rays of dawn pressed against my window...pale and fragile, like an unwelcome reminder of reality. I hadn’t slept...not even for a second. The sheets beside me were a mess, tangled and twisted, soaked with sweat from hours of restless tossing. My body ached for rest, but my mind refused to shut down, its constant loop of thoughts and images mocking me. Not just the kiss. Not just of Robert.But that damned message. The phone still sat on my nightstand, its black screen like a watchful eye. A silent, damning presence. That picture…that text. My stomach clenched every time I thought of it.“Fun Night.” The words burned into my memory. Who would send that? Who was watching me so closely, closely enough to catch me in such a vulnerable, dangerous moment? And why? I’d checked the number again and again. Unregistered. Anonymous. A phantom hiding behind digital smoke and mirrors. But it was the image that had gutted me....the clarity
最終更新日: 2025-09-05
Chapter: Chapter 24: The Ghost on My Lips~Robert’s POV~ I came back into focus with a sharp, stinging pain. The sound of the slap was a deafening crack that echoed in the sudden silence of the bar, a sound so loud it seemed to pull me out of the hazy, drunken trance I had been in. My head snapped to the side, the burning sensation on my cheek. It wasn’t just a slap, it was a jolt back to reality. She was gone. Isabella was gone. And I was left standing there, a dazed fool in the middle of a crowded bar, a spectacle for everyone to gawk at, with the ghost of Melissa on my lips and the fiery reality of Isabella’s fury on my face. My palm lifted slowly, almost instinctively, and I pressed it against my cheek. I could still feel the heat radiating from where her hand had landed, pulsing like a brand. It wasn’t just pain....it was shame. A raw reminder of how low I’d sunk. My mind felt like a tangled web. Slapped twice, in one day. First by Jodie, my fiancé, a woman I had failed to protect and reassure. And now, by Isabell
最終更新日: 2025-09-03
Sweet Temptations: My lover, My Ex's Father
“When I pictured what today would look like, it never involved me standing here, alone at the alter, humiliated, as the prying eyes of guests etched at me like daggers and hushed whispers rose amongst them, with the collective gasps of disbelief. And worse, the whole world was watching this LIVE on every local news channel”.
***********************
Hi my name is Clarissa, and my perfect fairytale just turned into a public nightmare.
One night before my wedding, I was drugged and woke up in a strange place. Confused, late, and barely holding myself together, I still showed up in my gown, ready to marry the man I loved.
Only to be left standing at the altar. Alone. Humiliated and Live on every local news channel.
But that's not even the cherry on top.
The real heartbreak? Is that not only did he ditch me, but I caught him later…..in bed, sexually tangled in my sister's arms. My blood.
So I did what any broken, furious woman would do.
I turned to the one man who could ruin him,
His powerful, dangerously sexy billionaire father, Victor Gonzales.
It was supposed to be a game. A scandalous way to burn them both.
But Victor isn’t a man you use and walk away from. He’s older. Smarter. Wickedly dominant.
And he’s made it clear, if I play with fire, I will get burned.
Now, I’m caught in a forbidden game of lust, lies, and revenge.
And the more I fall for him, the harder it becomes to remember who’s using who.
He was meant to be a pawn.
But he just might become my greatest temptation….and my deepest downfall.
読む
Chapter: Chapter 33: The Devil's Call ~Clarissa's POV~ Great, just great. Of all the damn times his call could come in, it had to be right in the middle of my emotional breakdown...my full-on, snot-and-tears, mid-life crisis on Diane’s couch.As if the universe itself was mocking me, my eyes were still locked on the screen, the name....Victor Gonzales flashing persistently like a siren in the aftermath of a storm. My hand hovered over the phone. I was clearly not in the mood for a conversation or chit-chat. My face was a blotchy, tear-stained mess, my head felt like a drum, and my entire nervous system was shot. But another part of me...the wild thing he’d spotted and called out, was intensely curious. What was so important that the formidable Victor Gonzales felt the need to reach out to me, now?“Well, who is it, Rissa? Is it really your dad?”Diane's voice broke the silence, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts. I averted my gaze from the screen to look at her. She still had that confused, concerned expression,
最終更新日: 2025-11-11
Chapter: Chapter 32: Painful goodbye, and an unexpected call~Clarissa's POV~ I turned, my back ramrod straight, and walked away.I headed for the door, my heels clicking a rapid, determined rhythm on the hardwood floor. Behind me, I heard the frantic sound of his voice, ragged and pleading. “Rissa, wait! Please, don’t leave! Wait!” And then, Margaret’s triumphant screech, laced with pure, unadulterated venom: “It’s about damn time! Let her go, Richard! And don’t you ever come back!” Her words propelled me forward. I didn't spare a glance backward. I grabbed my purse from the console table I’d earlier leaned on, yanked the heavy oak door open, and ran. I ran down the sprawling brownstone steps, the cold New York air hitting my face, a welcome shock that cleared the last of the hysterical fugue. I hit the street and didn't stop, sprinting a few steps before wildly flagging down a yellow cab that was gliding past. It screeched to a halt right in front of me. I scrambled inside, slamming the door shut with a solid, echoing thud. I instinctiv
最終更新日: 2025-11-08
Chapter: Chapter 31: Cutting Familial Ties ~Clarissa’s POV~ The silence that descended after my words wasn't just quiet; it was a physical vacuum, a void so profound that the hum of the air conditioning unit sounded like a jet engine. I was hyper-aware of everything: The faint scent of Papa’s cologne, and the two pairs of eyes locked onto me. I didn't move. I simply stood my ground, my own gaze an unblinking, cold challenge aimed directly at Margaret. Her shock was a thing of terrifying, beautiful perfection. The triumphant smirk had vanished, replaced by an expression of pure, unadulterated horror. Her mouth was slightly open, and her wide, dilated eyes reflected the overhead light, making them look like two polished stones. The woman who always wore a mask of pristine control, whose life was a carefully curated Instagram feed of domestic bliss, was utterly, irrevocably broken. It was magnificent. It was also sickening. Finally, a muscle twitched in her jaw. The color, which had drained away to a sickly parchment white,
最終更新日: 2025-11-08
Chapter: Chapter 30: An Inconvenient Truth and a Vicious Lie~Clarissa's POV~ The world didn't just slow down; it froze.“A…a drug addiction, Rissa.”The words were a physical blow, a gut punch that chased the breath from my lungs. An addiction? Me? Clarissa? The girl who only had half a glass of wine at a party because she hated the feeling of losing control? The woman who hadn't taken so much as an Advil in a month? My mind reeled, an out-of-control carousel of disbelief. The absurdity of it was so monumental, so deranged, that for a split second, I wondered if I was still dreaming, still trapped in the surreal nightmare of the past few weeks. A junkie. A drug addict. Of all the cruel, twisted accusations that could be leveled against me...a 'gold digger,' a 'thug'...this one felt like a joke designed by a sadist.Who in God’s name would tell him that? And why? A surge of pure, unadulterated adrenaline...or perhaps the lingering shock finally breaking, jolted me off the leather couch. I sprang up, my body humming with a frenetic energy t
最終更新日: 2025-11-06
Chapter: Chapter 29: Healing~Clarissa's POV~ The weight of Papa's words hung heavy in the air, thick and suffocating. The world around me had blurred into a haze of noise, my heart pounding in my chest like a drum, each beat echoing in my ears. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. All I could feel were the hot tears I’d been suppressing with an iron will, the ones that had been stinging and pricking at the back of my eyes, now streaking down my face, pooling onto my lap, my chest tight as if the grief had wrapped itself around me like a vice, squeezing the life out of me. I wasn’t just crying anymore...I was sobbing, gasping for air as each breath came shallow and uneven. My shoulders shook violently with the force of it. It felt like my very soul was being ripped apart by the truth. The truth that my very existence had cost her life. I tried to swallow, to choke back the sobs, but they kept coming, stronger and more violent. It felt like I was drowning in my own grief, a weight pressing down on me that no
最終更新日: 2025-11-02
Chapter: Chapter 28: Unraveling: The weight Of the truth~Clarissa's POV~ I walked over to the oversized leather couch, the one that always smelled faintly of old cigars and expensive cognac....and sank into it. It was a statement: I was here for the answers, not for comfort. Richard followed, his movements hesitant. He sat down on the same couch, his body sinking into the plush cushions. The moment his thigh brushed against mine, I sharply scooted away, moving to the very edge of the cushion, putting a palpable foot of space between us.He registered the rejection. A deep, heavy sigh escaped his lips. He lowered his head slightly, then slowly raised it, meeting my unwavering, tear-filled gaze. "I know," he began, his voice barely a murmur. "I know this is hard. I can't even begin to imagine what you're feeling, but...please, try to open your heart just a little to understand me, too." He paused, searching for the right words. "At the time... I thought it was the best thing. To keep the truth of your mother from you. Because of the circu
最終更新日: 2025-10-25
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