The Price Of Us
Bruises.
That’s all Louis has ever known.
At twenty-seven, you’d think he’d have escaped the violent grip of his abusive father—but breaking free from the man who raised you, no matter how monstrous, is never simple. Life has never gone easy on Louis, and now, he carries a secret that’ll finally get him killed by his father: his sexuality.
He hides it, suffocates it, tries to erase it—but it never leaves him.
All he needs is a savior. Someone to pull him from the dark hole he’s sinking in. But hope has never been more than a cruel fantasy—and he’s long since stopped believing in rescue.
Then comes Elias Montgomery.
The most feared and ruthless Don in the Midwest.
Silent. Disciplined. Calculating. And utterly alone.
No one dares cross Elias. He keeps his enemies close, and the traitors? Six feet under.
Love has never been part of the equation, not after what happened the last time.
So, what happens when, against all odds, Elias crosses paths with Louis?
Will he bury the tension—and the dangerous spark between them—for the sake of his image and empire.
Or will he risk it all for a boy who’s known nothing but pain?
Basahin
Chapter: Chapter 30LOUISNot once had the house ever felt this quiet.Not even in the dead of night, or even during those first lonely nights after I'd been swept into Elias's life. Tonight, the quiet buzzed—tension curled through the walls like a drawn wire, vibrating against the seams of my skin.I didn’t even bother sleeping.Elias hadn't spoken a word since Cathan and I escorted him up to bed. He'd gone limp in our arms halfway up the grand staircase, blood seeping into his shirt and flowing down onto the marble like plummeting stars—dark, sharp, and unending. We'd placed him in bed. I'd removed his tattered clothes. Wrapped the worst of the wounds with shaking fingers. He hadn't stirred. Had only stared at me with veiled eyes as if I were something distant and receding.But then he'd fainted. And I think that was what shook Cathan because apparently, he didn’t do that.Cathan had vanished a little later with a grumbled, "I'll take care of the rest."I should have slept. Should have curled up alongs
Huling Na-update: 2025-05-06
Chapter: Chapter 29LOUISThe room was too quiet.Not peaceful—never that—but the kind of quiet that crawled on your skin. I lay extended over the sheets, the lamp casting a warm amber glow against the gold-ornamented walls, the silk of the pillows was cool along my spine. Still dressed, I folded my arms over my head, my eyes half-closed but sleep nowhere in view.I hadn't seen Elias since that morning. Since the kiss. Since he'd vanished and left me in a palace that was beginning to feel rather like someone else's living museum.But I could still taste him. Still feel the pressure of his hand mashed on my jaw. That fire that'd burned between us—it hadn't gone out. It'd just. simmered.But then I remembered how he’d been watching me and those lustful thoughts vanished and, in their place, anger consumed me. Anger and betrayal. It didn’t make sense for me to feel betrayed, yet, I did.I was hovering in the twilight region between annoyance and tiredness when I heard it. A sound.It was a muffled thus, bar
Huling Na-update: 2025-05-06
Chapter: Chapter 28ELIASChaos tasted bitter, like iron. Its sharp metallic taste was something I’d tried to avoid. Like the blood pooling at the back of my mouth as I staggered through the smoky corridor of my own goddamn office complex.When Cathan called, I drove as quickly as I could to the warehouse where he was waiting for me but the compound had been breached.Not the outer gates. Not the surveillance blind spots we kept loose on purpose to confuse amateur spies.No—this was intentional. Planned out. Whoever attacked knew the layout. They knew the shift changes. They knew exactly when to strike.There was a spy among us."Get down!"A rough voice growled out of my earpiece a fraction of a second before a spasm of gunfire ricocheted off the marble pillar inches from my head. I ducked behind it, my heart pounding, the sear in my left side throbbing with each breath.I had been hit. It didn’t happen often but when it did, it hurt like a motherfucking bitch.The wound wasn’t fatal, I hoped. It was a
Huling Na-update: 2025-05-06
Chapter: Chapter 27LOUISThe quiet that followed Elias as he left the room clung to my skin like sweat—thick, heavy, and unwelcome.I sat on the edge of the couch, my shirt half untucked, lips still swollen from the kiss that had started it all. My fingers trembled slightly. His touch on my skin remained, especially the way it was hesitant at first but grew possessive—like he needed to own me. And maybe, for a fleeting moment, I needed to be owned.But he’d left. Just like that. He pulled away with a coldness that contrasted the fire we’d just shared. And even though I had a feeling that call was very important, I couldn’t help but feel the way I feel.I ran a hand through my hair, expelling a breath I hadn't realized I’d been holding. I still reeked of him—cologne, sweat, heat, need. His ghostly presence lingered on me, the way he'd gasped when I sucked him in my mouth was thrilling. It was like he didn’t expect it, like it broke something in him.And then he just walked away.I stood and took the walk
Huling Na-update: 2025-05-06
Chapter: Chapter 26ELIASI should have walked away.Goddammit, I should have turned my back and left him there in the warm golden light of the library, looking at me with those wide blues. I should've listened to the fading piece of me that still knew restraint was worth more than ruin.But I didn't.Louis took a step closer and I didn’t bother stopping him.His breath mixed with mine, uncertain, tasting of fear and desire. I saw it in his eyes then—the doubt and the hunger for me. And when our lips met, it was as though he set fire to every last scrap of control that I had. The kiss wasn't shy this time (when had it ever been). It was deep, desperate, and completely damning.I was going to drown in this boy.His fingers slid into my hair and tugged gently, pulling a sudden groan from my mouth. I backed him up until the edge of the desk hit the back of his thighs, and he gasped softly. That sound from his lips was the final straw. My palms traced the curve of his face, then down the gentle slope of his
Huling Na-update: 2025-05-06
Chapter: Chapter 25LOUISI couldn't breathe. Not because I was winded, not because I was hurting—God only knows I'd had my share of that—but because Elias was kissing me like he needed to possess every breath in my lungs. I don't know who moved first. Maybe we both did. All I knew was that one second I was staring into his eyes in the dim hallway, and the next our lips slammed together like we had been starved. His hand wrapped tightly around the back of my neck, tugging me close until I could feel every inch of him pressed against me. My fingers curled into his shirt, pulling and gripping like I needed him to survive.The kiss wasn’t gentle. There was nothing careful or tender about the way our mouths collided—just hunger. Raw, dangerous, unfiltered need. I moaned into his mouth and was shocked by how natural it felt. How right and wrong collided in my chest like a storm.His hands roamed my body with practiced ease. He slid one down the curve of my back and folded his arms around my waist like he was
Huling Na-update: 2025-05-06
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