Novels by Apaa Petronilla

The silence after my declaration was thick enough to suffocate someone someone.My father sat forward, his hands gripping the armrests like he could snap them in two. Mymother's lips were a thin, pale line. And my sister, God, my sister, looked ready to claw my faceoff.I should have felt small under their stares. Cornered. Crushed. That was the way it alwaysworked in this house.But I didn't. Not now.For the first time in years, I felt… taller."You've lost your mind," my father spat, finally finding his voice.Raine. It's self-destruction, you're self destructing."This isn't some stupid rebellion,I leaned back against the velvet armchair, crossing my legs slowly, deliberately. My smile didn'tfalter."Funny. From where I'm sitting, it looks like control."The vein in his forehead pulsed. My mother inhaled sharply, as if she wanted to intervene butdidn't dare to.And then my sister laughed a low, bitter sound."You really think Adrian Throne loves you? Thatman doesn't love

The steering wheel felt slick beneath my hands.I don't even remember the drive back to my apartment. I only remember the echo of his voice,dark, steady, merciless. You'll move into my house. You'll sleep in my bed and you'll never run.Every red light blurred past me, my chest rising and falling too fast, like my body was trying tooutrun the deal I'd just sealed with the devil.When I finally parked, my knuckles ached from clutching the wheel. My building's lights weresoft, familiar, but they didn't comfort me. My legs wobbled as I walked inside, as if the ground nolonger trusted me.I kicked off my heels the second I closed the door and collapsed onto the couch. For a longtime, I just laid there, staring at nothing in particular.I could still feel the heat of his hand over mine. The weight of his voice in my chest. And damn itall I could still feel the tremor of something I refused to name curling low in my stomach.Sleep was merciless when it finally came. My dreams were tan

I didn't breathe for a full second after his words.Mine. Every breath and every I inch.He'd said it like he already owned me, like the deal was signed in blood. And for one dizzy,terrifying heartbeat, I almost wanted to surrender just to see what it felt like.But then reality slammed back.I straightened in my seat, tightening my grip on my pride.about business. A deal.""This isn't about belonging to you. It'sHis laugh was low and sharp, the kind that cut."Business. Christ, you really don't get it, do you?Marriage isn't a deal, sweetheart. Not with me. If you want my name, my power, my protection.then you give me more than just a signature."I forced my chin higher."And what do you want?"He leaned forward, elbows resting on the table, his gaze steady and merciless.you've never given anyone else. Your loyalty. Your silence. Your obedience.""EverythingHeat crawled up my neck."I'm not some pet you can control Adrian.""No," he said smoothly,"you're worse. You're a s

He didn't look at me like a man who once loved me.He looked at me like a wolf who'd finally finally found the sheep that got away.And I hated the fact it made my pulse quicken."I didn't come here to remember the past," I said, trying to keep my voice steady."No?" His eyes glittered, sharp as broken glass."Funny, because that's all I've been doing sinceyou texted me. High school. You laughing in my face. You saying I'd never be good enough foryou, and your family ruining mine.I swallowed hard. My mouth was dry, but I forced the words out."I was stupid."He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. His voice dropped low, intimate, but cutting."No. You were being honest. That's the difference between you and me—I never lied about whatI wanted."Heat crawled up my throat. He was right, damn him. He asked me out once, honest and brave.And I turned him into a joke. And still, he dated my best friend afterward, like a knife in my back.I lifted my chin, summoning every

I didn't sleep that night.Not even for a second. My eyes burned, my head pounded, but my body wouldn't let me rest.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him. Them. My fiancé's hands gripping my sister's hips. Hersmug little smile when she saw me. My parents' cold dismissal like I was nothing but a failure.By sunrise, something inside me had hardened.I wasn't going to beg them to see me. I wasn't going to prove my worth by crying at their feet. Ifthey wanted me to marry power? Then I'd marry it. I'll show them i can beat them at their owngame.And on my terms.I dragged myself out of bed, my legs stiff, my ankle raw where glass had cut into it. I didn't evenbandage it last night. The blood had crusted against my skin, ugly and brown, but I kind of likedit. It made me feel alive. Reminded me that pain pains was real, and that I wasn't imagining anyof this.Coffee tastedd like ashes, but I forced it down. I sat at the kitchen table, staring at my phone.One name glowed on the scre

I knew something was wrong the second I stepped into his apartment.It was too quiet.He always had something playing, jazz, old R&B, sometimes even classical when he wasworking late. Tonight? Nothing. Just silence. Except… no. Not silence.A laugh.I froze in the middle of the living room, the gift bag biting into my palm. It was muffled, soft, but Iknew that laugh. I'd grown up with it, I'd heard it across hallways, in the middle of fights, in thebackground of family dinners.My sister's laugh.No. No, I was imagining things. It couldn't be. It couldn't.I swallowed hard, forcing myself to breathe, forcing my legs to move. My My throat was so tightit hurt to swallow.And then I heard what sounded like a moan. A moan.My stomach turned cold. The bag slipped from my hand, crashing onto the marble, the bottle ofwhiskey shattering, glass skittering everywhere, liquid pouring out like it was mocking me.My feet carried me forward before my brain could catch up. I knew I should turn