Novels by Leati

Selene’s POVThe words hung in the air like a loaded gun. I watched Kade’s face closely, savoring the way his composure finally cracked—just a fraction, but it was enough. Shock flickered in those cold eyes, followed quickly by something darker.I let out a weak, pained laugh, pressing my hand tighter against my bleeding shoulder. The wound burned like fire, but the rush of power was stronger. Slowly, painfully, I reached under the sofa cushion with my good hand and pulled out the slim, leather-bound book I’d kept hidden there for months. I held it up, my fingers smearing blood across the embossed cover. “Noah gave this to me,” I taunted, my voice hoarse but triumphant. “He handed it over without a fight when I had him kidnapped and begged me to spare his life. Said he’d do anything. Pathetic, really. All that loyalty to you, and in the end, he chose to save his own skin.”Kade’s jaw clenched so hard I thought it might shatter. His gun hand wavered for the briefest second, his gaze

Selene’s POVThe city lights sprawled endlessly beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse, glittering like scattered diamonds against the dark water below. From up here, everything looked small—the people, the cars, the endless noise, all the petty problems that consumed everyone else.For the first time in years, a deep sense of calm settled over me. The engagement was over. Lia was gone. Kade’s perfectly controlled world was finally cracking apart at the seams. Finally, I thought, a quiet laugh bubbling up inside me. After all these years, it’s happening.For the first time in what felt like forever, a deep sense of calm settled over me. Kade didn’t die as I wanted but his poor little Lia was fighting for her life in the hospital. And Kade’s perfectly controlled world? It was finally cracking apart at the seams, piece by piece, just as I’d planned.I took a slow sip, letting the rich flavor linger on my tongue.If things keep going my way—and they will—he’ll finally see i

Lia’s POVThe apartment fell strangely quiet after Julian left alone, the echo of his footsteps long since faded down the hallway, leaving only the broken front door hanging crooked on its frame and cool air drifting in through the splintered wood scattered across the floor.Just seconds earlier the room had pulsed with armed men and suffocating tension. Still, now silence pressed in, broken only by the heavy hammer of my own heartbeat as I stood there, fingers still clutching the back of Kade’s jacket like it was the only solid thing left in the world. Slowly I let go, and the moment my hand dropped a strange distance seemed to open up between us. For the first time since the engagement, for the first time since I had thrown myself in front of a bullet meant for him, we stood face-to-face. Kade’s gaze moved over me carefully, lingering on the fresh bruises circling my wrist until his jaw tightened, the muscle flexing once, then twice before his eyes returned to my face.“You okay?”

Lia’s POVThe lock clicked into place for what felt like the tenth time. I stood in the middle of my apartment, staring at the front door as if sheer willpower could make it stronger. The deadbolt was locked. Every window was closed, every curtain drawn. Still, it wasn’t enough.My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I wrapped both arms around myself and forced a deep breath. The apartment was silent except for the ragged sound of my own breathing and the faint hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen.I grabbed my phone again and called Kade. It rang. And rang. Then voicemail. Again.A frustrated sound tore from my throat. “Pick up…”I hit the call once more, straight to voicemail. I pressed the phone against my forehead, eyes burning.The last few hours had been a nightmare that refused to end—the pregnancy, Julian finding out, me telling him the baby wasn’t his, and the pure rage on his face. A loud bang suddenly echoed through the apartment. I jumped so hard the phone nearly slipped from

Lia’s POVFor a moment, everything seemed to freeze. The steady beeping of the monitor faded into the background, the air growing heavy as Julian stared at me from across the room. His face remained unreadable, but something in his eyes shifted as he blinked once, like he was still trying to process what I’d just said.Then he looked at me again, as if he was trying to convince himself he hadn't heard what I had just said."What did you just say?" he asked quietly.My throat tightened painfully, but I forced myself to hold his gaze."I said the baby isn't yours,” The words felt like shards of glass scraping their way out of my chest. "It's Kade's."The confusion vanished from his face, replaced by something cold and unreadable. He stood completely still, staring at me as though he was seeing a stranger where I had been standing only moments ago.Then a short laugh escaped him.Humorless.Disbelieving."Kade," he repeated, rolling the name off his tongue like it left a bitter taste in

Lia’s POVThe house was in complete chaos.Suitcases lay open across the living room floor, half-packed with carefully folded clothes, while staff moved through the hallways carrying boxes and luggage downstairs. Voices echoed everywhere, blending into a constant background of motion, of departure, of things ending before I was ready for them to.I paced across the bedroom again and again, unable to stay still for more than a few seconds. Every time I reached the window, I turned back. Every time I got close to the door, I retreated. The wooden floor creaked beneath my steps, but even that sound felt distant compared to the noise in my head as the doctor’s words refused to leave me alone.You’re two weeks pregnant.It replayed until it stopped sounding like information and started sounding like a verdict.My hand moved to my stomach without permission, resting there for a second before I realized what I was doing.Nothing about me had changed on the outside.But everything inside me