Chapter: Chapter 70The room was quiet. Quiet enough that I could hear the tick of the ancient clock on the wall and the panicked thrum of my heart.Enzo moved closer, his step slow, almost uncertain, as if he feared I'd disappear if he reached for me too fast. His hand came up, calloused fingers stroking against my face.One tear escaped, running hot down my skin.He caught it with his thumb, his jaw clenching, and then—without speaking—closed his eyes.Our foreheads touched, the pressure of his presence bearing down on me, rooting me. His breath mixed with mine, hot and ragged. I could sense the strain in him, the tempest he bore in his chest, and yet there in that instant all that was present was this tenuous closeness.I didn't breathe. Couldn't."Evelyn…" His voice barely audible, a whisper, rough and strained.I should've stepped back. I should've yelled at him again for all the lies he'd told me. But I did nothing. I just let the quiet eat us alive, let his closeness ease the pain gouging through
Last Updated: 2025-08-24
Chapter: Chapter 69I never wanted to shout at her. Not Evelyn.The reverberation of my own yell still rang in my head, ugly and incorrect, but she wouldn't let up. She wouldn't leave the old wounds alone, wouldn't leave them closed. Her eyes—wide, shining with betrayal—were the last thing I wanted to see, and yet they were seared into me now.God, I'd do anything to spare her this.But the truth stung, and tonight it finally pierced.Amelia. Sebastian. His older brother Nikolai.That name on my lips tasted like ash, like the ashes of a war that never truly ceased. When I watched Evelyn's face crumple under the weight of it, I loathed myself for having spoken it. For verifying what should have remained buried.She didn't get it. She couldn't. That Amelia wasn't angry. She wasn't lost, waiting to be rescued. She was gone—sold out to the one person our blood had been taught to hate.And Sebastian Perez wasn't just an adversary. He was a snake. Sinister, manipulative, vicious. If Evelyn thought I was control
Last Updated: 2025-08-22
Chapter: Chapter 68The phrase "because of you" still echoed in my head, as cutting as shattered glass, when the following thought struggled out of me."Then we'll go to her," I spoke out abruptly, my voice shaking but persistent. "We'll ask Amelia ourselves. We'll get the truth from her.I turned before Enzo could respond, dashing inside the room. My feet slapped against the marble flooring as I directly approached the wardrobe, pulling it open. Dresses cascaded forward, hangers clinking as I pulled one loose."Evelyn—" Enzo's voice sounded after me, low and strict.No, Enzo. No waiting, no excuses." My fingers stumbled over each other, panicking as I tugged at the zipper. "We leave tonight. Right now. Before she vanishes again. Before more lies trap us under. Under."He stepped closer, his body filling the space. "Evelyn, listen to me. We can't—"Sure, we can!" I interrupted him, whirling around with the dress still in my fists. My voice was shaking, high and urgent. "She's family. I don't care if she'
Last Updated: 2025-08-20
Chapter: Chapter 67The water flowed hot and continuous, slapping against the shoulders, covering over the thunder of my heart. Enzo was that close, the misty steam curling up to isolate us from the world. His fingers were braced on the wall, caging me in, forehead against mine, and it felt like he was a thousand miles distant."I saw her today," I breathed, voice all but drowned by the pounding water.His gaze didn't waver. "I know."The words fell with weight, like a secret he'd carried for far too long.I gulped air, chest burning. "Why didn't you tell me?"His jaw clenched, water running down his cheek like glass. "Because Amelia doesn't die when you talk about her. She lives. She flourishes. And I wanted her gone."I shivered under the heat, laying my hand over his chest, sensing the erratic thud of his heart. "She gazed at me, Enzo. Like she recognized me. Like she needed me out of her way." His fingers closed around my wrist, holding me firm, anchoring me. His gaze was flame and darkness, battlin
Last Updated: 2025-08-20
Chapter: Chapter 66The tinkle of champagne glasses and the rich laughter that swirled around the huge ballroom barely touched me.I smiled — or, at least, my lips curled up in a gesture that would be mistaken for one. But it wasn't genuine. It wasn't close."Congratulations," I said to the newlyweds, my tone cheerful and friendly, yet. empty.I could hear myself, almost from a distance, and the sound felt foreign. A mechanical little note of joy that didn’t belong to me, one I’d practiced a thousand times for moments like this — when my mind was too far away to care.The bride glowed, the groom nodded graciously. And then they went on, lost in a sea of golden cocktail dresses, sleek black tuxedos, and shining smiles.I remained where I was, champagne flute icy against my fingers. My eyes wandered over the room once more, scanning the groupings of guests, looking…For her.I didn't even know I was doing it at first. My gaze just kept drifting, always looking past the woman talking to me, past the courteo
Last Updated: 2025-08-11
Chapter: Chapter 65Since the time we arrived at the hall, Evelyn had been… different.Not so obviously so—not the way anyone else would realize. To everyone around us, she was her normal composed self, smiling politely, welcoming guests, making small talk. But I knew better. I had known her long enough to listen for the spaces between words, to read between the lines of her face, to notice the way her eyes kept darting toward places no one else was looking.And it all began after Lucas pulled me aside.He'd appeared agitated—more than agitated, really. There was this tension in his jaw, a fidgety shift in his posture, as if his mind was racing too many things at once. When he informed me she was here—Amelia—I didn't know what to say. I was not anticipating the mention of this name tonight.I hadn't even had time to get used to it when Lucas had gotten up, grumbling that he needed something to drink. I'd seen him stride towards the bar, his shoulders set. Evelyn had trailed behind him a minute later, her
Last Updated: 2025-08-11
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