Romances de Esteria

(Aria POV)He doesn't let go.The yard is completely still. No wind. No distant engine noise. Just the two of us standing in the dirt with his hands around my wrists and the aftermath of what I said sitting between us like a lit fuse.I hold his gaze. "What happens if I don't pull away?"His jaw tightens. Something moves through his eyes, fast and controlled, the way a current moves under ice, present but contained. "Then I make you."The words land wrong. Wrong in the specific way that flips a switch somewhere low in my chest, not a warning, not a threat, just a line that should not have sounded like that, delivered in that particular register, at this particular proximity.I move first.My free hand grabs the front of his shirt, fingers twisting into the fabric, and I pull him down.His mouth hits mine hard.For half a second he goes completely still, hands frozen on my wrists, body arrested mid-breath like his entire system just short-circuited. I feel the exact moment his control

(Aria POV)He steps back. I don't.For three full seconds I just stand there, in the middle of his locked office, with the heat of that almost-moment still sitting on my skin like a second layer, and then something in my chest that has been coiled tight since the council chamber decides it has had enough of being still.I walk out.Not dramatically. Not fast. Just out, through the side door, down the corridor, and away from the specific gravitational pull of Damon Black and his one deliberate step and the way his jaw was working like he was chewing through something he refused to say out loud.My room feels too small. The hallway feels too loud with the ambient noise of the compound settling back into its morning rhythm, boots on concrete, low voices, the distant metallic complaint of something being worked on in the garage bays. I pass my door without stopping.The training yard is empty.I push through the side gate and stop in the middle of the dirt oval, breathing cold air, and st

Aria POV)The gates slide open at 7:19 a.m. Rook’s SUV rolls through first. Ours follows close. The compound looks the same on the surface: same tall concrete walls topped with razor wire, same low concrete buildings arranged in a rough square, same faint smell of motor oil and gunpowder drifting from the garage bays. But the difference hits me the second we clear the entrance. Guards stand at double the usual posts. Two at each corner tower instead of one. Rifles held low but fingers near triggers. Eyes track us from the moment the tires hit gravel. No casual nods. No relaxed postures. Just alert stares that follow every window of both vehicles until we park.I step out behind Damon. Cool morning air brushes my face. Lena climbs down from Rook’s SUV, duffel already slung over her shoulder. She glances around once, takes in the extra bodies with rifles, the tense shoulders, the way every pair of eyes flicks toward her then away.“Cozy welcome,” she mutters.Rook nudges her toward the

(Aria POV)I find Rook in the garage at 5:42 a.m. He’s already got both SUVs backed out of the bays, hoods up, checking fluids with a flashlight clenched between his teeth. Lena stands on a milk crate beside the black one, stuffing a go-bag with the snacks she unpacked four hours ago.“Chips go in the side pocket,” Rook says around the flashlight. “Pretzels in the center console. Gummies stay with you. Rules.”Lena rolls her eyes. “You’re worse than my mom on road trips.”“Your mom ever outrun a tail?”“No comment.” She zips the bag. “Where do the energy drinks go?”“Glove box. Don’t drink them all before we clear the city limits.”I lean against the doorframe. “You two move like you’ve done this a hundred times.”Rook glances up. “Hundred and twelve. Give or take.”Lena hops down from the crate. “He’s exaggerating.”“Quiet, chaos agent.”She sticks her tongue out at him.Damon appears in the open bay door. Black tactical jacket zipped to the throat, small duffel slung over one should

(Aria POV)I wake up staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Plain white, one faint water stain shaped like a lopsided heart near the corner. For maybe four seconds my brain is blissfully blank. Then memory crashes in: Lena safe, Damon in the house, last night’s almost-apology still sitting heavy in my chest.I sit up too fast. The borrowed T-shirt twists around my ribs. I yank it straight, swing my legs over the side of the bed, and press bare feet to cold hardwood.The safe house is quiet. Too quiet. No distant motorcycle rumble, no low voices drifting from the main compound halls. Just the soft tick of a wall clock somewhere down the corridor and the occasional creak of settling beams.I pad to the door, crack it open, listen. Nothing.I move through the hallway on quiet steps. The place feels more like a bunker dressed up as a house: reinforced steel doors with layered deadbolts, windows covered in blackout film so thick you can’t see daylight through them, a compact rifle casually lean

Aria POV)The safe house door swings inward at 4:07 a.m. and there she is. Lena. Purple coat still zipped to her chin, duffel bag banging against her hip, hair escaping its bun in every direction. She steps over the threshold like she’s late for brunch, not being extracted from her apartment at gunpoint-adjacent hours.Damon stands three feet inside the foyer, arms crossed, shoulders filling the doorway. Rook leans against the wall behind him, arms folded the same way, though he looks more amused than stoic. I’m already halfway across the room before she even closes the door.Lena drops the bag. It thuds. She looks up at Damon, tilts her head all the way back, and lets out a low whistle.“Okay but he is genuinely enormous.”“Lena.” I crash into her before she can say anything else. Arms tight around her shoulders, face buried in the crook of her neck. She smells like vanilla body spray and the lavender candle she burns when she’s stressed. Familiar. Safe.She hugs me back so hard my r

Nichole’s POVI had barely slept that night.Every sound made me scared. I could only stay up and think about the message on my phone..“Stay safe. They’re watching you.”I sat on the bed, as I held the coffee mug, staring at the floor.Claire was awake, but still under the blanket.The apartment felt… wrong.I just felt like something bad had happened.I tried to forget it, but deep down, I knew better.Something had changed.The morning was quiet until I heard the sound of my front door.My heart dropped.That sound shouldn’t be there.I froze, listening.Another click, it was the doorknobMy heart was pounding.I put the mug down, and walked slowly toward the door.My fingers were on the lock.No… no, it can’t be.I pushed the door open slowly.The apartment was empty.Not a trace of anyone was inside, not even footprints.But the door itself had been broken, small scratches."Claire!!" I screamed."What is it?" Claire responded softly."We've been robbed...someone broke into the

Nichole’s POVAfter looking for jobs for a week, I finally started working at Claire’s office. Many people stated they couldn't employ me because of "personal reasons", but even I knew it was because I was Daniel Lancaster ex-fiancée.So this was the only thing left.I arrived at the office earlier than usual, hoping I would be able to focus.It didn’t.The moment I sat behind my desk, my thoughts went in all directions.I tried to bury myself in spreadsheets, emails, anything that didn’t involve Alexander Lancaster’s face.But it was useless.Every time I got lost in thought, I could only think of him again.The way he stood between me and Daniel at that party replayed in my mind like a scene I couldn’t stop watching.And the worst part?My heart still pounded when I thought of it.“Coffee?” Claire’s voice interrupted my thoughts.She stood by my desk, holding two cups.“Please.” I took one.She leaned closer. “You didn’t sleep again, did you?”“Barely,” I admitted.“You need rest,

Nichole’s POVThe rain continued that night.Claire went to bed early, so it was just me and my thoughts in the living room that night.The test results were still on the table.Positive.I took the paper and read it again, and again and again.And it was still the same thing.There was no denying it.I was carrying life inside me, though all I felt inside was confusion and fear."Who are you?" I whispered, touching my stomach. "And who is your father?"But of course there was no answer.I stood up and went to the window.I could almost not recognise myself.I had dry skin, my eyes were tired.And even now I still had no idea what I was doing.“Just give me time,” I whispered. “Please, just a little more time.”***********The next morning, Claire woke up before me and made coffee.She was singing when I walked into the kitchen.“You didn’t sleep much, did you?” she asked, before she handed me the cup of coffee.“Couldn’t.” I said as I took it from her.“Nichole." She paused. "You d

Nichole’s POVThat damn dream came again.I was standing in a white dress but when I looked down, it had red stains.Around me I could only hear whispers and laughter.And then, somewhere in all of this I heard Daniel’s voice.Calm. Cruel.“Did you really think you were enough?”I tried to run to him, but I couldn't.I couldn't move.My chest ached, and for a moment, I didn’t know where I was.Claire’s apartment.Safe.Maybe.I stood up and went to the bathroom..I didn't even recognize who I saw in the mirror.This wasn’t who I was.The woman in the mirror was someone else, someone trying to rebuild herself while pretending not to notice that it all just keeps falling back apart.I put some water in my mouth, and poured cold water on my face, and stood there until I stopped shaking.When I stepped back into the room, Claire was standing there.Somehow, she always knew.She leaned on the door, as she folded her arms. “Rough night?”I nodded.“The same dream. He’s always there.”She

The rain had continued to fall.It should have made me calm, but the only thing it did was scare me even more.I sat on the coach, holding the test result like a secret.Claire walked in, with two cups of tea in her hands, as she studied me. "Nichole just tell what you're staring at, you've been looking at that paper for a while now."I stared at the floor.I couldn't look her in the eye.My hands were shaking as I finally managed to speak. “I’m pregnant.”Her eyes widened.The mug almost fell from her hand. “Wait...what?”I nodded.I could hardly see as tears filled my eyesClaire put the mugs down and sat beside me. “Nichole… how long have you known?”“I found out yesterday. At my grandfather’s party.” I sighed. "It’s like life is just out to get me, isn't it? One disaster after another.”She reached for my hand. “Does Daniel know?”I froze.Hearing his name brought back memories I didn't want to remember. “No,” I whispered. “And I don’t know if he ever should.”Claire frowned. “Y

Nichole's Pov I took another taxi and went to the apartment I shared with Daniel.I did not want anything that would remind me of any of them so I first removed myself from the family group chat and any other group chat I was in together with them and Daniel.Then I arranged my things and walked out of the house. The house was my own because Daniel rarely spent time there because he was always going on business trips but now I know those business trips were Lila.I took one last look at the house, took a cab and went to Claire's place."I'm sorry I would have to inconvenience you for a while till I find my footing," I told Claire."What nonsense, you can never inconvenience me okay, so you can stay here for as long as you want," Claire said.I was grateful that I had a place to lay my head. Since I was still on sick leave at work, I was not going to the office for the next two weeks so I had time to recollect my thoughts.It was Saturday so I didn't have anything to do. I decided to