Chapter: Chapter 50MARINAI woke up warm. Warm in the kind of way that had nothing to do with the sun.Alexander had tucked the sheets around me at some point during the night, even after we’d tangled them in the throes of everything. I turned my face into the pillow, breathing in the scent of him, citrus and something darker, something unnameable but intoxicating. My body was sore in places that made me blush when I shifted, but it was the good kind. The kind that reminded me I’d been touched with reverence. That I was wanted. That I was loved.I blinked slowly, adjusting to the soft coastal light spilling through the windows. And there he was.Sitting in an armchair by the window, already showered, dressed in navy slacks and a white button-up rolled at the sleeves, reading something on his phone. He looked like something out of a magazine. Yet when he glanced up and met my eyes, his whole face softened.“There she is,” he said with a slow smile. “I was going to let you sleep a little longer, but your
Последнее обновление: 2025-08-02
Chapter: Chapter 49MARINA After the walk, Alex proposed I come stay with him at the beach house where we had our first date, I don’t know how I accepted immediately, I jutted wanted time alone with him to make up for the lost times. We dropped the boys at the penthouse with Carlos for the night. I stared at myself in the mirror of the guest bedroom Alexander had let me use, my fingers trembling as I tried to undo the zip of my dress. It wasn’t just Sarah’s voice in my head, it was the weight of everything. Of being called names. Of being discarded. Of feeling invisible in that house before.And now... of being seen.Alexander had knocked once before, quietly. Said he’d be waiting if I wanted to talk. And then he walked away.Not forcing. Not demanding.Just waiting.I didn’t even realize I was crying until I tasted the salt on my lips.I left the zipper half-undone and walked barefoot through the long hallway toward his room. The mansion was quiet, like the world was holding its breath.I paused at hi
Последнее обновление: 2025-08-02
Chapter: Chapter 48MARINA Three days after the beach dateI wasn’t expecting anything, and maybe that was why it caught me completely off guard.The knock on the door came just after noon on a Wednesday, my day off, and I was still in my robe, hair wrapped in a towel, trying to convince myself to start the laundry. I dragged my feet to the door and opened it… and just like that, there he was again.Alexander.This time, holding something behind his back, in jeans and a soft white shirt, not formal but deliberate. His hair was a little messy not styled the way he usually wore it and he had a sheepish look on his face that almost made me laugh.“I come in peace,” he said, and brought forward a bouquet of my favourite flowers deep red ranunculus and white roses. My heart flipped in my chest.“You remembered,” I whispered.“I remember everything,” he said, then added more quietly, “Especially when it comes to you.”I took the flowers, smiling despite myself, and moved aside to let him in.That was the firs
Последнее обновление: 2025-08-01
Chapter: Chapter 47MARINAThe morning light filtered in softly through my curtains, brushing against my skin like a warm whisper. I lay still for a long time, cocooned beneath the duvet, my fingers curled loosely beneath my chin. My lips still tingled his kiss etched there like an unshakable memory.Alexander.I turned onto my back and stared up at the ceiling, watching the fan spin in slow, lazy circles. Everything about last night felt surreal. The ocean breeze, the stars above us, the weight of his apology… and that kiss. God, that kiss. It wasn’t just passionate, it was raw, full of ache and wanting and something deeper I hadn’t dared let myself name.I pulled the duvet over my face and let out a soft, muffled scream.It was too much.Too intense.Too real.A vibration on the nightstand startled me. I reached out blindly for my phone and saw Katie’s name lighting up the screen.Katie 🌙 calling...I answered and tucked the phone under my ear, not saying a word.“Oh no,” she said immediately, her voi
Последнее обновление: 2025-08-01
Chapter: Chapter 46MARINAI stared at my phone like it had just delivered a death sentence.Alex♥: I’ll pick you up by 7. Wear something that makes you feel like yourself.I blinked. Read it again. Then dropped the phone on the bed like it burned.“Oh God,” I muttered, burying my face in my pillow. My stomach twisted with a storm of nerves. A date. A real one. With Alexander.I hadn’t been on a real date since well, since before everything. Before the mansion. Before Ireland. Before becoming someone’s mother in the middle of chaos.Now he was coming to take me out, and all I could think was what the hell does someone like me wear to that?I picked up the phone again and hit Katie’s number without thinking.“Babe!” her voice came through, far too chipper for my spiralling state. “How was it yesterday? You okay? Did he show up with the kids like you said he would?”“Katie,” I said through clenched teeth. “He texted. He’s coming to pick me up at seven.”There was a beat of silence.“Oh my God. Oh my God. T
Последнее обновление: 2025-08-01
Chapter: Chapter 45ALEXANDER I followed Marina into the living room, each step echoing louder in my chest than it did on the floorboards. Vincent and Xavier clung to her like vines to a trellis, small fingers hooked tightly into the fabric of her sweater. I didn’t blame them. Part of me wanted to do the same. Just touch her to be sure this wasn’t another dream I’d have to wake up from.Her parents were there, exactly as she’d said they would be. Her father set his book aside, his movements slow and cautious. Her mother had stilled mid-row, her knitting resting on the armrest. They both looked at me like I was some creature they’d only heard stories about. Some myth. Some mistake.I met their eyes and stood tall. I’d come all this way. I wasn’t going to cower now.They studied me like they were trying to decide if they should chase me out or hear me out. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t give them any reason to think I was afraid. But then I glanced at Marina and the boys and the storm in me settled, just a lit
Последнее обновление: 2025-08-01
Войти
