Chapter: Epilogue (Cara) One Year LaterThe doors open slowly.Light spills down the aisle, soft and warm, and for a moment I forget how to breathe.He’s there.Waiting for me.Giovanni stands at the end of the aisle in a dark suit that fits him like it was tailored not just to his body, but to the man he’s become. His shoulders are squared, his posture calm, but I know him too well to miss the tension in his jaw, the way his hands flex at his sides like he’s holding himself together by sheer will.His eyes meet mine—and everything else disappears.The guests blur. The music fades into something distant and hollow. The only thing that exists is the man who saved my life in so many ways it’s hard to keep count.I take my first step forward.Then another.Each one feels like a heartbeat.I think about the roof.The night air biting into my skin, the city lights too far below, my thoughts louder than the traffic. I remember how small the world felt then, how convinced I was that stepping off would finally quiet the ache inside
Last Updated: 2026-01-29
Chapter: Chapter Seventy-Two (Giovanni)I tell her it’s nothing special.That’s the first lie of the night.Cara stands in our bedroom, slipping on her coat, glancing at me with that look she gives when she knows I’m being weird but doesn’t yet know why. Her brows pinch together slightly, lips curving in a smile that says she finds my evasiveness more amusing than suspicious.She hums, unconvinced, but lets it go. “Where are we going?”“The bookstore.”Her eyes light up immediately, and guilt pricks at me for a split second, because of course they do. That place means something to her. It means something to both of us. But the guilt fades just as quickly, replaced by certainty.This is right.The drive over is quiet in the best way. Cara hums along to the radio, fingers drumming softly against her thigh, occasionally reaching over to rest her hand on my arm. Every time she does, my chest tightens in that familiar way, like my heart is reminding me who it belongs to.I’ve loved women before. I’ve wanted them, protected them,
Last Updated: 2026-01-29
Chapter: Chapter Seventy-One (Giovanni)Matteo is dead.Not literally. Unfortunately.But spiritually? If looks could kill, he’d already be haunting the back room of the bookstore.I follow him the second Cara disappears down the aisle toward the poetry section. The moment the bell over the front door jingles and a customer walks in, I grab Matteo by the sleeve and yank him toward the back.“What the hell was that?” I hiss the second the door swings shut behind us.Matteo barely reacts. He takes another sip of his coffee like I didn’t just drag him away from his peaceful existence. “Good morning to you too.”“You almost told her.”“I absolutely did not.”“You implied.”“I speculated.”“You smiled.”He grins wider. “That’s just my face.”I run a hand through my hair, already regretting trusting him with anything. “I told you to keep your mouth shut.”“And it is,” he says, tapping his lips. “Technically.”I lean closer, lowering my voice even more. “You said planning something.”“Those are very common words, Giovanni.”“You s
Last Updated: 2026-01-28
Chapter: Chapter Seventy (Cara)Giovanni Castellanos is acting weird.Not bad weird. Not ominous weird. Not even broody, closed-off, “I’m about to commit a felony” weird.It’s… cute weird.Which somehow makes it worse.I notice it the second I wake up.Usually, Gio is either already gone—early shift at the bookstore—or half-asleep beside me, one arm thrown over my waist like he’s afraid I might vanish if he lets go. He’s a creature of habit. Predictable in the ways that matter. Grounding.Today?Today he’s sitting up in bed, phone in his hand, staring at the screen like it personally offended him.“What are you doing?” I mumble, rubbing sleep from my eyes.He jolts.Actually jolts.Like I caught him committing a crime.“Nothing,” he says quickly, locking his phone and setting it facedown on the nightstand.I blink at him. “You just flinched.”“I did not.”“You absolutely did.”He rolls his shoulders, trying to look casual. Which would work—if casual didn’t look so unnatural on him this early in the morning. “I was j
Last Updated: 2026-01-28
Chapter: Chapter Sixty-Nine (Giovanni)I go into work the next morning with a plan.It’s not a good plan.It’s more of a vague emotional intention paired with a cup of bad coffee and the lingering adrenaline of having said the words I want to marry her out loud for the first time.But still. A plan.Matteo is already behind the counter when I arrive, leaning on his elbows, smirking at something on his phone like he personally invented joy.He looks up when he hears me come in. “You look like you’re about to confess to a crime.”“Worse,” I say.His smile sharpens. “Oh. I love worse.”I drop my jacket on the chair behind the counter and take a breath. A real one. The kind that pulls from your chest instead of your lungs.“I’m thinking about proposing to Cara.”Matteo freezes.Not metaphorically.Not dramatically.He goes completely still, like someone hit pause on him mid-breath. His phone slips from his fingers and lands face-down on the counter with a soft thud.I wait.Nothing.“…You okay?” I ask.Slowly, painfully slowly
Last Updated: 2026-01-27
Chapter: Chapter Sixty-Eight (Giovanni)The bell above the bookstore door chimes for the third time in under five minutes, and I’m already reconsidering my life choices. Not because of the customers. Customers are fine. Harmless. Usually.It’s because Luca is shelving books with the kind of intensity usually reserved for planning crimes or executions, and I’m standing behind the counter holding a small velvet box in my jacket pocket like it might explode if I breathe wrong.I don’t even know why I brought it here. Actually, I do because if I don’t say it out loud to someone soon, I might lose my nerve.“Are you going to tell me why you’ve been staring into space like that for the last ten minutes,” Luca says without looking at me, “or should I start guessing?”“I was not staring into space.”He slides a paperback into place, taps it twice so it lines up perfectly with the others. “You tried to ring up a customer with a bookmark.”“That was a test.”“A test of what.”“Reflexes.”Luca finally looks at me. His expression is fl
Last Updated: 2026-01-27
Bound By Chaos
Libby did everything right.
She testified. She ran. She rebuilt a quiet life for herself and her little sister, Emma—one where monsters stayed buried and love felt possible again.
Then Matteo Moretti walked into her world.
Protective. Sharp-tongued. Dangerous in all the ways that make a woman feel safe. With him, Libby starts to believe in something fragile and terrifying: a future.
Until the man who destroyed her childhood escapes prison.
When Emma vanishes from school in the middle of the day, Libby’s worst fear becomes reality. The danger wasn’t gone—it was watching. Waiting. Planning.
Now Matteo must use every ruthless skill he’s ever learned to hunt down a man who believes blood is ownership and love is control. Because this time, the cost isn’t just Libby’s heart.
It’s a child’s life.
A gripping romantic suspense about obsession, survival, and the kind of love that doesn’t just promise forever, it fights for it.
Perfect for readers who love high-stakes danger, found family, protective heroes, and edge-of-your-seat emotional payoffs.
Read
Chapter: Chapter Thirty-Two (Matteo)The bell over the bookstore door rings, and for half a second my heart stutters.
Not because I expect Libby.
Because I don’t.
She hasn’t called back.
Hasn’t texted.
Hasn’t done anything except leave a hollow ache in my chest that won’t go away.
So when Mariela walks in instead—smiling, bright, almost buoyant—I’m caught completely off guard.
“Hey,” she says, like this is just another normal visit. “I was hoping I’d catch you.”
My stomach drops.
She looks… happy. Nervous, sure, but glowing in that unmistakable way.
“I had my first ultrasound today,” she continues, already reaching into her bag. “I thought you might want to see.”
She holds out her phone and there it is.
A grainy black-and-white image. A small, unmistakable shape. Proof of something that might—might—be mine.
I stare at it longer than I mean to.
Awe hits first. Sharp and disorienting.
Then fear follows right behind it.
Because this—this is real now. Not theoretical. Not a conversation waiting for the right moment. This is
Last Updated: 2026-03-01
Chapter: Chapter Thirty-One (Libby)It’s Friday and there’s a knock on the door. It’s light and polite. That’s what makes it unsettling. I’m barefoot, still in leggings, hair pulled into a messy knot because I finally have a day off and I intend to enjoy it. Emma is at school. The house is quiet in that rare, precious way. I open the door without thinking.
Mariela stands on the other side. For half a second, my brain refuses to catch up. She looks… put together. Calm. Nervous in a way that feels rehearsed. Like she’s practiced this moment in the mirror and still doesn’t like how it goes.
“Hi,” she says. “Is Matteo here?”
There it is.
“No,” I reply evenly. “He’s at the bookstore.”
Her eyes flick past me, just briefly, like she’s taking in the house. The space. The life.
“Oh,” she says. “Okay.”
Silence stretches. I don’t invite her in.
“Can I ask why you’re here?” I say, keeping my tone neutral. Pleasant. Civil.
She shifts her weight. Hesitates.
“I think,” she says carefully, “that Matteo should probably tell you. Not me.”
Last Updated: 2026-03-01
Chapter: Chapter Thirty (Matteo)I pull into the estate too fast.
I know it the second the tires crunch against the gravel harder than necessary, but I don’t slow down. My hands are tight on the wheel, jaw locked so hard my teeth ache.
Because this wasn’t theoretical.
This wasn’t a bad feeling or a maybe.
It was him.
My men were sure.
I was sure.
And she missed it.
I’m halfway out of the car before the engine’s even off. Libby’s just getting Emma settled inside when she looks up and sees me.
Her face tightens immediately.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
I don’t soften it. I can’t.
“You,” I say. “You missed him.”
Her brow furrows. “Missed who?”
“Your father,” I snap. “He was there. Outside the school. My men saw him, Libby. They tracked him. And you didn’t notice a damn thing.”
Her color drains.
“That’s not possible,” she says quickly. “I would’ve seen him.”
“You didn’t,” I say. “And that’s the problem.”
Emma hovers by the door, eyes wide.
“Emma,” I say immediately, forcing my voice to steady. “Go inside.”
She hesitates, the
Last Updated: 2026-02-27
Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Nine (Libby)The car rider line is a nightmare.
It always is.
Cars inch forward in fits and starts, parents craning their necks, teachers waving laminated signs like traffic conductors in some deeply underpaid orchestra. I check the clock on the dashboard for the fifth time and drum my fingers against the steering wheel.
I just want Emma in the car. I just want to get home.
My phone buzzes in the cup holder.
Matteo: We need to talk.
My stomach drops so fast it feels like I’ve missed a step on the stairs.
We need to talk.
That’s never good.
I stare at the screen, pulse picking up. My brain doesn’t wait for logic—it launches straight into panic.
Did I do something wrong?
Am I too much?
Did he change his mind?
Is this about Mariela?
The line moves. I jerk forward, barely stopping in time as a teacher opens the back door.
“Libby?” she asks brightly.
“Yes—yes, sorry.”
Emma climbs in, backpack thumping against the seat, braid a little looser than it was this morning but still intact.
“Hi, SisterMom!” sh
Last Updated: 2026-02-27
Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Eight (Matteo)The bookstore is deceptively calm.
Midday light slants through the front windows, dust motes drifting like everything in the world is exactly where it should be. Luca is behind the counter, sleeves rolled, helping a customer choose a cookbook like this is just another ordinary afternoon.
I hate how convincing it is.
The second the customer leaves, I move closer.
“Anything?” I ask quietly.
Luca doesn’t look up right away. He finishes tapping something into the register, waits until the bell jingles, then reaches into his pocket.
“Yes.”
He pulls out his phone and angles it so only I can see.
The first image hits me like a punch.
Libby’s father.
Older than the last time I saw him in court photos. Thinner. Meaner. That same hollow-eyed stare that makes my skin crawl. The kind of face you don’t forget once you’ve seen it.
The next image is grainier. A security still. Hoodie up. Side profile.
“Local sighting,” Luca says. “Gas station. Two towns over. Yesterday morning.”
My jaw tightens.
“Th
Last Updated: 2026-02-26
Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Seven (Matteo)Emma is practically vibrating by the time I cut the engine.
“Libby’s here,” she says, already halfway out of her seatbelt.
“Whoa, speed racer,” I laugh, opening my door. “Let’s not face-plant on day one.”
She bolts anyway.
Libby’s outside the bookstore, sleeves rolled up, hair pulled back like she’s been working nonstop. The second she sees Emma, her whole face softens.
“Hey, baby!” she says, dropping to her knees just in time for Emma to crash into her arms.
“It was good!” Emma announces immediately. “Like really good.”
Libby laughs, squeezing her. “Yeah? Tell me everything.”
Emma does.
Every single thing.
She rehashes the entire day with the same enthusiasm she gave me. She talks about Mrs. Hanley, Steve the plant, Lucy and her sparkly shoes, the crayons, the lunchroom. Word for word in places.
I hang back a step, watching them, smiling when I’m supposed to. Nodding when Emma looks to me for confirmation.
Libby glances up at me mid-story.
Her smile fades.
“What’s wrong?” she asks qu
Last Updated: 2026-02-26
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