Novels by Golden Ji

Chapter 27 MaddieMy entire body froze.For a moment, I couldn't understand what I was seeing.Freddie.Standing beside Camden's hospital bed.Holding a knife.My eyes moved from the knife to his face, hoping I was wrong.Hoping there was some kind of explanation.But the look in his eyes told me everything.He wasn't here to apologize.He wasn't here because he cared."What are you doing here?"My voice came out shaking.Freddie slowly turned toward me.His expression changed the moment he saw me.Surprise.Then anger.Then something I couldn't understand."Maddie..."I stepped back."Don't."My hand tightened around the door handle."Don't say my name like you still have the right to."His jaw tightened."This isn't what it looks like."I looked at the knife in his hand.A bitter laugh escaped my lips."Really?"My eyes filled with tears."Then explain it to me, Freddie."Silence."You came into a hospital room in the middle of the night, while your father is injured, and you're h

Chapter 26Maddie"Camden!"My voice broke as his body stumbled.For a second, everything stopped.The shouting.The movement.The panic.Everything.All I could see was him.The man who always stood in front of me.The man who protected me when I had nothing.Now he was falling in front of me.I rushed forward and grabbed him before he hit the floor."Camden, look at me."His face had gone pale, but he was still conscious.His eyes opened slightly."Maddie..."His voice was weak."Are you hurt?"I stared at him in disbelief.Even now.Even after being shot.His first question was about me."No, I'm fine."My hands trembled as I pressed them against his shoulder."But you're not."Blood was spreading through his shirt.I felt fear rise in my chest.A fear I didn't want to admit.The thought of losing him terrified me."Kenzo!" I screamed.Within seconds, he appeared."Get the car ready. Now!""Yes, ma'am."The guards moved quickly while Kenzo helped lift Camden.But before they could

Chapter 25CamdenFor years, I believed I had buried my past.I believed the man responsible for destroying everything I cared about was gone.Dead.But now he was standing right in front of me.Alive.Smiling.Like he hadn't spent years hiding.My fingers tightened into a fist as I stared at him.No one moved.Not even the guards.Because they were just as shocked as I was."Maddie's father was right," the old man said with a mocking smile. "You really have changed, Camden."My eyes narrowed."You have no right to call my name."His smile faded slightly."Still angry after all these years?"Angry?That word wasn't enough.The man standing in front of me was the reason I lost my mother.The reason Elena was gone.The reason my entire life was built on lies."You should be dead."The words left my mouth coldly.He laughed."That's what everyone believed."Maddie looked between us, confused."Camden..."I looked at her.She deserved answers.But she also deserved protection.I stepped

Chapter 24 MaddieThe room became too quiet.So quiet that I could hear my own heartbeat.Everyone was looking at me.Clara.Kenzo.And most importantly...Camden.His face was unreadable, but I noticed something I had never seen before.Fear.Not anger.Not confidence.Fear.My fingers tightened around the letter.My mother's words were still in my head.*"The person who saved you is the one you should fear."*And now I was standing in front of the same man who saved me.The man who found me in the rain.The man who protected me.The man who gave me a new life.My husband."Camden..."My voice came out weak.He didn't move."Maddie."His voice was low."Listen to me."I looked down at the letter."My mother knew you?"Silence.That silence hurt more than any answer."Did she?"I looked at him again."Did my mother know you before she died?"His jaw tightened.Then he slowly nodded."Yes."My heart sank.Clara gasped softly."You knew Elena?"Camden looked at her."Yes."I stepped ba

Chapter 23 MaddieI couldn't move.I just stood there, staring at the woman in front of me.My aunt.My mother's sister.A person I never knew existed.How was that possible?My whole life, I believed I knew everything about my mother. Every memory I had of her was precious because there were so few.But now, one by one, people were appearing from her past.Adrian.Her secrets.And now...A sister."You're lying."The words left my mouth before I could stop them.The woman flinched.A painful expression crossed her face."I expected you to say that."My eyes narrowed."Because my mother never told me about you."Silence filled the room.Camden stood beside me, his hand still holding mine.I could feel his thumb gently moving over my skin, trying to calm me down.But nothing could calm me.Not anymore."Why should I believe you?"The woman's eyes filled with tears."Because I knew your first word."I froze."What?"She smiled sadly."Elena told me everything about you."She stepped cl

Chapter 22 MaddieFor a few seconds, I couldn't understand what I had just heard.The words kept repeating in my head.**It was your mother.**No.That couldn't be true.Not my mother.Not Elena.The woman who held me when I cried.The woman who sang to me when I was little.The woman who made me believe I was loved.My eyes moved between Camden and Odora.Neither of them spoke.Neither of them denied it.And that scared me."Take it back."My voice shook.Odora looked at me sadly."Maddie...""I said take it back."Tears filled my eyes."You don't get to stand there and destroy the only good memory I have left."My chest tightened."My mother was the only person who loved me."Silence.Then Odora sighed."I know.""No, you don't."I wiped my tears angrily."You don't know what she meant to me."Odora lowered her gaze."And that's why this hurts."I stared at her."What are you talking about?"She took a deep breath."Elena loved you."My heart softened for a second."Then why are y