Chapter: CHAPTER 69: THE SECRET HE CAN’T HIDELiam’s PoVSleep had become a stranger.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw two futures.One had London.The other had Nara.No matter which one I imagined…I lost something.I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling of my apartment, the silence almost unbearable.My phone lit up on the bedside table.Decision Deadline: 18 Hours Remaining.I sighed heavily.“Eighteen hours…”That was all I had left before choosing the rest of my life.I sat up and rubbed both hands over my face.When had life become so complicated?Months ago…If someone had told me I’d been accepted into one of the most prestigious architectural fellowships in Europe…I would’ve packed my bags before they finished the sentence.Now…The thought of boarding that plane made me feel sick.Because every mile between London and home…Would be another mile away from Nara.Work was a disaster.I hadn’t finished a single drawing.Three different coworkers had asked if I was feeling okay.I lied every single time.“I’m f
Last Updated: 2026-07-01
Chapter: CHAPTER 68: THE OFFER THAT CHANGES EVERYTHINGLiam's PoVIt happened on a Tuesday.The kind of Tuesday that should have been ordinary.The kind where the biggest decision I expected to make was whether the new apartment needed a bigger couch.Instead...My entire future changed with one phone call.I was halfway through work when my phone buzzed across my desk.Unknown Number….Normally, I would've ignored it.Something told me not to."Hello?""Good afternoon. Am I speaking with Liam Carter?""Yes.""My name is Rachel from Morrison & Co. We received your international fellowship application several months ago."I frowned.Application?Then it hit me.Before Daphne.Before we found our way back to each other.Back when I believed my future was going to be just...me.I had applied for an international architectural fellowship in London.A program so competitive I never expected to hear back.Honestly...I'd forgotten it even existed."We're pleased to inform you that you've been selected."Everything around me went silent."...What?""Yo
Last Updated: 2026-06-30
Chapter: CHAPTER 67: Home Is YouDaphne's PoVThe first morning after we chose each other felt...Different.Not because the apartment had changed.Not because the city outside our windows suddenly looked brighter.But because my heart was quiet.For months, my mind had been a battlefield.Questions….Doubts."What if?""What if there's someone else?What if I'm missing something?"Now...Nothing.Just peace.I woke slowly to the scent of coffee drifting through the apartment.The other side of the bed was empty.I smiled before I even opened my eyes.Liam.I wrapped one of his oversized hoodies around myself and padded barefoot toward the kitchen.There he was.Standing in gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt, his hair sticking up in every direction as he flipped pancakes with far too much concentration.I leaned against the doorway."You know you're making breakfast like it's brain surgery."Without turning around, he smiled."These pancakes deserve respect.""They're pancakes.""They're our pancakes."I laughed."I stand c
Last Updated: 2026-06-28
Chapter: CHAPTER 66: Choosing UsDaphne’s PoVThe apartment was quiet.Not the uncomfortable kind of quiet that begged to be filled, but the peaceful silence that only existed when two people didn’t need words to understand each other.Liam still had his arms around me.His heartbeat was slow against my chest, steady enough that I found myself matching my breathing to it.Neither of us moved.Neither of us wanted to.Eventually, he pulled back just enough to look at me.“You hungry?”I laughed.“That’s your first question?”He shrugged, a small smile appearing.“I always think better after food.”“I’ve noticed.”“And you haven’t eaten.”“How do you know that?”“You get quieter when you’re hungry.”I blinked.“Seriously?”“You also rub your left wrist when you’re tired.”Without thinking, I looked down.My fingers were rubbing my wrist.He chuckled.“Told you.”“I don’t know whether that’s sweet or creepy.”“I’m hoping sweet.”“It depends.”“On what?”“Whether you’re secretly keeping a notebook about me.”His eyes widen
Last Updated: 2026-06-27
Chapter: CHAPTER 65: The Difference Is LiamThe ride back to the apartment was unusually quiet.Nat kept the music low, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as the city lights blurred past the windows."You've been smiling for the last ten minutes," he finally said."I have not.""You definitely have."I rolled my eyes, trying and failing to hide the grin tugging at my lips."It was... different.""Good different?"I stared out the window."I don't know."Nat laughed softly."That's the most confusing answer I've ever heard.""Because it is confusing."He nodded as if he understood."I think you're comparing two completely different people."Maybe he was right.Javier had been confident, experienced, effortless. There had never been a moment where he hesitated.Liam...Liam overthought everything.He could spend an hour deciding where we should eat dinner and another apologizing if he thought he'd upset me. He remembered tiny details I had forgotten telling him. He always noticed when I was tired before I admitted it.
Last Updated: 2026-06-26
Chapter: CHAPTER 64:THE DEFINITION OF DESIRE"What was so special about me?" I ask, leaning back against the table as I wait for his answer.He pauses for a moment, pulling on his clothes before letting out a quiet sigh."I don't really know," he admits. "You're mature for your age, but there's still something youthful about you. You're smart. You're not fragile. And you're not scared."I raise an eyebrow."I get scared.""Sometimes," he says with a small smile. "But when it matters, you don't run. You get nervous, sure, but you're always prepared."A smile tugs at my lips, though he doesn't notice. He's too busy reaching for his turtleneck."I see why Liam likes you so much."The mention of Liam makes guilt twist in my stomach."Sorry about that again..."He waves the apology away."Don't be. It was interesting."I laugh softly and begin fixing my dress."So you'd maybe want to do this another time?"His footsteps move closer."Sure."I feel him gently zip up my dress."I won't be in New York as often," he continues, "but whene
Last Updated: 2026-06-25
THE MAFIA QUEEN
Daphne lili Thorne is nineteen and angry enough to burn the world down.
When her family forces her into a marriage she never agreed to, she refuses to play the role of the quiet, grateful wife. She wasn’t raised to submit and she definitely wasn’t raised to belong to a stranger.
Adrian Smith is twenty four and used to control. The marriage is nothing more than strategy to him, a move on a board he’s been winning on his whole life.
Daphne is supposed to be easy,Predictable,Temporary.
She isn’t.
On their wedding night, Daphne points a gun at her new husband, her hands shaking but her resolve unbroken.
“Put it down,” Adrian says calmly, still dressed in his wedding suit.
“Go to hell,” she snaps, gripping the fabric of her dress as she keeps the gun aimed at him.
She pulls the trigger.
The bullet misses on purpose cutting close enough to leave his ear burning.
Adrian doesn’t move.
He just looks at her, something dark and dangerous flickering behind his eyes.
For the first time, he realizes this marriage won’t be easy. And Daphne realizes something worse he’s not afraid of her at all.
What begins as a power struggle turns into something neither of them expected. Beneath Adrian’s cruelty is a man shaped by violence and loss. Beneath Daphne’s fire is a girl who has already survived her own kind of hell.
They are not meant to save each other.
But somehow, they become the only thing that makes sense in a world built on control, loyalty, and blood.
Because even monsters were once human.
And even angels can come from broken places.
Read
Chapter: CHAPTER 62: THE FIRST SHOTSebastian’s PoVThe moment my boots crossed the edge of the forest, every instinct inside me sharpened.No turning back.Lucas moved beside me, his pistol fitted with a suppressor already drawn. We stayed low, using the hedges and stone statues surrounding the estate as cover.The mansion stood before us like a fortress.Three floors….Stone walls….Iron balconies.Security cameras sweeping across every corner.Somewhere inside…Daphne was waiting.I could feel it.Lucas crouched behind a hedge and peered through a small pair of binoculars.“Two guards at the service entrance,” he whispered.I followed his gaze.Both men were armed.One lazily smoking a cigarette while the other scrolled through his phone.“They’re distracted.”Lucas looked at me.“Your call.”I took a slow breath.“We do this quietly.”He nodded once.Without another word, we split up.I circled to the right while Lucas slipped left, disappearing into the shadows.Five steps.Four…..Three….Two….One.I lunged.My arm loc
Last Updated: 2026-07-01
Chapter: CHAPTER 61: THE RESCUE BEGINSSebastian’s PoVI didn’t sleep.Not even for a second.The image of that curtain moving replayed over and over inside my head.Someone had been there.Watching….Waiting…..Praying.“Daphne…”The name left my lips like a promise.Lucas stepped out of the surveillance van just before sunrise, carrying two cups of coffee.“You’ve been staring at that house for six hours.”“I know.”“You should rest.”“I’ll rest after I get my wife back.”He sighed.“I figured you’d say that.”I accepted the coffee but never drank it.Every minute that passed felt stolen.Tomorrow…Whoever was inside that mansion had whispered the same word through that tiny movement of the curtain.Tomorrow.Something was happening tomorrow.And whatever it was…We were already running out of time.Lucas spread a map across the hood of the SUV.“I drove around the property before dawn.”I finally looked away from the mansion.“What did you find?”“Eight guards.”“Only eight?”“Visible guards.”I nodded.“There’ll be more.”
Last Updated: 2026-06-29
Chapter: CHAPTER 60: THE RING OF LIESDaphne’s PoVThe diamond sparkled beneath the bedroom light.It was beautiful….Cold….Lifeless.Exactly like the man kneeling in front of me.“I’ll give you a moment,” Stephan said softly.His smile never faltered.“I know this is unexpected.”Unexpected?My entire body wanted to scream.Instead, I forced myself to breathe.The woman behind the wall had been right.Tomorrow…Everything happened tomorrow.If I refused…Would he force me?If I accepted…Would it buy me time?The answer came almost immediately.Time.I needed time….More than pride….More than anger….More than anything.I slowly looked from the ring to Stephan.“…If I say no?”His smile stayed exactly the same.Only his eyes changed.They became empty…..Dangerously empty.“I’d be disappointed.”The words were gentle….The meaning wasn’t.“And if I still refuse?”He stood.Slowly.Closing the velvet box.“You won’t.”“I asked what would happen.”He walked closer.Close enough for me to smell his expensive cologne.His fingers bru
Last Updated: 2026-06-28
Chapter: CHAPTER 59: THE GHOST IN THE HOUSEDaphne’s PoVI read the note again…..And again….And again.Don’t trust Stephan.We’re watching. Wait for my signal.My fingers trembled so violently that the paper nearly slipped from my hand.Someone had left this.Someone had somehow entered my room without Stephan noticing.Or…Had they distracted him?The knock.The man downstairs.Had that been planned?I hurried to the broken breakfast tray and looked around for anything else.Nothing.No second note.No clue.Just shattered porcelain and syrup dripping slowly down the wall.I folded the note into the sleeve of my hospital sweater just as footsteps echoed outside.Someone was standing by my door.I held my breath.The handle rattled once.Then silence.Whoever it was… walked away.I didn’t move for another minute.My pulse was still racing.Someone was here.Someone knew I existed.And someone wanted Stephan to fail.Hours crawled by.The afternoon sunlight shifted across the bedroom floor.No one came….No food….No Stephan….Nothing.
Last Updated: 2026-06-27
Chapter: CHAPTER 58: A LIE TO SURVIVEDaphne’s PoVI didn’t sleep.Not even for a second.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Sebastian.Then I saw the crash.Then Stephan’s face.Then one word echoed over and over again.Pregnant.I sat curled up in the corner of the room, my knees pulled tightly against my chest.If he was lying…Then good.If he wasn’t…I instinctively rested a hand against my stomach.“I’ll get you out,” I whispered so quietly I barely heard myself. “I don’t know how… but I will.”A knock sounded outside.Three slow knocks.Then the door unlocked.Stephan stepped inside carrying a breakfast tray.Pancakes.Fruit.Orange juice.He smiled as though yesterday hadn’t happened.“As long as you’re carrying my family, you need to eat.”I nearly laughed.“My family?” I asked.“Our family.”“It’s Sebastian’s child.”His jaw clenched.“I said eat.”“I’m not hungry.”“You are.”“No.”His smile slowly disappeared.“You’ll hurt the baby.”“Then let me leave.”“No.”“Then stop pretending you care.”His eyes darkened
Last Updated: 2026-06-26
Chapter: CHAPTER 57:TRAPPEDDaphne’s PoVJust over a month laterIt's been just over a month since the crash and I'm still being kept hostage by Stephan . I'm still in the hospital but everyday he comes by and stays for an hour or two before leaving."She's not ready yet," I heard Stephan say loudly from outside my door. Clearly, he was on the phone to someone. He stayed silent for a while as the other person spoke. "I'll let you know when she's ready. And when I tell you that the plan needs to start. We'll be on the first flight out once the date has been set.He stayed silent before cutting the call. He's clearly talking about me but what plan is he talking about? Where even am I? Why do we need to get on a damn plane to get there?Without a word, he pushed the door open and entered. He came towards the bed and quickly leaned down to give me a peck. With my fast reflexes, I managed to dodge his lips just in time."What was that?," he asked, sounding offended."Stephan, we are family. I've told you that countl
Last Updated: 2026-06-24
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