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~096~ THE LOVE OF A FATHER
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2026-08-01 22:39:15
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100 Days With My Nemesis ~096~ THE LOVE OF A FATHER
MARCELLUS Celine arrives just after noon. I know because the security monitor beside the sitting-room door lights up, showing a black car moving slowly through the gates. Nora sits beside me on the couch, her thigh pressed against mine. One of her hands rests over my wrist."You can still change your mind," she says, and I shake my head.Her fingers tighten slightly. I stare at the screen as the car stops near the entrance. A driver steps out first. Then Celine.She is wearing a pale blue dress beneath a long coat. Her hair is pulled into a low knot, but the wind has loosened several strands around her face. She looks frightened.She should be. The front door opens a minute later. Celine steps into the sitting room and freezes.Her eyes land on me first. Then the brace around my leg. Her face crumples."Marcellus."I grip the arm of the couch. "Sit."She does. The chair across from us is several feet away. Two security guards stand outside the room. Celine places her purse ca
100 Days With My Nemesis ~095~ HAZARDOUS
MARCELLUS "I'll send you my address," I say and she sniffles.This is unbearably awkward."Oh God. Thank you. Marcellus, thank you—"I reach over and hang up. The room goes quiet. Nora is staring at me."What?" I mutter.She gives me the look. The one that says she has already found me guilty and is only waiting to hear how badly I intend to embarrass myself during sentencing."You knew," she says.I lean back against the pillows. "Celine is not my mother.""She literally just announced it while crying hard enough to flood the city."I look towards the dark window. "I don't need a mother."Nora's anger softens, which somehow makes me feel worse. I look down at my hands."I needed one when I was six," I say. "And seven. And eight. I needed one every time they dragged me downstairs. I needed one beneath those stairs when I was trying not to cry loudly enough for them to hear me."My throat tightens. "I don't need one now."Nora draws closer."You're enough for me," I add.Her
100 Days With My Nemesis ~094~ WRECKING BALL
MARCELLUS Nora drops the bottles onto the nightstand and wraps both arms around me. At first, I resist.Anger is easier than this. Anger has sharp edges. It gives me something to hold until I no longer have to feel the betrayal rotting in my chest. But Nora's hand starts moving slowly over my back, and it feels like my heart is splintering into pieces."I trusted him," I rasp.Her arms tighten."He knew exactly what those pills would do to me. Then he sat beside my hospital bed and convinced me I'd made a mistake."My throat feels like it's constricting. A hot pressure builds behind my eyes. I pull away before she can see the hurt, but Nora catches my face between her hands.Her expression doesn't change. There is no pity in it. No horror. Only pain that seems to belong to both of us. A tear slips down my cheek, unwelcome.Nora wipes it away with her thumb. Another follows.I grit my teeth and turn my face, but she gently guides it back."You're allowed to be hurt, Mars.""I'm
100 Days With My Nemesis ~093~ THE HORROR OF HIS REALITY
MARCELLUSFLASHBACKA Few Years Earlier The bathroom tiles are freezing beneath my cheek. I curl tighter around my stomach, but it does nothing. The pain keeps tearing through me in horrible waves, sharp enough to make my vision flash white. Sweat runs down my face and neck, soaking the collar of my shirt, yet my whole body shakes with cold.I don't know how long I've been lying here.The clock above the door keeps changing whenever I look at it. Sometimes the numbers melt down the wall. Sometimes there is no clock at all. Only a dark hole with something breathing inside it.I squeeze my eyes shut.None of it is real.Another cramp twists through my abdomen. I choke on a cry and roll onto my knees just as vomit pushes up my throat again.There is nothing left in my stomach. My body doesn't seem to care.I retch over the toilet until my ribs burn, bringing up bitter strings of bile. My arms give out. I collapse against the side of the bathtub, panting through clenched teeth.The
100 Days With My Nemesis ~092~ EYES OPEN
NORA By the time I return to the villa, it's nearly 10:30pm.I balance the tray against my hip as I push open the bedroom door. The lights are low. Only the lamp beside the bed is on, casting a soft golden glow across the room.Mars is still asleep.He is lying exactly where I left him hours ago, curled slightly onto his uninjured side. One hand rests beneath his cheek. His dark hair spills over the pillow.I watch his chest, relief settling in when I notice the faint movement.He had barely woken all day. He drank a little water, mumbled something rude when the nurse tried to take his temperature, then slipped back to sleep before she could properly annoy him.Apparently, emotional devastation is exhausting.I place the tray on the nightstand. Soup, soft bread, grilled fish, and enough fruit to feed three men. The kitchen staff must believe heartbreak burns five thousand calories."Mars," I whisper.I sit on the edge of the mattress and touch the back of my fingers to his forehe
100 Days With My Nemesis ~091~ STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS
NORA My chest tightens. He continues before I can interrupt."They'll say you knew. Or that you married me for attention. They'll use your photographs beside the video. They'll dig through everything you've ever posted." His breathing speeds up again. "Your father's name will be dragged into it. Your show could be cancelled before it even—"I put the comb down. Mars looks at it, then at me. I move carefully around the IV line and wrap my arms around him. His body stiffens for one second before folding into mine."I'm serious," he croaks and I nod. "You worked for this.""I know."His fingers gather the fabric at my back. "I'm not letting them destroy it," he says.Warmth breaks painfully through my chest. I pull him closer."I'm touched that you're worried about me," I whisper and his jaw tightens against my shoulder. "But you are the one who needs comforting right now.""I'm fine." The lie is immediate.I lean back enough to look at him. "Really?""Yes." His face is blank, his vo
100 Days With My Nemesis ~005~ TRICK OR TREATS
NORA I finally collapse onto my bed, the familiar scent of my childhood room doing nothing to calm the storm in my head. Two Tylenol and a glass of water later, and my skull is still spinning like a broken carousel. I refuse to think about the fact that I might or might not be legally marr
100 Days With My Nemesis ~004~ FACE-OFF
NORA I stare at him, my pulse roaring in my ears. I feel sick to my stomach. But I curl my fists, refusing to show it. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything," I spit, my voice unsteady. "We're married, Nora," he says flatly. "That's all you need to know." A wild laugh bubbles out of
100 Days With My Nemesis ~003~ MY PERSONAL APOCALYPSE
NORA My skull is hosting a full-on rave with bass, strobe lights, and the works. I groan and crack one eye open, only to get assaulted by aggressive sunlight and the mother of all hangovers. This is not the Evermont ballroom. This is... a hotel suite? Oh God. Where the hell am I? Ugh, my
100 Days With My Nemesis ~002~ AN IMPROMPTU DATE
NORA His scent hits me first. How is that possible? It's been three years. Yet, I still recognize it.Woodsy scent, mixed with that perfect amber. A scent so expensive and masculine that I spent entirely too much time pretending I didn't notice back then.My heart starts racing as he takes
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