Chapter: Schemes in the SanctuaryAmara lay awake in her room, the velvet drapes drawn heavy around her, moonlight slicing through in silvery beams across the polished floor. Sleep had abandoned her entirely. Her mind buzzed, spun with schemes and possibilities, each more outrageous than the last."Two months… two measly months…" she muttered under her breath, tracing the intricate carvings on the armrest beside her bed. "And he wants me gone after that? As if I’m some… some—oh, who even am I to him? A chess piece? A mislaid book on a shelf? A… a cat he will shoo away when it mews too loudly?"Her lips curved into a crooked smile despite herself. "Well, Cassian, we’ll see about that."Her hands drifted to her chin as she stared at the ceiling, plotting. "What if… what if I make him fall in love with me? Deeply, irrevocably… Yes. Let him be consumed. Let love do what contracts cannot. Let it twist him into staying. After all… if love wins, I might just… win too."Her laughter was quiet, teasing herself. "Oh, Amara, you
Last Updated: 2025-09-03
Chapter: Lilies in the DarkThe night air was cool when they stepped out of the restaurant. The cobblestones glistened faintly, as though the earth itself wished to hold onto the whispers Clarisse had left behind. Amara lingered, her body taut with the weight of the moment. Clarisse’s embrace was tender, her perfume clinging like a phantom, but the words pressed into Amara’s ear were heavier than stone.“Don’t leave Cassian. No matter what, stay with him. And watch Julien. What he offers is not love.”The warning sank into Amara’s bones, an iron nail driven deep. She opened her lips, desperate to ask why—what danger, what truth had Clarisse uncovered? But Clarisse’s eyes silenced her. They held knowledge too perilous to speak aloud.Then, like mist dissolving into the night, Clarisse was gone.Amara returned to the house , its halls hushed and thick with shadow. The silence pressed against her like a second skin, heavy and unyielding. She moved through the rooms as though she carried a secret she could not share
Last Updated: 2025-09-03
Chapter: Your nosy author speaksThe tension is only just beginning, my dear readers. What you’ve felt until now is only a whisper of the storm that lies ahead. Secrets will grow darker, the stakes sharper, and every page will carry you deeper into the shadows of the Drevane world.Hold on tight—it’s going to get even more intense from here. 🌹If you’re enjoying the story, don’t forget to like, share, and drop your thoughts in the comments—I absolutely love reading your reactions and theories. Your support means the world and keeps this journey alive. 💌Stay close, because the next chapter will shake things even more…
Last Updated: 2025-09-03
Chapter: Two Months Like Chains“Amara.”Clarisse’s voice cut through the fog of her thoughts, soft yet unyielding, like a thread tugging her back to the present. Amara blinked, her lashes wet with the sheen of unshed tears. She had drifted so far into her own labyrinth of fears and desires that she had almost forgotten Clarisse was still there, watching her with those quiet, haunted eyes.“If you stay close to Cassian,” Clarisse whispered, “you will begin to see things more clearly. Crois-moi. Trust me.”The words struck her like a bell tolling in the dead of night. They reverberated, pulling Amara deeper into the shadows of her own heart. Stay close to Cassian.The irony gnawed at her.Her thoughts leapt unbidden to the contract—the silent pact that bound her to him for only two months. Two months. Once, those words had been her salvation. She had counted them like pearls on a rosary, each day ticking down toward freedom, toward the sweet relief of never having to see Cassian’s cold eyes again.She had celebrated
Last Updated: 2025-09-03
Chapter: Ironies of the HeartThe words Clarisse had spoken clung to Amara like shadows that refused to leave, pressing against her even when silence filled the air. The restaurant had long emptied, its chatter and clinking glasses replaced by a hollow quiet, yet inside her chest, storms still raged.Suspicion. Fear. Longing. They spun like threads in a tapestry she could no longer untangle.Julien Morel. His name had been so sweet on her tongue only hours ago, spoken as though she were a girl caught in the spell of her first secret crush. His smile had lingered in her mind like a painting bathed in candlelight—gentle, radiant, impossible to ignore. And now… Clarisse’s voice haunted her.Stay away from him.The warning reverberated like an echo trapped in cathedral walls, rising, falling, lingering until it became unbearable.Her heart ached with contradiction. Could the same man whose eyes softened when they met hers, whose presence unsettled her in ways she couldn’t explain, be entwined with a past drenched in t
Last Updated: 2025-09-03
Chapter: Tangled ThreadsAmara had never longed for grandeur. Not the glittering chandeliers, not the masked intrigues of sprawling mansions, not the kind of life where whispers held more weight than words.No—her heart had always ached for something simpler. A life of quiet mornings and soft laughter, of books untroubled by secrets, of skies that did not weigh heavy with shadows. She had dreamed of a small life—hers alone to claim, untouched by the pull of names like Drevanes, unchained from destinies she had never chosen.And yet, here she was.Entangled in a web that had begun long before her first breath. A web of family secrets, veiled threats, and truths so dangerous that even whispers could bleed. What she had tried to avoid, what she had resisted at every turn, now curled around her like vines tightening against stone.It suffocated her, this unwanted inheritance of mysteries.Across the table, Clarisse inhaled slowly, her breath trembling as if gathering strength against her own hesitation. The candl
Last Updated: 2025-09-03
Chapter: Your nosy author speaksHey, lovely readers! 🥰First — a huge, warm, heartfelt THANK YOU for diving into this story and living every laugh, tear, and heartbeat with me. You’re the reason these worlds exist, and I couldn’t do it without your love and support. Truly, you make all the words worth it! 💖If you enjoyed this journey, I’ve got even more adventures waiting for you! Make sure you check out The Proxy Bride and I Was More Than Pretty — two stories packed with twists, heart, and those little moments that make you smile, gasp, and maybe even swoon. 😏Here’s my promise to you: as long as you keep reading, commenting, and sharing your thoughts, every new book I release will be just as interesting, just as emotional, and just as impossible to put down. I mean it — fun, drama, love, suspense… all wrapped up in pages that are waiting for you. 📚✨So keep your hearts ready, your tea hot, and your snacks nearby — the next story is coming, and I can’t wait for us to live it together.With endless gratitude and
Last Updated: 2025-09-02
Chapter: A whispered heart: silence to foreverSummer had returned.Not with fanfare.With memory.The sun hung high over the park, warm and golden, casting long shadows across the grass. Cherry trees bloomed once more — their blossoms soft pink, trembling in the breeze, petals dforester like whispers through the air.And beneath them, life gathered.Not in silence.In joy.A long picnic blanket stretched across the hill, weighed down by baskets of sandwiches, fruit, lemonade in mason jars, and a towering cake that read: “ Years of Love, Laughter, and Loud Friends.”And around it — everyone.Lena sat beside her husband, Julian, their daughter asleep in a stroller beside them. She wore a flowing linen dress, her engagement ring glinting as she laughed at something he whispered. Aether & Thread had become a quiet sensation — sustainable, elegant, worn by women who didn’t need to shout to be seen. And now, Lena was no longer just a designer.She was a mother.A wife.A woman who had found love not in grand gestures, but in quiet morni
Last Updated: 2025-09-02
Chapter: Remembered pastThe park was alive.The garden was beautiful as always.Not with noise.With life.Children’s laughter rang across the grass.A breeze stirred the cherry blossoms, sending petals drifting like snow.The fountain in the center sparkled under the afternoon sun, its soft splash blending with the hum of distant laughter and the squeak of swings.And beneath the same garden tree — the one with the twisted roots and the carved initials half-faded by time — Daniel and Sophia sat on the old wooden bench.Not close.Closer.Her head on his shoulder.His arm around her.Her hand resting gently on her lap — no longer swollen with pregnancy, but marked by the softness of motherhood.They were quiet.Not because they had nothing to say.Because they didn’t need to.Some loves don’t speak in words.They breathe in silence.“This is where you ran,” Daniel said, voice low.She didn’t have to ask what he meant.She remembered.Every heartbeat.The day her parents had told him to leave.The way her wor
Last Updated: 2025-09-02
Chapter: The story we livedOne year.That’s all it had been.One year since the oak grove stood still beneath a sky of stars.Since wildflowers lined the path where she walked toward him.Since he took her hand and whispered not just vows, but a lifetime.And now?Now the world had softened into something deeper than love.Something lived.Home.Not just walls.But warmth.The scent of cinnamon toast in the morning.Tiny fingers gripping a father’s thumb.The quiet hum of a lullaby sung in the dark.And love.Not loud.Not grand.But constant.Like breath.Like light.Like the quiet certainty that every heartbeat between them was a promise kept.The evening sun dipped behind the hills, spilling gold through the nursery window. Dust motes danced in the air. A mobile of silver stars turned gently above the crib, catching the light.Sophia sat in the rocking chair, barefoot, hair loose, a soft sweater draped over her shoulders. In her arms, wrapped in a sky-blue blanket, was Theodore, their son — just a year old, h
Last Updated: 2025-09-02
Chapter: The Covenant of a new life togetherThe oak grove held its breath.Not a leaf stirred.Not a bird sang.Even the wind paused — as if the world itself knew: something sacred was about to happen.Sunlight spilled through the ancient branches like liquid gold, painting the aisle in soft, trembling light. Petals of white roses and lavender were scattered along the path, crushed gently beneath the first step of a woman who had waited not just days, not just years — but lifetimes — for this moment.And there she stood.Sophia.In a gown of ivory silk, so delicate it looked spun from moonlight.The lace on her back fastened with tiny pearl buttons — each one a promise.Her veil, edged with silver thread, fluttered like a whisper against her hair.In her hands, a bouquet of wild roses, lavender, and a single sprig of cherry blossom — his favorite, because he had once said, “It reminds me of you. Soft. Strong. Unforgettable.”She didn’t move at first.Just stood at the edge of the grove, heart pounding, breath caught in her throa
Last Updated: 2025-09-02
Chapter: Days Before the VowsWeeks passed like petals falling in spring.The twins — Kael and Lila — thrived.Their cries softened into coos.Their tiny hands learned to grip fingers.Their eyes, still wide with wonder, followed light, faces, the soft glow of the nursery mobile that spun above their cribs — a delicate carousel of stars and horses, handmade by Nathan’s mother.And in the quiet of the ranch house, life bloomed in new rhythms.Elena, back to her strength but still glowing with the softness of new motherhood, sat by the window each morning, nursing Lila while Kael slept in the crook of her arm. The sun painted golden stripes across the floor. The scent of lavender and baby powder hung in the air.And Nathan?He was trying.With all his heart.But fatherhood had turned him into a walking comedy of errors.One morning, he proudly announced he had “mastered the swaddle.”Five seconds later, Kael popped free like a burrito unrolling.He read the baby book aloud: “At this stage, infants respond to soothin
Last Updated: 2025-09-02
Chapter: The walk In silence.Sunday was soft.No plans.No calls.No ghosts.I stayed in.Put on an old apron — the one Mom gave me when I turned sixteen, covered in paint and flour stains.Turned on the jazz playlist Dad used to love.And I baked.Cinnamon rolls.Dark chocolate tarts.A lemon cake with lavender frosting — just because I wanted to see the color against the white plate.The kitchen filled with warmth.With scent.With life.For the first time in years, I wasn’t thinking about what came next.Who was watching.What I had to prove.I was just… here.Creating something small.Something sweet.Something mine.And when I sat at the table, tea in hand, watching the sunlight spill across the counter, I realized:I wasn’t healing in pieces.I was healing in moments.Like this.Like silence.Like flour on my fingers.Like the smell of vanilla in the air.Then Monday came.I dressed slowly.Not in anything flashy.Not to stand out.But to honor myself.The sleek black jumpsuit.The structured coat with the
Last Updated: 2025-08-17
Chapter: Warming ReminderI didn’t cry long.The bath had taken it out of me — not just the tears, but the weight of memory.The scar on my foot.The roses in the trash.The lies wrapped in chocolate.But I didn’t let it drown me.I stepped out.Dried off.Pulled on soft pajamas.Brushed my hair until it shone.And just as I turned to go to bed — I stopped.Monday was coming.Not orientation.Not introductions.Not another performance.Work.My first official day at Parsons — not as a guest, not as Julian’s fiancée, not as Serena’s “sister” — but as Evelyn Morgan, Design Associate.And I wouldn’t walk in unprepared.I went to my desk.Opened the folder labeled Parsons – Onboarding.Pulled out the documents.Thick.Polished.Full of rules, expectations, hierarchies.I sat on the edge of my bed, legs tucked beneath me, and began to read.Not quickly.Not casually.Line by line.I started with the company mission: Innovation through integrity. Design that speaks, not shouts. It was more than a slogan. It was a pr
Last Updated: 2025-08-17
Chapter: Behind the rosesI saw the confusion in Mom’s eyes.I’d said, “Let them dry out.”Cold.Final.Too sharp.She didn’t understand.Why would I reject a gift?Why wouldn’t I cherish something so beautiful?And then I remembered.I wasn’t just protecting myself.I was protecting her.She trusted Julian.She liked Serena.She believed the life I was living.And if I broke it too fast, she’d worry.She’d question.She’d try to fix it — and ruin everything.So I smiled.Soft.Warm.Just like the old me.“Oh,” I said, reaching for the bouquet. “I didn’t mean it. Of course I’ll put them in water.”Her face relaxed. “I knew you would. He always knows how to make you smile.”My chest tightened.But I didn’t show it.I carried the roses and the box of chocolate upstairs — like a bride with her wedding gifts.Like a woman in love.And the moment my door closed?I walked straight to the trash can.No hesitation.No second thought.I dumped the chocolates in first — every last one.Then the bouquet — the deep red ro
Last Updated: 2025-08-17
Chapter: Twisted mindI walked into the house like I was coming back from war.Not bruised.Not bleeding.But changed.The lights were low. The staff had gone. Only the soft glow from the living room welcomed me.And then she appeared.Mom.In her favorite sweater. Hair loose. A book in hand.She didn’t say, How was it?She just opened her arms.I walked into them.Held her — tightly, deeply — like I was reattaching myself to something real.“You’re home,” she whispered.“I missed you.”I didn’t say anything.Just breathed in the scent of her perfume — vanilla and lavender, the same since I was a child.She pulled back, smiled. “How was dinner? Was it nice? How’s Serena?”Her voice was warm.Genuine.Full of trust.Because she didn’t know.She’d known Serena Blake since we were teenagers.Had seen her at birthday parties, school events, family dinners.Had heard her say, “Evelyn’s my sister.”Had believed her.To Mom, Serena was kind.Thoughtful.A good influence.She had no idea the girl who hugged her da
Last Updated: 2025-08-17
Chapter: Falsified friendshipsThe city blurred outside the taxi window — streaks of gold and neon, like the world was crying light.I leaned my head against the glass.Closed my eyes.And remembered.Not the dinner.Not the lies.Not the fake smiles.I remembered how it began.High school.I was a sophomore.She was new.Serena Blake.She walked into homeroom like she already owned it — long hair, perfect skin, a laugh that made people turn.I watched her from the back row, invisible in my oversized sweater, my nose too wide, my acne-covered cheeks hidden under bangs.And then she smiled at me.Not out of pity.Not out of kindness.Like she’d seen something.We started talking.Then hanging out.Then she was everywhere.She said I was the only one who “got her.”That I was “real” in a world of fakes.That I was the sister she never had.And I believed her.Because I was lonely.Because no one else looked at me.Because she was the first person in years who said, “You’re enough.”But she didn’t mean it.She meant:
Last Updated: 2025-08-17
Chapter: Way HomeWe left the restaurant together — not side by side, but close enough to look like friends.The city air was cool that night, the kind that slipped under your skin and carried the faint smell of rain. Streetlights hummed above us, casting their yellow glow onto the pavement, while the laughter and clatter of cutlery from the restaurant faded behind like an echo I no longer belonged to.There was no rush in our steps. No chatter to fill the silence. Just two figures moving down the sidewalk, bound by blood but divided by something deeper.And then came the moment.The one I used to live for.The ritual.The place in the night where I would pull out my phone, open the app, and say, “I’ll call you a taxi, Serena. Don’t worry, it’s no trouble.”Like it was my duty.Like it was my role in her life.Like my presence was only justified if I served.I used to do it without thinking, without hesitation. Even on nights when I was exhausted. Even when I was carrying pain I couldn’t name. Even whe
Last Updated: 2025-08-17
LOGIN
