Novels by daddyassaad

ELEANOR'S POVBy Monday, I had twenty-nine days left.I counted them the way a prisoner counts bricks. My resignation had been filed that afternoon. It was marked Confidential: Board Level, Effective in Thirty Days. I had processed it myself, since I was the one who processed everything. It sat in the HR system under a coded folder that Dominic had never once opened in his life.Thirty days. The exact length of time between now and our wedding.I was still his secretary until then. So at nine o'clock, I walked into his office with a tablet and a fresh cup of black coffee. Dominic looked up from his desk with an expression I had come to know very well.It was the expression of a man who was about to ask for something."Ellie. I need a favor.""Of course.""Vivi and Henry can't stay at Callum's." He leaned back in his chair, tapping his pen against the armrest. "The press found out. There are cameras outside the bar. I want to move them somewhere safe, somewhere with proper security. Th

ELEANOR'S POVHe came back at dawn.I was in the kitchen, packing the last of the mismatched mugs into a newspaper, when I heard the elevator. The doors opened with a soft chime, and I knew those footsteps, heavy and a little uneven on the left. I had spent five years teaching them to be even.I set down the mug and did not move.The key turned in the lock. He had a key because I had given him one, in the first month, when he still needed a cane to reach my door.Dominic stepped inside, and the smell hit me before the sight of him did. Hospital antiseptic. Whiskey. And underneath, curling like smoke, Vivian's jasmine perfume, soaked into his shirt."Ellie."His voice was rough. His collar was open, his jaw shadowed, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked like a man who had been awake for twenty-four hours and had spent every one of them being needed."You're up early," I said."I haven't been to bed." He dropped his jacket over the arm of the sofa and rubbed his face wi

ELEANOR'S POVThe hairpin was not worth much. It was silver-plated brass. And the butterfly's wings were set with cheap crystal that had gone cloudy at the edges years ago. A jeweler would have laughed.It was the only thing I had of my mother.She had died when I was four. I remembered her hands and her voice humming something wordless over a pot of herbs. And the way this pin had caught the light in her hair. My grandfather had kept it for me in a drawer until I turned eighteen. When he handed it over, his face looked strange then. Careful. As if he were passing me something that might go off."Wear it when you need to remember who you are," he had said.I hadn't understood. I was eighteen and an omega's daughter on the lowest rung of a small pack. I apprenticed to the healers because no one else would have me. I had no idea who I was. I just wore it.Seven years ago, it broke.…It was Midsummer. And the northeastern packs had gathered at Blackthorn for the yearly feast. Every Alph

ELEANOR'S POVThe noise in the lounge seemed to drain away all at once. I watched through the open door as Dominic carried Vivian down the hall. And the corners of my mouth curled with nothing but mockery."Ellie, he's just impulsive. Please don't be made at him."Callum raked his fingers through his hair, frowning. As he spoke in a guilty, evasive voice. Ever since he had learned that Dominic and Vivian had secretly registered their marriage behind my back. He had been wracked with guilt. Now he could barely look me in the eye."Honestly, I don't think Vivian should be here at all," Finn snorted. His round baby face full of disdain. "Back then, Dom lost both legs trying to save her, and his father drove him out to that old estate like a dog. And she got on a plane to Paris without a shred of guilt. Now that he's walking again and the company's thriving, she shows up. It's obvious she's come to steal him from you.""I never liked her. Even when they first got together, I had a feeling

ELEANOR'S POVDominic's roar echoed down the dim corridor. The murky light fell across his face, making him look ferocious and frightening."Dom, you need to calm down. There must be some sort of misunderstanding somewhere. I'm sure of that. Ellie would never ds something like that." Callum stood beside him, pale, looking at me with worried eyes. I stood less than a meter away.The light was behind me, so he couldn't see my expression. All he could do was keep making frantic faces, silently begging me to explain."Ellie may not be that kind of person, but she definitely has the guts for it." Finn said suddenly. His round baby face lit up with enthusiasm. "Remember when Dom got cheated by that business partner? Ellie marched into the other pack's headquarters by herself. She put the guy's head through a glass table. She'd do anything for Dom."Dominic's face, rigid with rage, cracked slightly at Finn's words.Callum closed his eyes. "..."He turned and glared at Finn, turning even pale

ELEANOR'S POVI let out a breath. There was no use hiding now.I licked my dry lips, stood slowly, opened the stall door, and stepped out."Why are you here?!" Vivian demanded. "Did you come in on purpose to eavesdrop on my call?"Suspicion sharpened her pale face. Her brows drew tight.I lowered my lashes and dug a finger into my ear, unhurried. "If I said I didn't mean to, would you believe me?""What do you think?" Her grip whitened around the makeup bag, and a vein stood out on her forehead. "Don't you love peeking into my life?""When did I ever peek into your life?"I narrowed my eyes and took a few steps closer. "Believe it or not, I didn't want to listen to your argument...""You read my Instagram every single day, don't you?"She cut me off with a sneer, lifting her chin in mock pity. "You already knew Dom and I registered our marriage. So why are you still clinging to him? Do you enjoy stealing another woman's husband that much? Or do you want to marry into a wealthy family