Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 40: New Beginnings ~ Alex POV ~The elevator hums beneath my feet as it carries me to the thirty-second floor. Same building, same office, but everything feels different now. A year ago, I would've checked my phone three times during this twenty-second ride, firing off emails or scanning stock reports. Today, my hands stay in my pockets.The doors slide open with a soft ding. Austin's already at the conference table, spreading architectural blueprints across the polished surface. He looks up when I enter, and for a split second, I catch that familiar spark in his eyes. The one that used to light up whenever he had a new idea."Morning," I say, setting my coffee down beside his. Black for me, cream and sugar for him. Some things never change."Morning." He straightens, rolling his shoulders. "Ready for this?"I move around to his side of the table, studying the blueprints. The proposed community center stretches across three city blocks. Art studios on the ground floor. Youth programs on the second. A ga
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-28
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 39: Rebuilding Brotherhood & Lessons Learned THREE MONTHS LATER~ Alex POV~"You're actually going to eat that whole thing?"I look up from my plate of pancakes to find Austin grinning at me across the diner table, syrup dripping from his fork. It's been three months since Isabella left, and this is the first time we've done this. Just breakfast. Just brothers. No agenda, no business meeting disguised as family time."Says the guy who ordered enough bacon to feed half of Manhattan." I cut another piece, savoring the simple pleasure of eating something that doesn't cost fifty dollars and come with a wine pairing. "Remember when we used to do this in college? That place near campus with the terrible coffee and the waitress who always called us 'hon'?""Millie's." Austin's smile turns nostalgic. "She'd mix up our orders every single time and then insist we were wrong about what we'd asked for.""And we'd just eat whatever she brought because arguing with her was impossible.""Still is, probably." Austin takes a sip of his coffee, m
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-28
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 38: Isabella's New Life ~Isabella POV~I press my forehead against the cool airplane window and watch Manhattan shrink beneath me, all those glittering towers becoming toy blocks in a child's playroom. The city that almost broke me is just geography now, lines on a map, coordinates that exist in my rearview mirror.My phone buzzes one last time before we reach altitude. A message from Tessa: "San Francisco better treat you right, or I'm flying out there to kick some West Coast ass."I smile despite the tightness in my chest. Despite the way my fingers keep reaching for the empty space where my engagement ring used to sit before I remembered I never had one. Never would have one, not from either of them.The woman next to me is reading a romance novel, something with a shirtless man on the cover and a title involving the word "billionaire." I want to tell her it's all lies. That real billionaires don't sweep you off your feet and carry you into the sunset. They make you choose between pieces of your heart unt
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-27
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 37: Aria's Wisdom ~ Alex POV ~The elevator doors slide open with their familiar whisper, and I step into the penthouse foyer where Mom is arranging white orchids in a crystal vase. Her movements are precise, practiced, the kind of ritual she uses to center herself when the world gets messy."Alex." She doesn't look up, but there's something lighter in her voice today. Something I haven't heard in weeks. "How did it go at the gallery?"I loosen my tie, letting the silk slip through my fingers. "Nora was there. Packing Isabella's things.""Good." Mom sets down the orchid she's holding and finally meets my eyes. There's no sympathy there, no maternal concern about my broken heart. Instead, there's something that looks almost like... relief. "It's time."The bluntness catches me off guard. I expected questions, maybe gentle probing about how I'm handling Isabella's departure. Not this calm acceptance that borders on satisfaction."Mom...""Where's Austin?" She moves to the window, her silk dress catching
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-26
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 36: Nora's Visit ~ Nora POV ~I shove Isabella's sketchbooks into the cardboard box with more force than necessary, the sharp corner catching my thumb. Blood wells up, bright and immediate, but I don't stop packing. Can't stop. If I stop moving, I might actually scream at the pristine walls of this gallery office that's become Isabella's prison.The afternoon light slants through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting everything in that golden glow that makes rich people think their lives are touched by magic. But all I see are shadows. All I smell is expensive perfume lingering in the air from some client meeting, mixed with the chemical tang of fresh paint and the bitter scent of Isabella's barely touched coffee growing cold on her desk.Another sketchbook goes into the box. Then another. Each one filled with her dreams, her vision, her talent that these people have been using like a pretty ornament for their empire.The door opens behind me, and I don't need to turn around to know who it is. The air
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-25
Chapter: BOOK 3 - Chapter 35: The Aftermath **Alex POV**The elevator ride down feels like the longest forty-seven floors of my life.Austin's standing next to me, hands shoved deep in his pockets, staring at the digital display like it holds the secrets of the universe. Neither of us has said a word since we left Isabella's apartment. What is there to say? We just broke the heart of the woman we both love, and we did it together.The irony isn't lost on me. It took losing her to find each other again."You think we did the right thing?" Austin's voice is quiet, almost lost in the hum of the elevator.I don't answer right away. The right thing. Such a simple concept, but nothing about this situation has been simple. "I think we did the only thing.""That's not the same thing.""No. It's not."The elevator dings, and the doors slide open to reveal the marble lobby of Isabella's building. A few photographers are still camped outside, their cameras ready to capture any sign of scandal. They perk up when they see us, but I keep my
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-24
Chapter: Chapter 23: Shattered Walls (Continued) The sound of the front door slamming shut echoes through the marble halls like a gunshot. I freeze in the library, my fingers gripping the spine of a book I'd been pretending to read for the past hour.He's back.Heavy footsteps pound against the floor—uneven, stumbling. Something crashes. Glass shatters. A string of curses in rapid Sicilian fills the air, words so vicious they make my skin crawl.*Don't go to him.*But my feet are already moving.I find Luca in his study, standing over the ruins of what used to be a crystal decanter. Blood drips from his knuckles onto the Persian carpet. His white shirt—or what's left of it—hangs in tatters, soaked crimson across his chest and shoulders."Jesus Christ." The words slip out before I can stop them.His head snaps up. Wild eyes lock onto mine, pupils dilated with something that might be pain or rage or both. "Get out."I don't move. Can't move. Because i am finally getting use to Luca mixed emotions, Today he might be Sweet, calm and Lov
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-07
Chapter: Chapter 22: Shattered Walls "Three years, Luca. Three fucking years."I'm pacing the marble floor of our bedroom, my heels clicking like gunshots. He's sitting on the edge of the bed, still in his tuxedo from tonight's event, watching me with those unreadable dark eyes."Elena—""Don't." I whip around to face him. "Don't you dare try to explain this away. I met her tonight and you even came over saw us together. Your beautiful, perfect mistress who knows more about you than your own wife."He stands slowly, and there's something dangerous in the way he moves. Predatory. "What exactly did Bianca tell you?""That you've been lovers for three years. That you dream about me." My voice cracks on the last part, and I hate myself for it. "That I should watch out for your uncle." I said angrily not even caring about anything coming out of my mouth.His expression goes cold. Arctic. "She said what about Matteo?""Answer my question first." I step closer, close enough to see the muscle ticking in his jaw. "Is it true? Abo
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-06
Chapter: Chapter 21: The Other Woman *At House Party*I'm adjusting the clasp on my earring when she walks into the powder room. Red lips, black hair swept into a chignon that probably cost more than most people's rent. She moves like she owns every room she enters.Which, apparently, she does."You must be the wife."Her voice carries the kind of smoky confidence that comes from never having to wonder if you belong somewhere. I catch her reflection in the mirror—perfect posture, designer everything, and eyes that are cataloging my every flaw."and who the fuck are you to banged into my bedroom without even knocking?" I yelled at her"Bianca Russo." She steps closer, and I catch her perfume—something expensive and sultry. "Though I suppose Luca hasn't mentioned me."The name hits like a slap. I've heard whispers, seen the way certain women at these events watch my husband with knowing looks. But having her standing here, flesh and blood and gorgeous, makes it real in a way that churns my stomach."Should he have?"She la
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-05
Chapter: Chapter 20: Secret Messages I woke to the sound of water running in the bathroom.Luca's side of the bed was already cold, the sheets barely wrinkled where his body had been. Like he'd been careful not to disturb the space between us, even in sleep.The shower shut off. I lay perfectly still, feigning sleep, as he moved around the room with practiced silence. The soft whisper of fabric. The quiet click of his watch clasp. The barely audible brush of leather soles on marble.He paused at the foot of the bed.I could feel his gaze on me, heavy and unreadable. My skin still bore the marks of his hands, his mouth. Evidence of what we'd done in the dark, when anger and desire had finally consumed us both.But morning light had a way of making everything seem like a mistake.The bedroom door closed with a soft click.No words. No acknowledgment of what had shifted between us. Just silence and the lingering scent of his cologne on the pillow beside me.I pressed my face into the silk, breathing him in despite myself, a
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-04
Chapter: Chapter 19: Dangerous Attraction ~ few days later ~“Everyday one dinner to the other, am getting tired already. I whispered to Luca.He didn’t even utter a single word as he dragged me downstairs for the dinner. The Rosselini dinner was supposed to be routine business.I sat beside Luca at the mahogany table, the tracking necklace heavy against my throat—a constant reminder of Marcella's surveillance. But I'd learned to use it. Let her listen. Let her think she had control.Sometimes the best weapon was the one your enemy thought they held."The shipping routes through Naples need restructuring," Rosselini was saying, his thick fingers wrapped around a wine glass. "Too much attention from the authorities."Luca nodded, but I caught the slight tension in his shoulders. He didn't trust Rosselini completely. Smart man."I would begin teaching my wife our legitimate shipping concerns," Luca said smoothly. "Perhaps you could discuss the details with her."I looked at him shocked, speechless. Don’t even know what to say.
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-04
Chapter: Chapter 18: Poisoned Gift After what happened early this morning, I went to sleep without even bothering or caring about Luca. That demon deserves to be sad for believing a mere rumor about my father.Before I could get up from the bed, Maria walked in with a silver tray which contains a necklace and my usual morning coffee.I stared at it through the steam rising from my cup, the antique pearls catching the Mediterranean light streaming through the breakfast room windows. Delicate. Expensive. Beautiful.Wrong."From Signora Valenti," Maria said, setting down the card with careful fingers. Like she was handling a snake.*Oh maybe they must had called her after hearing Luca sobbing at his study room* I thought to myself The cream cardstock bore Marcella's elegant script: *For the newest Valenti woman, since I haven’t gave you a gift since you married my son. May you wear our family's legacy with the honor it deserves.*My stomach clenched. Nothing from Marcella came without poison.I lifted the necklace, feeli
Huling Na-update: 2025-07-03
Chapter: 76The library had settled into its usual afternoon lull, the air thick with the musty scent of aging paper and the soft rustle of turning pages. Lila sat hunched over her laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard as she transcribed her latest research notes. So engrossed was she in her work that she failed to notice the looming presence approaching her table until a shadow fell across her screen.Glancing up with a start, Lila found herself face to face with Caleb's towering bulk. Her muscles tensed instinctively, body coiling as if readying for fight or flight. The last encounter with this lumbering bully still burned fresh in her memory - his sneering disdain, the casual cruelty as he'd snatched away her notebook filled with painstaking calculations and schematics.But something was... off. Instead of the usual sneer twisting his features, Caleb's expression seemed almost sheepish. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his varsity jacket as he r
Huling Na-update: 2024-07-15
Chapter: 75The echoing silence stretched unbearably as Caleb's hulking form loomed over Lila. She remained frozen, muscles coiled tightly, awaiting the inevitable belittling remark or physical intimidation tactic from the lumbering brute.Instead of lashing out verbally, Caleb simply stared her down, pale eyes drilling into her with an intense, unblinking glare. The seconds ticked by agonizingly until Lila had to fight the urge to squirm under his domineering scrutiny. Finally, he broke the oppressive silence by jutting his thick neck forward, the cords of muscle straining beneath his skin as he fixed her with a callous sneer."Give it here," he growled, the gravelly timbre of his voice reverberating through the stillness.Lila's brow furrowed slightly as she met his imperious glare, refusing to be cowed so easily despite her growing trepidation. She tilted her head in an exaggerated questioning expression.Caleb responded by leaning down until his meaty face filled her field of vision, hot bur
Huling Na-update: 2024-07-15
Chapter: 74The library had settled into an industrious hush, the only sounds the occasional creak of chair legs against tile or the muffled clacking of Lila's fingers flying across her laptop's keyboard. Dylan pored over a sheaf of printouts, lips pursing in concentration as he made notations in the margins with a stubby pencil.Mia broke the silence with a jaw-cracking yawn, slumping back in her chair as she stretched her arms overhead. "Well, I don't know about you two, but my brain feels like an overstuffed piñata about to burst after cramming in all those thermospheric equilibrium models."Lila shot her a sidelong glance, the ghost of a smirk playing about her lips as her hands articulated a response. Dylan watched the deft weaving of her fingers with a hint of envy, wishing he could fully grasp the nuanced expressiveness of that rich, silent language.Mia snorted, translating Lila's gestures with a rakish grin. "She says no one ever claimed saving the world would be easy, especially when th
Huling Na-update: 2024-07-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 73CHAPTER 73Mia studied a stack of printouts and sketchy diagrams, her brow wrinkled with concentration. Lila's fingers flew across the screen of her laptop with fluid ease, signing a complicated stream of gestures interspersed by brief bursts of typing. Dylan watched the spectacle with a genuine sense of pleasure and satisfaction. Just a short time ago, this ragged company was on the verge of implosion, split between petty power battles and pointless outbursts of ideological grandstanding. However, once their focus moved to actual, concrete goals in pursuit of the Scholsemann Sustainability Scholarship, a perceptible rebirth of synergy emerged.Dylan felt the same explosive spark that had first attracted them together rekindle as he assessed his co-conspirators' single-minded focus on the mission at hand. He cleared his throat, the gravelly rasp cutting through the charged silence like a tuning fork vibration. "Alright, people - I think it's time we regroup and see what kind of big-
Huling Na-update: 2024-05-31
Chapter: CHAPTER 72CHAPTER 72***NEXT DAY AT SCHOOL ***The library's hushed ambiance felt like a taut wire, barely containing the simmering tensions that crackled between them. Lila swept her gaze across the secluded study nook, taking stock of her unlikely crew bound together by shared trauma and a singular purpose.Mia radiated tightly-coiled fury, her lithe frame tensed like a spring awaiting release. Though defiant fire still burned in those dark eyes, the mottled bruises marring her skin served as a visceral reminder of the price they'd paid for resistance. Beside her, Dylan settled into his chair with measured movements, as if afraid any sudden gestures might rekindle the powderkeg hostilities. His jaw was clenched, eyes tracking the others with a wariness born of recent betrayals.The heavy tread of boots against tile announced Caleb's arrival. The towering jock swaggered in exuding nonchalant arrogance, but the corded muscles bunching along his thick neck betrayed the menacing undercurrent sim
Huling Na-update: 2024-05-15
Chapter: CHAPTER 71CHAPTER 71The front door let out a deep, familiar groan of protest as Lila shouldered it open and stepped across the threshold into the Hawthorne home. The entrance stretched out in front of her, tiny but neat, a true reflection of her father's practical principles and workmanlike pride.She scuffed her trainers against the bristly welcome mat, releasing the grit and debris that had gathered throughout the day on their rubber soles. The regular shucking noises resonated hollowly along the front hall, as Lila went about her daily practice of making herself at home.Her backpack thudded on the floor with a muffled whump, spreading its contents in a tangled sprawl of notebooks, textbooks and stray pens. She'd worry about resolving that issue later; for now, the enticing draw of escape into the digital ether called with its siren song of consequence-free distraction.Lila retrieved her smartphone from the chaos, flicking her thumb across the lockscreen in a single practiced flick. The sc
Huling Na-update: 2024-05-13
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