Chapter: chapter 121Ryan's POV.I had never hated the walls of my office more. The glass and the slick modern lines, they all seemed to mock me, reflecting back the face of a man who had failed on every possible level. Cairo stood across from me, her arms clutched tightly around her waist. Her eyes were wide and glossy. “Ryan.. please I can explain” Cairo begged and I shoved the thick manila folder across the desk so hard that it skidded and almost fell off.Photos, print out of chat logs, and money transfer receipts spilled out. The evidence was the damn proof that Cairo had collided with Mia and Levi to ruin Isabella on what was supposed to be our happiest day.“You disgust me” I said, my voice frighteningly calm. The rage in my chest was volcanic and bubbling just under the surface. “How long were you working with them? How long were you laughing behind my back when you destroyed the only woman I have ever-”I stopped myself right in time because I wasn't giving Cairo that satisfaction. She tried t
Last Updated: 2025-08-01
Chapter: chapter 120Isabella's POV.Coming back home felt strange after everything that had happened in India. The fear, the surgery, and the quiet miracle of waking up again. The house seemed almost too still and I paused by the front door, just breathing in the familiar scent of vanilla.“Welcome home Mrs Westwood” Declan said as he squeezed my hand in his and I smiled at him though my smile trembled at the corner of my lips.“It feels like a lifetime ago that I just walked through this door,” I said.“And it is still yours. It is ours and it will always be” he said and he pulled me into his arms and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. I leaned into him as I closed my eyes and in that moment everything else fell away, the scandals, the surgeries, and the nightmares. It was just us.“Whatever happens now. I am fighting this war with you, the Genovese name, Mia's lies, the vultures waiting for a story. I don't care because I am right here” Declan whispered against my hair.A tear slipped down my cheek bu
Last Updated: 2025-07-31
Chapter: chapter 119Mia's POV.I didn't know how long I had been sitting on the floor of my bedroom. My phone was clutched so tightly in my hand that it felt extremely painful for me but I couldn't stop holding onto it, it was like the only life support I had at that moment.The screen of my phone glowed with the headline that felt like a knife pressed to my throat.DNA SCANDAL: MIA GENOVESE EXPOSED- NOT THE REAL DAUGHTER OF THE GENOVESE DYNASTY.There were other words beneath it. Bastard, fraud, scandal swirling together until my vision got blurred.I wanted to scream or run. Or claw at my own skin, but instead I just start there frozen.I didn't know. I didn't know what to do at that moment. A choked sob forced its way up my throat.This couldn't be true. It couldn't be, my entire life and the parties, the legacy, and the way people looked at me was because I was a Genovese. If I wasn't, then who the hell was I?Before I could stop myself, I was on my feet, grabbing my purse and keys with shaking hands
Last Updated: 2025-07-28
Chapter: chapter 118Isabella's POV.I clutched the edge of the hospital bed as I swung my legs over the side, my breath was shallow. Three days ago I had been wheeled into surgery with odds so cruel that still made my stomach twist.Now I was here, my feet touching the cold floor of a hospital room in India, trying to remember what it felt like to stand on my own. Declan was instantly by my side, his hand gripping my elbow like he thought I might shatter. Honestly, I probably looked like it. My skin was pale, and my arms were thin after weeks of illness and fear. But when I caught his worried eyes, something inside of me hardened.“I have survived worse” I teased softly, even though we both knew that that was a lie. Nothing had ever been this close to the edge.“Baby” he murmured, bending to press his forehead to mine, “I need you to stop trying to act so damn strong. It is okay to lean on me” “I know” I whispered, And I did. More than ever.The doctor came inside with a smiling face as he handed Decl
Last Updated: 2025-07-28
Chapter: chapter 117Declan's POV.The plane touched down in Delhi just as the sun was breaking across the horizon. The light caught Isabella's pale face as she leaned against me.Her eyes were closed, but I knew she wasn't asleep. She hadn't truly rested in days. Neither had I. When the wheels screeched on the runway, my stomach twisted. This was it, the beginning of the biggest gamble of our lives. Either I would take her home, alive and smiling, or I swallowed hard. I couldn't even finish that thought. The hospital's driver was waiting for us at the airport. I kept Isabella tucked close to my side as we walked to the car, my hand was pressed against her back to give her that reassurance that I was still with her and I was never going anywhere without her. I could feel how fragile she was beneath my palm. Every few steps I took towards the front, I would glance down and search her face for signs that she might faint again. But she only managed to smile at me forcibly, I knew she was weak but there wa
Last Updated: 2025-07-26
Chapter: chapter 116Declan's POV.I had faced boardrooms of billionaires, rooms full of cutthroats politicians, entire nations waiting on my every word. But none of this was compared to the swamp of whispers buzzing through the gala hall tonight.Isabella's sickness had leaked and when I asked my sources to trace where the information leaked from, it all pointed at Levi and Cairo.By the time we arrived at the gala, the crowd was already feeding on the information like vultures. I could see it in their sideways glances, the way some of them paused mid-way to murmur behind raised champagne flutes.Isabella stood beside me in a sapphire gown that clung to her delicate body, her shoulders were properly positioned. But her hand in mine was trembling. “Ignore them and let me handle this” I whispered, squeezing her fingers. Her eyes met mine but they were widened and uncertain. God, I loved that look so much on her. That vulnerable trust and it made me want to burn the whole world down just to keep her safe.
Last Updated: 2025-07-24
Chapter: chapter 246"I actually believed that we would eventually have to take sides.” Marcus could vividly recall the memories. He had been friends with Haven since high school, witnessing his journey through a painful breakup with his college girlfriend, who had betrayed him by getting involved with his roommate. Smoothly flowing friendship marked by shared experiences and challenges. The betrayal had caused Haven to build walls so high that they appeared insurmountable. His innate warmth and optimism were buried beneath layers of protective cynicism. When Fiona first re-introduced Alexis to their friend group few months ago, Marcus noticed the same wounded walls in her. Fresh from calling off her engagement to a man who had gradually tried to suppress her sparkle, in an effort to control her better, Alexis was portraying a demeanor characterized by sharp edges and cautious aloofness. Haven and Alexis moved around each other cautiously, like two wary cats, drawn to each other yet filled with insecurit
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
Chapter: chapter 245The park seemed hushed, only the little giggles from the children playing and the jogging steps from around the park seemed to be the only sound apart from the heartbeat of both Haven and Alexis. Haven and Alexis sat across from each other, their gazes locked. Time seemed to stand still as they simply were, their presence filling the space with a quiet intensity. Haven's heart pounded in his chest. He’d never felt this way about anyone before. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time, every detail, every nuance, striking him with a fresh sense of wonder. Her eyes, a deep, captivating brown, held a universe of emotions. He could get lost in them for hours, exploring the depths of her soul. Alexis, too, was lost in the moment. She felt a warmth spreading through her, a comforting familiarity that she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Haven’s gaze was steady and kind, a stark contrast to the chaos that often surrounded her. In his eyes, she saw acceptance, understanding, and
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
Chapter: chapter 244Haven's throat was fixed. He knew precisely what she meant—how they had both lost themselves in the splits and cleft of their fizzled marriage, getting to be individuals they didn’t recognize. "Do you ever think," he said, his voice scarcely capable of being heard, "about what us?" Alexis gave him a sidelong look, her expression softening. "All the time." They fell into a pensive quiet, the kind that comes as it were when two individuals share a history as well complicated for words. "I think," Alexis began gradually, "we were trying so hard to be what we thought the other needed that we overlooked to be ourselves." Haven gestured, her words resounding deeply. "No doubt. I thought I had to be this culminating supplier, continuously solid, continuously in control. But I wasn't truly letting you in. I see that now." "And I kept trying to be this perfect spouse," Alexis included with a little, self-deprecating snicker. "I needed to demonstrate that I was enough, that I coul
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
Chapter: chapter 243Alexis let out a little, severe giggle. “I never stopped caring, Haven. That’s the problem.” The genuineness in her voice cut through him like a knife, more sharp than any offended she may have tossed his way. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “If you never stopped caring, why did you leave?” She hesitated, her expression tormented. “Because I was tired of waiting for you to choose me.” Haven felt the air leaving his lungs as if she had punched him. “What are you talking about? I was continuously there.” “You were physically there,” Alexis whispered, “but your heart was someplace else. Continuously working, continuously building. I needed more than that.” He closed his eyes, blaming wrapping around him like chains. He had worked himself to the bone to donate them both a great life, believing it would be enough. But in the process, he had missed the foremost vital thing—her. “I thought I was doing it for us,” he said, his voice overwhelming with lament.
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
Chapter: chapter 242A minute, the walls around her heart trembling but not very falling. Perhaps, just perhaps, she might take another step. “Yeah,” she said unobtrusively. “I think I do.” Haven leaned back in his leather chair, checking the numbers on his laptop screen with a tired but fulfilled smile. Business was good, better than ever, in reality. Growing his firm had been one of the most risky choices of his life, but the payoff had surpassed his expectations. However, even in the midst of his proficient victory, a gloomy hurt remained underneath the surface, one that wasn’t so effortlessly relieved by benefits and development charts. He tapped a number of keys to distract himself and ran a hand down his face. He had a whole lot to do on his plate for the upcoming investors meeting that could serve as a major boost for the future of his company. His company that suffered a downgrade after the divorce with Alexis was slowly getting recognized and becoming a better version of itself.Outside the wide
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
Chapter: chapter 241She moved awkwardly in her seat, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s easier that way. In case you don’t expect anything, you can’t get hurt.” Dr. Patel inclined forward marginally, her hands resting on the armrests of her chair. “It sounds like you’ve built walls around yourself to secure against dissatisfaction. But those walls also make it difficult for people to associate with you, don't they?” Alexis collapsed her arms firmly over her chest. “Yeah, well. it’s not like anyone’s trying that hard, anyway.” “Do you think that’s true?” Dr. Patel inquired tenderly. “Or is that something you tell yourself since it feels safer?” Alexis looked absent, jaw fixing. “What difference does it make? They give up inevitably. Friends, boyfriends. everybody. It continuously happens.” Dr. Patel let a minute of hush hang between them before she spoke. “Tell me about your last relationship.” Alexis moaned, rubbing her sanctuaries. “Do we have to?” “I think it could help us learn mor
Last Updated: 2025-01-14
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