Novel-novel oleh Allura.Shaletta

"Hey!"Feeling the gentle caress on his strong jawline, Arthur tried to open his eyes. Still overwhelmed by sleepiness, he reached for the slender waist of the woman who seemed to be resting against his chest—only for his eyes to suddenly narrow sharply as he realized who was actually with him."What the hell is this?!"His heart stopped in an instant. Arthur woke with a pounding head and a mouth dry as ash. He blinked blearily, only to see Reyna lying beside him beneath the sheets, smiling like a cat that had just devoured the canary."You were amazing last night," she said casually, brushing her fingers through her hair. "I didn’t think you had it in you. I like it!"Shaking his head, Arthur then changed his position. With no clothes clinging to his body and the body of the woman beside him, he had expected it. But he quickly tried to deny it. "I don't understand. What are you talking about? How did you get here? And where are we now?!""You don’t remember?" Reyna asked with a tilt

Hearing those words, Arthur shook his head as if denying a truth too painful to accept. He took a step forward, reaching out to grab the wrist of the woman standing before him, but Athena had already stepped back, her eyes silently pleading with him—don’t."We’re over, Arthur. I’m sorry I never got to say goodbye back then. I just… I couldn’t bear to see you hurting and—""And falling apart!" Arthur cut her off sharply, running a hand over his face, overwhelmed. "Goodbye or not, I still felt it! Every inch of it! Don’t you see that?""I’m sorry. I just…""Why?" His voice cracked, raw with pain, as she struggled to find her words. "Why him? Why choose him over me? Hasn’t he done enough? Hasn’t he already broken you, made your life hell, and—""Enough! Please!"Arthur shook his head again, this time more desperately. His eyes locked onto the woman in front of him, her body trembling as she sobbed—just like him, if not even more heartbreakingly.How did it come to this? What made her giv

Throughout the ride, Arthur couldn’t shake his assistant’s words from his mind. Every part of them rang true. No matter how much time passed, Leon, Crystal, and Caroline would never let him or Athena live their lives in peace. They would never be satisfied, not even now when he and the woman he loved were already suffering under the weight of their cruelty.If they truly had joined forces to weave this trap around him, especially with Reyna relentlessly working to tear him away from Athena, he genuinely didn’t know what else he could do. If Athena were still by his side, none of this would feel so overwhelming. He wouldn’t be lost like this, drifting without direction, weak and broken, like a man abandoned for days in a barren, merciless desert."Sir... it seems your persistence has finally paid off."His assistant’s voice pulled him back from the chaos in his mind. Arthur snapped his gaze forward, eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of a woman stepping out of a taxi. Her face was h

"Mr. James! Did you just meet with Mrs. Athena inside? Has she returned? What’s your response to the rumors claiming that Mrs. Athena intentionally dropped her charges against Mr. Leon to reunite with her ex-husband?""Yes, Mr. James! As the person closest to her these past few months, surely you have something to say. Is the news true? Please, Mr. James, we've been struggling to reach her!""Yes, is your visit today connected to all this? Are you planning to cut ties and cancel your company's collaborations with hers out of disappointment? Rumor has it you only pursued the partnership to get close to her. Do you now feel betrayed, Mr. James? Played for a fool?"The flood of questions rained down without pause, each word sharpened by the blinding flash of camera lights. Stepping out of the Athena family’s corporate building, Arthur James hadn't anticipated the swarm of reporters that awaited him, hungry for a headline.Who had tipped them off? And how had the rumors spiraled so viciou

"Sorry..."Not far from the city's chaos, in a modest apartment tucked inside a quiet complex, Athena sat curled in a chair by the window.She had rented the place under a false name, using forged documents—anything to disappear. She knew Arthur would look for her, and that was exactly why she had to vanish. It was the only way to protect both him and Reyna from more pain."I'm sorry, prince. I'm so sorry," she whispered again, though the words barely reached her ears anymore.Tears welled as she hugged her knees to her chest, forehead pressed to the cool glass. The world outside carried on—cars passing, voices rising—but none of it touched her.The ache wasn’t just emotional anymore. It lived in her body now—tight in her chest, heavy in her limbs. Across the street, a couple walked hand in hand. The man leaned in to adjust the woman’s scarf, s

The rain didn’t fall that night, but the sky remained gray as if it understood that someone was lost in the deafening silence.In the room that once echoed with laughter, Arthur sat alone. The chandelier's dim light reflected dully in his lifeless brown eyes. His fingers gripped his phone tightly, as though he were holding on to the last pieces of hope, now almost completely shattered.Athena’s name was still displayed on the screen. And just like so many times before, there was no answer. He took a deep breath, trying to push down the tightness in his chest while replaying every memory he had of her."Ah, that tickles! Let me go!"That voice still sounded so soft in his ears—the way she giggled as he kept kissing her neck. The echo of her laughter was something he could never forget. Her gaze and her smile always warmed his heart, as if he could still feel them now."Where are you now?" he murmured, barely audible. "Why did you have to leave without a word? Didn’t you say you loved s