Chapter: CHAPTER 9 THE ECHO NOBODY EXPECTEDThe morning after the attack, the penthouse was silent except for the faint beeping of medical machines and the low hum of police radios downstairs. Elara sat up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, one hand over her stomach, the other gripping Lucian’s sleeve.Lucian hadn’t let go of her since dawn.Marek rested in a separate room, stabilized but exhausted.Elara exhaled shakily.“Lucian… what happens now?”Lucian rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Now? I will keep you safe. And Marek. And the baby.”She looked at him, eyes soft and uncertain.“You still look shocked.”“I am.” Lucian’s voice dropped. “Elara… the idea that the child is mine is…”“It is. And I feel it inside me everytime,” she whispered.Silence swelled between them, heavy but warm.Lucian finally spoke.“I would never… ever hurt either of you.”Elara blinked. “I know.”A moment passed.Then the elevator dinged.Lucian stood instantly. “No one else is supposed to be here.”Elara tightened her blanket. “Is it the police?”“
最終更新日: 2025-12-14
Chapter: CHAPTER 8 THE BITTER TRUTHSix months later, the penthouse felt unusually still.Elara rested on the couch, one hand over her stomach, breathing softly as Marek walked in a slow pattern across the living room.“Lucian is late again,” she murmured.“He said it’s an important meeting,” Marek replied, though his voice held doubt.He checked the security feed. “He left in a hurry. That usually means trouble.”Elara sighed. “He said he’d be back before dinner.”Marek’s brows furrowed. “He also said he’d keep his phone on. And it isn’t.”Before Elara could respond, her phone buzzed… No caller ID.She hesitated. Answered.Nothing. Only silence.She looked at Marek. “Something feels wrong.”“Yeah,” he whispered. “I feel it too.”Cut to the other side of the cityLucian leaned over a dark booth in an abandoned warehouse lit by a single bulb.Across from him sat a woman in a hooded jacket, hands shaking.He frowned. “Start talking.”She gulped. “Damien… he’s planning something short-term. Tonight.”Lucian’s jaw tensed.
最終更新日: 2025-12-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 7 THE MAN BEHIND THE MASKHe drove her to the gallery anyway, refusing to let her walk the short distance from the curb. Every employee who greeted her received a sharp, calculating glance from him. Even in silence, he was a force that bent the air around him.But as Elara stepped inside, she felt something shift, the sense of danger rising like static.Because Damien was already there.Standing in front of a massive winter-themed painting.His posture relaxed. His eyes are anything but.“Elara,” he said softly, turning toward her.Exactly as if he had been waiting.Lucian materialized a second later, stepping between them so fast Damien’s expression twitched.The tension in the room tightened like a drawn bow.“Careful,” Damien murmured, a mocking edge in his voice. “You’re starting to look possessive, Lucian.”Lucian’s voice dropped. “Leave.”Damien smiled. A sharp, too-pleasant curve that didn’t reach his eyes.“I was just admiring the art.”His gaze flicked to Elara and lingered.“You always did have a tal
最終更新日: 2025-12-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 6 THE FIRST CONFRONTATIONSnow drifted between the three of them…Lucian, still as a blade.Damien, smiling like the devil wearing a tailored suit.Elara, caught in the middle of two storms designed to destroy each other.Lucian’s voice was calm.Too calm.“Damien. Step away from her.”Damien tilted his head, almost amused.“Why? She was mine first.”Elara flinched.Lucian took a step forward.“She was never yours,” he growled. “You don’t own people.”Damien’s smile sharpened.“And yet here you are, playing the hero for a woman who doesn’t know half of what you’ve done.”Lucian stiffened.Just barely.But Elara felt it like a shock.Damien continued softly, almost whispering.“Does she know why you really left my family?”Lucian’s jaw tightened.“Does she know what you did to earn your freedom?”“Elara,” Lucian murmured without looking back, “get in the car.”“No.” Damien lifted a hand. “If she leaves, I’ll end this tonight.”Elara’s breath froze.“Damien stop!” she whispered. “Please. This isn’t…”“Quiet.”
最終更新日: 2025-12-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 5 THE MAN WHO WON'T STOP He took a slow step toward her, closing the space between them, heat radiating from his body, snow melting against the warmth of his skin.“You haven’t asked me why I left Damien’s family,” he murmured.“Because you don’t want to tell me,” she whispered.“Because I didn’t want you to look at me differently.”Elara’s heartbeat stumbled.“Lucian,” she breathed, “I already look at you differently.”Something broke in his controlJust a flicker.But she felt it.He reached up and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.Carefully.Slowly.As if memorizing the shape of her.Her breath trembled.Lucian lowered his forehead to hers.No kisses.No demand.Just closeness.It just aches.“Elara,” he whispered, “you matter more than you think.”Her fingers lifted hesitant, trembling and touched his jaw.He inhaled sharply, a sound half pain, half restraint.Snow drifted around them like falling stars.“Lucian,” she whispered, “tell me what you’re hiding.”His eyes closed for a moment.“The nigh
最終更新日: 2025-12-05
Chapter: CHAPTER 4 THE GALATwo weeks of hiding felt like slipping in and out of different worlds.By day, Elara occupied the quiet safety of Lucian’s penthouse, an impossible sanctuary with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city like a kingdom trapped behind glass. The air smelled faintly of cedar and shadow, of a man who moved silently and lived with a tension carved into the edges of his existence.By night, Lucian disappeared.Not for long.Never without warning.Never without giving her a look, steady, and sharp burning as if silently telling her to trust him.She did.More than she should.Tonight, he returned at dusk, the city glowing gold behind him as he stepped through the door dressed in a black suit, tie undone, hair damp from the winter rain.“Elara,” he said softly, eyes finding her immediately. “I need you to come with me.”Her heartbeat lurched.“Where?” she whispered.Lucian’s gaze dipped briefly to the small swell of her belly before rising again. Only he could make such a glance feel p
最終更新日: 2025-12-05
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