Novels by Joanna Jade

Bella’s POVI woke up early, earlier than I normally do.My body felt heavy, sore in places I didn’t want to think about.The massage gun sat on the floor where I’d kicked it last night, silent now, but it might as well have been screaming. I had no idea why I let him control me like that but I wouldn’t waste another second on that thought.I couldn’t stay in bed. So I pulled on my trainers, leggings, and a loose hoodie, tied my hair back, and slipped out the back door before anyone could ask questions.The air was cool against my face when I was running — slow at first, but every time I remembered his voice and the way I moaned to his command, I ran faster like I could outrun the memories.Zayden’s voice rang in my ears. The hum of the gun.The way my hips rolled against it even when I begged him to stop.I pushed harder and my lungs burned.“Come on, Bella, slow down.”Lucia’s voice cut through the heaviness of my breathing.I glanced back — she was jogging to catch up, her ponytail

Zayden’s POVFor a moment, the room went completely silent. I studied Nico’s face to see if he was joking. He wasn’t.My jaw tightened slowly.“Bella’s mother,” I repeated.Nico nodded once. “She contacted one of our outer channels earlier tonight. Said she needed to speak with you directly. No intermediaries.”I walked toward the window, looking out over the dark gardens of the grand estate.Bianca Mendoza. Alejandro’s wife. Bella’s mother.The same woman who had spent the last three years standing quietly beside the man who destroyed my family. And now she wanted a meeting.“Did she say why?” I turned to ask.“No, sir.”Of course, she didn’t.Women like Bianca Mendoza didn’t show their cards so easily.I rubbed my jaw slowly, thinking. This could be a trap. Alejandro might be testing the waters, trying to see if I’d bite.But something in my gut told me otherwise.Bella’s face flashed in my mind.The way she looked tonight — desperate, exhausted, terrified of the future her father w

Zayden’s POV The back door of the warehouse closed behind me with a heavy thud.Her voice still echoed in my ears — “Zayden! Zayden!” — desperate, cracking, the way a child calls for someone who’s already gone.I kept walking. Didn’t turn back. Didn’t slow down.If I had, I might have broken.I slid into the back of the car. My driver didn’t ask questions. He just pulled away, tyres crunching gravel, the villa lights shrinking in the rearview mirror.I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes.The truth was out now. She knew.I don’t know what she planned to do with it and I couldn’t care less. But she knew.She knew her father had sold my family to save his own. And still she begged me to stop.Still, she looked at me like I might be the one who could save her from him.I laughed — once, bitter, alone in the dark backseat.Fate really is a cruel bitch. I pulled out my phone.No new messages or texts begging me for what I didn’t even know.She was probably crying in the b

Zayden’s POVI took a slow drag from my cigarette, watching her from across the table while she processed my last words.Her fingers tightened around the fork.Good.She’s listening now, really listening.For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The silence stretched thick and heavy, filled with ghosts I buried three years ago and never properly mourned.I crushed the cigarette slowly into the ashtray and looked up at her.“Why are you looking at me like that?”“Because I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me?” She murmured.I laughed. Her eyes widened at me. She looked at me like whatever I said next could solve all her problems or make it even worse.“What did my father do, Zayden?” She asked me.“Your father was desperate to save his own skin,” I said. “So he leaked Elena and Sofia’s daily routine to the cartel. I always rode with them on Tuesdays and he told them exactly what time Elena picked Sofia up from nursery every Tuesday — what route she took, what car she drove.”

Bella’s POVI had waited for everyone to fall asleep before I begged Rosa to help me sneak out of my house. I told her I was going to see Lucia. I needed to clear my head and talk to someone who could understand.She looked at me with something like pity in her eyes but she helped me either way.“I’d stay by the kitchen door so when you come back, I can let you in without any fuss.” She said softly.I nodded and gave her a brief hug before quietly slipping through the back door. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. Don't I learn? Going back to the same man who has threatened my family time and time again.I don’t know what I expected to get from the encounter. It’s not like our last one gave me any answers. But anything I could get was fine by me.When I busted out onto the main street, a car pulled up, stopping me short.The windows wound down and a man peeked his head out. He looked tall, with tanned skin and his long hair tied into a sleek low ponytail. I had seen him somewhere, bu

Bella’s POVThe bridal shop looked like something out of a movie.Crystal chandeliers, soft white walls, racks of silk and lace glowing under perfect lighting. The bells above the door jingled as my mother and I stepped inside.“Wait up!” Rafael called out from behind us. “Slow down, both of you.”I glanced over my shoulder, slightly annoyed. “Why did you even come along, Raf?”He pressed his hand to his chest as if wounded. “What do you mean?” he said casually, catching up in two long strides. “I came to see my baby sister in white.”I rolled my eyes and kept walking.He fell into step beside me anyway.“Come on, Bella,” he said, lowering his voice. “Are you still pissed at me for stopping you from confronting Dad? What could you possibly have done?”I stopped just inside the entrance, turning to face him. “I’m not pissed, Raf. I’m just tired. Really tired.”He searched my face for a second, then nodded slowly. “Okay. I get it. I’m sorry.”I turned away and headed toward my mother, w

Roman pulled the car to a stop in the hospital parking lot. “Stay here, Mom,” he said as he reached for the door.Salima turned toward him immediately. “Roman, what are you doing?”“I’m here to see Grayson,” he answered, already pushing the door open.Salima grabbed his arm.“No, you won’t,” she said firmly. “You just got out of jail. And you’re still angry. The last thing you need is more trouble.”Roman paused and looked at her. “I’ll be fine, Mom. I want to talk to him.”She searched his face, still worried.“I promise,” he added quietly. “Trust me.”Salima hesitated. Then she nodded slowly. “Okay… don’t stay long.”Roman gave a small nod and stepped out of the car.Inside the hospital, the air smelled faintly of antiseptic.Roman walked straight to the reception desk.“I’m here for Grayson Thorne.”The nurse checked her computer, then pointed toward the elevator. “Upstairs. Room 314.”Roman nodded once and headed down the hall.He got into the elevator and pushed the button to Gra

“What? How’s this possible?” Eleanor asked, shocked. “What are you doing here?”Roman stood there — suit rumpled, jaw bruised, eyes blazing with quiet fury.His grip tightened around Eleanor’s wrist.“Let me go, you son of a bitch!” she growled, trying to pull free.“Don’t,” Roman said quietly.His voice was calm, but it carried a warning that made the room feel suddenly smaller.“Don’t you ever think you can lay a hand on my mother,” he continued, his eyes fixed on her. “Ever again.”For a moment, neither of them moved.Then Roman released her sharply.Eleanor jerked her arm back immediately, rubbing her wrist where his fingers had held it. Her eyes burned with fury as she stared at him.Salima still hadn’t moved.She stood there frozen, staring at Roman as if she wasn’t sure he was real.Roman turned to her.“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.Salima blinked, as if waking up from a dream.“Yes… I— I’m fine,” she said quickly. Her eyes scanned his face, lingering on the bruise on his

Salima sat at the head of the table, hands clasped tight.“How long until the lawyer gets here?” she asked for the sixth time in the past fifteen minutes.Victor glanced at his phone.“He said he’s on his way,” he replied calmly. “Traffic.”Salima exhaled slowly but didn’t relax.Across from her, Alec leaned back in his chair, staring down at the table.After some minutes, the front door opened somewhere down the hall.Footsteps approached quickly and a moment later the lawyer stepped into the dining room, loosening his tie.“Sorry I’m late,” Marcus said. “The courthouse held me longer than expected.”Salima leaned forward immediately. “Well?” she asked.The lawyer hesitated.Victor noticed it first. “What happened?”Marcus placed his briefcase on the table. “It’s not good news.”Alec straightened. “What kind of not good news?”“The judge denied the emergency review we requested tomorrow,” Marcus explained. “Roman’s next hearing stays where it is.”Salima frowned. “When is that?”Marc

Tessa walked slowly along the empty road, her arms wrapped around herself as if she could somehow hold the pieces of her heart together. Her steps were uneven, her heels scraping the pavement more than walking on it.Roman’s voice wouldn’t leave her head.“There is no “us.””Her throat tightened when she remembered.“Hate requires emotion. What I feel for you now… is nothing.”A sob escaped her before she could stop it.Her eyes were swollen, her vision blurred with tears she couldn’t seem to stop. She wiped at them with shaking hands, but more kept falling.“Before I come home, I want you out of my house.”Tessa stumbled slightly, gripping onto a streetlight. Her breathing came out in broken bursts as the memory of his cold eyes replayed again and again.She kept walking. She didn’t even know where she was going.Then a car pulled up slowly beside the road ahead of her, its headlights cutting through the darkness. The engine idled quietly.Tessa didn’t notice.The driver’s door sudd

The clang of a metal door echoed through the corridor.Roman looked up from where he sat on the bench. He had now removed his suit jacket; his shirt was untucked and his buttons loose, revealing his toned chest.Footsteps followed, slow and steady, and a guard appeared outside the bars a moment later.“Sir,” the guard said. “You have a visitor.”Roman frowned slightly. “Who is it?”The guard glanced down at the clipboard in his hand.“Mrs Blackwood.”Roman’s brow furrowed. “My mother?”The guard shook his head. “No, sir. Your wife.”Roman’s face went blank.The guard stepped aside and a second pair of footsteps approached, slower this time.Then Tessa appeared.She stopped a few feet from the bars, her hands clasped together as if she wasn’t sure what to do with them.For a moment, neither of them spoke.Roman looked at her quietly. “What are you doing here?”Tessa shifted slightly under his gaze.“I just wanted to see how you were doing.”Roman didn’t respond.She hesitated, then add

The sound of tyres crunching on the gravel came from the quiet driveway as the Blackwood cars pulled up one after the other.High above the entrance, Tessa stood on the balcony outside her and Roman’s bedroom.She had been standing there for nearly twenty minutes, gripping the railing so tightly her fingers had begun to ache.Her eyes were fixed on the driveway. The first car door opened. Alec stepped out. Then Davin and the lawyer.In the second car, Nandini stepped out slowly, Lakshmi behind her, then Victor. Salima emerged last.Tessa leaned forward slightly, scanning the cars. Her heart began to pound. Roman didn’t get out.She waited. Another moment passed — still no Roman.Her stomach dropped. The front door opened downstairs and the family stepped inside.Tessa remained frozen on the balcony for a few seconds longer, staring at the empty driveway as the realisation slowly sank in.He wasn’t coming home — at least not today. Her chest tightened.Inside the house, the tension wa