登入LORA'S POVBut as months passed, seeing how desperately he still tried to shield her, how much he genuinely cared for her even while I held him captive, hunger took root in my chest. I wanted her completely erased from the equation. My mother used to say to me. “If you want something you have to fight to get it. Do whatever it takes. Just find the right price. Just like how I did your father.”So to have Jamie, I found his price.Just like how my mother did my father. Jamie’s father was a pathetic gambling addict who had dragged their family name through the dirt, leaving them scraping for scraps at the bottom of the social ladder. And Jamie was starving for prestige, wanting to take his family back to how it was before. I teased him with it like teasing a hungry dog with a piece of bone. I offered him a meeting with my uncle, a connection that could rebuild his entire family reputation overnight.He resisted a few times, trying to play the man of honor, but his appetite was too
LORA’S POV“What do you mean he cancelled the contract?” My phone nearly slips from my sweaty grip as I pace my dressing room. “What the fuck happened, John?”John’s heavy sigh fills the line. “I should be asking you that, Lora. I handed you the private meeting on a silver platter. You were supposed to seal it. Now his team says the role is off the table. They’ve already cast someone else.”“That’s bullshit,” I snap, my knuckles whitening around the phone. “When I left his hotel that night, he promised it was mine. Call them again. Fix this. There must be a mix-up.”“Lora.” John’s voice turns somber, almost pitying. “His secretary was very clear. They don’t want any controversy attached to the production. Rumors are spreading online, about you stealing someone’s man. They won’t risk a ‘black stain’ on a project this big.”His words land like a slap. I sink onto the vanity stool, staring at my reflection.Perfect makeup. Flawless hair. Yet everything is cracking.This is all that b
NOAH’S POV I close the bedroom door softly behind me, leaving Aria curled up against the pillows. She’s stable now, her voice steady as she talks to her son on the phone. Her soft, melodic laugh hits me like a punch to the gut. That gentle tone, the warmth in it… it’s meant for someone else. Even if it’s her own child, the irrational spike of jealousy burns in my chest. Mine. The word thunders relentlessly in my head. I want that softness directed at me. Only me. No one else should get that side of her. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. Not when I was so close to finally claiming every inch of her. I drag a hand roughly through my hair, my body still painfully wound up. My cock throbs insistently against my sweatpants, refusing to calm. My cock hasn’t gone down. How the fuck could it when she is lying in my bed, wrapped in my sheets, her sweet, feminine scent mixed with lingering arousal still clinging to my skin? The kisses we shared earlier, every heated s
ARIA’S POV “Stop—” I gasp. Noah freezes above me, his body going rigid. A low, guttural growl tears from his throat like a starving animal yanked away from its first meal in years. His eyes, dark and wild with possession, bore into mine, chest heaving as he struggles to rein himself in. “Aria,” he rasps, voice rough and dangerous, “what the hell are you playing at right now? Change of heart? Don’t forget what you signed up for. I won’t let you—” “Where’s the condom?” I cut him off, my voice steadier than I feel. His eyes widen, completely thrown. For a second, his mouth hangs open in pure disbelief, like the doesn't understand what I said. I push up from the bed, my breasts bouncing with the movement. “Noah, don’t tell me you seriously planned to fuck me without protection. Are you out of your mind?” He still looks stunned. I can see it in the way his jaw clenches and his gaze flickers that he hadn't even thought of before . But with me, he had not made plans for t
ARIA’S POV “OMG, he can’t stay away,” Alexis murmurs beside me, her voice laced with amusement. “He’s walking over right now.” I glance up just as Noah excuses himself from the group of influential guests, his stride purposeful, eyes locked on me like I’m the only person in the room. My stomach flips at the intensity of his gaze. “Hey, princess,” he says, voice low and warm as he reaches me. He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me flush against him without a care for the eyes around us. “You took a damn long time in there.” I smile, resting a hand on his chest. “We were… catching up.” “Well, we have some catching up to do at home, too, remember?” he murmurs against my ear, his breath sending a shiver down my spine. “We need to leave. Now.” Before I can respond, Charles chimes in with a knowing grin. “Look at you two. Can’t even keep your hands off each other for one minute. Should we start planning the wedding already?” Noah shoots his friend an unbothered smirk, then
ARIA’S POVThe door swings open, and time seems to move in slow motion.Everything stills as I come face-to-face with Lora—my nemesis since the day my father brought her and her mother into our home, just weeks after my own mother’s death. She was a poisonous green snake, a liar who tries at every turn to snatch away everything my mother left me. She even extended her claws to my ex-boyfriend.“Here she is,” Jessica says scornfully, breaking the icy tension. Her eyes drag over me with disdain. “You should have seen her outside, Lora. If you had come earlier, you would have seen the shameless red-carpet walk she pulled with Mr. King.”As Jamie’s little sister, she spent years making my relationship with her brother miserable. Now, she hovers beside Lora like a loyal shadow.So, this is the ‘type’ of sister-in-law she wants? No wonder I wasn't enough no matter what I did. I must say they truly deserve each other.I once despised this pair more than anything in the world, but seeing t
CHAPTER 30 SIGHT FOR SOUR EYES ARIA'S POV The day slips by in a pleasant blur. I savor the chance to unwind as the stylist worked efficiently. Doing a quick pedicure, shaping my nails and curling my hair. “You have such a wonderful skin.” Rose murmurs again, her voice warm with admiration. “
ARIA’S POV I leave the hospital after noon after I confirmed from the nurse that Jeremiah was doing okay. He doesn't resist much, too engrossed with the folktales Luna is telling him. Matteo had arrived around 9 this morning with a food pack from Mira and a young lady who had Mira’s vibe. “
SIX YEARS AGO FLASH BACK Aria hated this place but she had come anyway. For Jamie. The pulsing bass, the thick smell of alcohol and sweat, the way some men stared like she was something to devour. Jamie had been distant for days now. His modeling gigs kept pulling him away, and she hadn’t s
His eyes roam down my body, dark and hungry. “Do you? Why should I let you go though?” I didn't respond just meeting his gaze. “Fine. But you owe me. Something important. No backing out or pretending like you don't remember this time.” Memories of broken promises from college came through my m







