Novel-novel oleh carin yahaya

The Cage ClosesRichard's hand clamped around my wrist, and he pulled me toward the exit before I could scream."Smile," he murmured against my ear. "People are watching."I looked around wildly. He was right. Security guards. Businesspeople. Cameras everywhere. If I caused a scene, it would be my word against his—the hysterical girl versus the respectable billionaire."Let go of me.""Not until we are somewhere private." He guided me through the revolving doors, and his car waited at the curb. Black. Sleek. Expensive. The driver opened the back door without a word."I am not getting in that car.""Then I will carry you." His grip tightened. "Your choice, Aria. Walk with dignity or be dragged. Either way, you are coming with me."I could run. But where? He found me at a random motel. He knew about Marcus Zhao within minutes of my arrival. Richard had eyes everywhere, and I had nowhere left to hide.I got in th

The Devil You KnowI spent the night in a cheap motel on the edge of the city, counting water stains on the ceiling and trying not to think about Richard's hand on my throat.Trying. Failing.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him—both versions. The Richard from five years in the future, choking the life out of me with cold efficiency. And this Richard, younger but no less dangerous, who looked at me like I was a puzzle he intended to solve by breaking me into pieces.At 1:45 PM, I stood outside Marcus Zhao's office building, my palms sweating despite the autumn chill.Marcus Zhao. In my first timeline, he had been Richard's greatest rival, the only man who ever came close to destroying the Ashford empire. He did it with a hostile takeover of Ashford's primary supplier, cutting off Richard's manufacturing pipeline for six months.It cost Richard three hundred million dollars to recover.And it had not happened yet."Miss Chen?"

The Price of DefianceI made it to my bedroom before my legs gave out.My hands shook as I locked the door, pressing my back against the wood. The bravado drained from my body like water through a sieve, leaving behind the trembling, terrified girl I actually was.What had I done?Downstairs, voices erupted—my father's rage, my mother's tears, Victoria Ashford's cutting accusations. And beneath it all, Richard's voice, calm and controlled, like a predator deciding whether to pounce now or wait.My phone buzzed. Unknown number.You just made a very expensive mistake. - RAMy stomach dropped. He already had my number. Of course he did. Richard Ashford did not pursue things without doing research first. He probably knew my schedule, my friends, every vulnerable point in my life.Another message: Your father's company will be bankrupt by Friday. Unless you reconsider.I threw the phone across the room and watched it shatter against the wall

The Girl Who Knew Too MuchI stared at my reflection in the vanity mirror, and a stranger stared back.Soft cheeks. Clear skin. Hair that shone like spun gold instead of brittle straw. This body remembered nothing of starvation, of fists, of three years spent as Richard Ashford's captive wife.But I remembered everything."Aria, darling, are you ready?" My father's voice drifted through the door. "The Ashfords will be here in twenty minutes."The Ashfords. Richard and his snake of a mother, Victoria. They were coming to finalize the engagement terms—the merger that would save my father's failing pharmaceutical company and give Richard the patents he needed to dominate the market.In my first life, I had walked into that meeting like a lamb to slaughter.Not this time.I smoothed down the pink dress my mother had picked out—soft, demure, forgettable. The kind of dress that screamed 'malleable trophy wife.' I ripped it off and reached for the back of

The Last Breath, The First Choice Five Years Ago—The First TimelineThe mirror reflected a ghost.I touched my hollow cheeks, traced the purple bruises blooming across my collarbone. Twenty-three years old, and I looked like I had lived a hundred lifetimes of suffering. All of them spent loving Richard Ashford."Aria!" His voice thundered through the penthouse, and my body flinched before my mind could catch up. Muscle memory. Fear memory.I grabbed the edge of the marble counter, steadied myself. "Coming."The living room reeked of expensive whiskey and cheaper perfume—her perfume. Lila stood beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, her red dress clinging to curves I no longer possessed. My sister. My replacement.Richard sat sprawled on the leather sofa, his steel-gray eyes tracking my movements like a predator assessing prey. Even disheveled, even cruel, he was devastatingly beautiful. Dark hair, sharp jaw, shoulders t