Chapter 3:Drowning in Desire
Diana pov
The drive to the hotel was a blur of flashing streetlights and the low hum of the car engine. The leather seat was cool against my burning skin, but it did nothing to soothe the fire raging inside me. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the weight of betrayal pressing into my chest. Maybe it was just the need to feel something other than pain.
As I leaned back into my seat, I caught myself pressing my legs together, my body tense with anticipation. I turned to glance at the stranger sitting beside me, wondering what he was thinking and why I think that he might be different from other.
I reached for him.
My hand traced the hard lines of his chest, sliding down over his firm stomach, lower, until I felt it….the undeniable proof of his arousal pressing against his trousers.
He inhaled sharply but didn’t stop me.
I smirked, slow and lazy, as I rubbed my palm over him, feeling him harden even more beneath my touch. The power in that moment, the control…it sent a rush of heat straight to my core.
By the time we reached the hotel, I was already lost in the hunger clawing at my insides.
The elevator ride was torturous. His scent, his warmth, the way his jaw clenched as I ran my fingers over his collarbone….I wanted to devour him.
The moment we stepped into the room, I pushed him against the door, my lips inches from his. “No names. No talking,” I murmured, my voice husky, laced with need.
His hands gripped my waist, pulling me flush against him. His body was fire, and I wanted to burn.
I grabbed his shirt, yanking it over his head, my nails dragging over his skin. His fingers slipped under my dress, skimming my thighs, and I shivered. My breaths came out in ragged gasps as he lifted me effortlessly, pressing me against the cold wall.
Then, in one swift move, he reached behind me and tore my bra, the fabric snapping against my skin. A gasp left my lips, but before I could react, his mouth was on me, hot and demanding.
I felt like I was spiraling, falling into something deep and consuming. His hands roamed my body, tracing, exploring, claiming.
And just as I was about to lose myself completely—
I let go.
The pain. The betrayal. The suffocating weight of reality.
I let it all drown in the pleasure coursing through me.
His hands moved over my body like he already knew every inch of me. He wasn’t rushed, wasn’t desperate…he was intentional. Every touch, every caress, every press of his lips against my skin felt like a silent demand: Feel this. Forget everything else.
And I did.
I arched into him as his warm hands cupped my breasts, squeezing them gently, his thumbs grazing over my hardened nipples. A deep, guttural moan tore from my throat, my body writhing beneath him. No shame. No hesitation. Just raw, unfiltered pleasure.
“John never touched me like this.”
The thought hit me like a spark to dry wood, igniting something wild inside me.
I grabbed his hair, pulling him closer, needing more…needing everything.
His lips traveled down my body, his tongue teasing, tasting, setting my nerves on fire. My legs trembled as I wrapped them around his waist, pressing him deeper against me.
“God, you’re beautiful and I have been waiting for this opportunity with you my mate,” he murmured against my skin, his voice thick with hunger.
Beautiful.
Not used. Not betrayed. Not broken.I reached for his belt, my fingers working with frantic desperation. The moment I freed him, I felt his size pressing against my inner thigh, sending a shudder through me.
I wanted to forget.
I wanted to disappear. I wanted to burn.His lips found mine again as he aligned himself at my entrance, his breath ragged, his movements slow, teasing….until I tilted my hips, and he thrust into me with one deep, searing stroke.
I screamed.
The pleasure was unlike anything I’d ever felt before, consuming me from the inside out. I clung to him as he moved, his pace deep and deliberate, like he wanted to carve himself into me, like he wanted me to remember this….to remember him.
And I would.
Because nothing had ever felt this good.
His hands found my breasts again, squeezing, massaging, his fingers rolling my nipples between them, making my body tighten, my moans turning into desperate cries.
I never made these sounds with John.
I never felt like this with John.
John was routine. John was obligation. John was lies.
But this man? This stranger?
He was freedom.
He thrust deeper, his hand gripping my waist, his mouth finding the sensitive spot on my neck that made me gasp. My nails raked down his back, my body arching, chasing something that felt so close, so inevitable….
Then he stilled.
His fingers brushed against my left hand.
I barely registered the break in his rhythm until he pulled back just enough to look at me. His gaze dropped to my ring finger, his brows furrowing.
“You’re married,” he said, his voice unreadable.
I laughed breathlessly, my legs tightening around him. “It doesn’t matter.”
Because it didn’t.
Not tonight.
Not when I was finally alive again.
His hesitation lasted only a second before the fire returned to his eyes, his lips crashing against mine as he moved faster, harder, deeper….driving me toward oblivion.
And when I finally shattered beneath him, my body convulsing, my voice breaking into raw, breathless moans, one thought rang loud and clear in my mind:
John never had me like this.
I couldn’t hold it in…I didn’t want to.
A strangled moan tore from my throat, my voice raw with ecstasy. “Oh God…you’re too… you’re too….” The words broke into a scream as my body shattered, waves of pleasure crashing over me, leaving me breathless and shaking beneath him. He groaned in response, his grip on my waist tightening. His lips hovered near my ear, his voice dark and ragged. “You’re mine,” he murmured, his lips brushing against my bare shoulder. “And I will make you my Luna.” “I’ll prove it to you,” he whispered. “No matter how long it takes, no matter how hard you fight me. You will be mine.” My last words hung in the air, before a moment of intense passion left me breathless. My body reacted instinctively, my hands clutching the bedsheets as I lost myself in the sensation And before I could push him away sleep pulled me under, his promise echoing in my dreams.Chapter 81: The EscapeGift’s POVI slowly got out of the hospital bed, trying not to make any noise. The IV tube pulled at my arm, but I ignored the pain. I had to get out of here before the police showed up.I looked around the room, searching for anything I could wear.Just then, the door opened.A nurse came in, humming quietly to herself. She walked over to the IV, checking the drip.I didn’t think. I just moved.I grabbed the metal tray from the table and hit her hard in the back of the head. She dropped with a soft thud. I froze, breathing fast. She was still aliv… just knocked out.I dragged her into the small restroom connected to the room and locked the door. I pulled off her uniform and quickly put it on. It didn’t fit perfectly, but it would do. I smoothed my hair, trying to make myself look calm, like I belonged.I turned toward the doo… then stopped. I heard footsteps.I ducked behind the curtain just in time.The door opened again. I peeked through a gap in the curtain.
Chapter 80 – Gift journey Gift’s POVMy knees buckled the second I turned the corner. The adrenaline that had carried me vanished like smoke, leaving only the tremble in my hands and the burning throb behind my eyes. I collapsed behind a dumpster and gagged, dry heaving into the night. My lungs felt like they were shrinking, the cold air slicing them into ribbons.What just happened? Who were those people? Why me?I hadn’t stopped running until I was three blocks from the warehouse. My wrists ached from the ropes. My arms bore angry red marks. I could still hear that man’s voice — soft but laced with threat. “They’ll kill you.”They.My fingers closed around the crumpled twenty he shoved into my palm like it could undo what he’d done.I could’ve stayed hidden. Cried. Screamed. Curled up and waited for morning.But I didn’t.My vision blurred as I ran out of the alley, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst from my chest. I saw a single car under a flickering light…its doo
Chapter 79 – The FalloutMercy’s POVI stormed into my house , slamming the front door so hard the frame rattled. My heart pounded with rage. How could they? , my private investigator, screw up so badly? He had brought me the wrong gir…a frightened bakery clerk, not Diana. And worst of all, I hadn’t paid him a cent and I will never pay them for falling me .I kicked off my heels on the ground and marched down the marble hallway. Portraits of my family stared down at me, silent witnesses to my fury. I didn’t care. Nothing mattered except finding that witch cousin of mine called Diana and making her pay for everything she have done to me.In my study, I sat behind the huge table desk and dialed a secure line. My voice was cold as I spoke into the phone. “Get me someone new,” I said. “A real professional. No mistakes.”I listened as they call name of available private investigator that they read off names, then I stopped her. “Ghost,” I said. “I want Ghost. Tell them I need Diana alive.
Chapter 78 – Wrong GirlMercy’s POVThe morning sun slipped gently through the curtains, warming my face. I opened my eyes slowly, a wide smile already forming on my lips.Today.Today was the day.I stretched my arms above my head, letting out a long sigh of satisfaction. My heart felt light, my skin tingled with excitement, and I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time…..peace.Because finally… finally, I was going to see her.My dear poor cousin.My so-called sweet, innocent Diana.The one who always got in the way of everything I wanted. The one men always seemed to fall for. The one whose face haunted people like a ghost that just wouldn’t die. She had taken what was mine….my spotlight, my chances, my future.But not anymore.Today, Diana’s story ends.I rolled out of bed, humming as I walked barefoot toward the bathroom. I paused at the mirror and smiled at my reflection. “You did it, Mercy,” I whispered. “You really did it.”I stepped into the bathroom and turned on the sho
Chapter 77 – Never give up Xander’s POVMorning came, not with light, but with the dull ache of exhaustion.Sleep never touched me. The ceiling above had become a screen for every memory I had of Diana…her laughter, her tears, the way she used to look at me when she still trusted me. And Gift…The girl who vanished because someone thought she was Diana.In my world, people didn’t just disappear. When they did, it usually ended in silence and a body. But this time…I refused to accept that. Not until I knew for sure.I sat hunched on the edge of the bed, elbows on my knees, my hands locked together in restless prayer. Not the holy kind. The desperate kind.Everything was turning again…and somehow, Diana was in the center of it.I had to see her.A knock broke the stillness.Akin stepped in quietly, holding out a coffee and a white box.“Bakery next to the hotel,” he said. “They only had one cake left. Thought you should have it.”I took the box and opened it slowly. The scent hit me fi
Chapter 76 – The findings her Diana’s POVThe drive to the police station was quiet, too quiet.I had left the bakery early, locking up with shaking hands. My stomach was in knots, and my heart wouldn’t stop racing. The sky was gray, and everything outside the car window looked dull, like the world had lost its color. I didn’t even turn on the radio. I just drove, trying to stay calm, gripping the steering wheel too tightly.I kept thinking about Gift.Her laugh. Her silly jokes. Her calm voice was heard when things got busy at the bakery.She didn’t deserve this. None of it.When I pulled into the police station parking lot, I parked quickly and sat still for a moment. The building was tall, gray, and cold-looking. Just like I remembered from the last visit. People walked in and out…some officers, some civilians….but everyone looked like they had a burden.I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.Inside, the air was chilly. The floor was tiled, and the waiting chairs were li