ANMELDEN“How should I beg you for forgiveness after everything I did?” “Zayne—” The moment those words left my mouth, my knees gave up on me. I hit the floor right in front of her, my hands clinging desperately to the hem of her clothes. “Everything is lost, Kristine. I have lost it all…”Her desperate voice came, “No, you haven’t, Zayne. Everything is still here.”“No, it’s not!” After endless struggles, a sob escaped my lips, a signal I had become unable to carry this weight. “I… I have lost my dignity. How can I look at myself in the mirror?” She froze, searching for the right words for my comfort, holding my face in her hands. “I’m sorry… Kristine, I’m so fucking sorry…” I wept, burying my face in her palm. My body ended up trembling violently, not daring to greet her eyes. “I forced you… I turned you against Dorian… I forced you into my revenge…” I cried out as tears flooded my face, my wretched voice dispersing in the air.“I dragged you into my hell when you did nothing wrong!
KRISTINE’S POV*********************Zayne and Carmine were still upstairs in the bedroom. I genuinely hoped they were sharing a heartfelt moment. To place all the hatred behind so we all could begin anew with no more secrets.“Do you think he will forgive you after that?” I asked Dorian, who was casually scrolling through his phone. He seemed absurdly calm for a husband who had just been reunited with his wife after three whole years. Or maybe it was just me, so used to Zayne's extreme, tempestuous reactions that normal composure looked bizarre. “He has to. I had cut the very roots of his hatred.” He shrugged.Turning off the screen and giving me a reassuring smile, pinching my cheeks.“See. I told you, trust me.”Folding my arms at my chest, I took a step towards him.“Did you truly not see her for three years?”“No,” he replied nonchalantly. “I didn’t. I couldn’t risk her safety.”I stared at him for a solid minute, scanning his face up and down. My expression slowly twisted in
I stood near the edge of her mattress, not removing my eyes from Carmine’s unconscious form, desperately waiting for her to wake up.Her doctor said it was the result of her extreme emotional shock… which meant he had recognized me. Slowly, Carmine began to shift uncomfortably, letting out a groan, her eyes opening. “Argh…”“Carmine?” I panicked.“Carmine, can you hear me?” I asked hurriedly.My hands hovering inches from her face, still hesitant to touch her.“Do you… do you know who I am?” Her sapphire eyes blinked, focusing slowly on my face before widening.The ignorance from before was gone, replaced by a flood of overwhelming awareness. “Zayne…” she whimpered, her voice cracking.Her eyes narrowed, a screen of tears blurring her vision.Before I could say another word, she sat up and wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my chest. “I remember… Zayne… my brother…” She sobbed, her whole body shaking as she clutched at my shirt with a desperate grip.“You’re ali
A week.Seven days. One hundred and seventy five hours.Every passing second was mocking my sanity. I paced across the living room for the hundredth time, dragging a hand through my hair before turning around and repeating the same path all over again.“Zayne. I am your brother, Hello– No dammit.” She was alive.Carmine was alive.The thought still refused to settle inside my head.“Zayne. Carmine. Siblings. We. Together.” “She is not illiterate, Zayne.” Kristine's gentle voice interrupted my restless thoughts.“Right…” I exhaled, breathless, clutching my heart. “Right, right. Hello Carmine. I am…”“Your only brother. Zayne Nightwood.” Kristine completed my words for me, instructing me. “Your… only brother… Zayne.” The words rolled heavily on my tongue. For years, I had forgotten the sensation of it.“What if she doesn't come?” I muttered and began my pacing again.“What if something happens on the way? What if Dorian changes his mind? What if—”“Zayne.”She stood in front of me,
ZAYNE’S POV******************To say I was shocked would be an understatement. An abysmal darkness had taken over my ability to think and react.Taking a step back from pure horror, I no longer knew what to believe. Was I living in ignorance all this time?“How… when…” At a loss of words, my steps stumbled and I fell onto the couch, hanging my head low.My hands were violently trembling. My lips were parted but they failed to form a proper sentence. “Edric knew I gave the order to assassinate his family.” Dorian took a pause, letting the words sink in.“So he decided to kill the woman I married… secretly.” “...You married her?” My voice came out like a shriek this time when hit by another shock. “When?” “On the very day of the attack.” A tear fell from my eyes, hiding my face in my hands. I found myself a failure as a brother. That was the information I should have known. But here I was, listening to secrets that never crossed my mind.“The news reached Edric. Hence the attac
DORIAN’S POV******************“Carmine is alive. I hid her. Somewhere safe…” I swallowed the lump forming in my throat, my eyes locked on Zayne. “...As my bride.”Zayne was immobilized. His mind was unable to process the information.“Wh.. What? What are you saying, Dorian?” Kristine whispered, narrowing her eyes, searching for a lie. She shook her head in denial, a warning to not toy with her husband’s heart. She thought I was lying.“I am not lying, Kristine.” Curling my hand in a fist, I attempted to control my raging heart too. Waiting for Zayne to react first. Slowly, his numbness shattered into a feral fury. Breathless, almost devastated, he glared at me before grabbing me viciously by the lapels of my coat.“How dare you?!” He screamed, his mind no longer functioning properly.He slammed me back against the marble pillar, ignoring the groan of pain that escaped his own shattered shoulder. “How dare you hide my sister for three years?! And marry her?!” I didn't fight ba
“Kristine Iglesias is pregnant with Zayne Nightwood’s child! Yes! She was in love with his rival, Edric Carton, but their breakup led to a twisted one night stand where she is now pregnant with Mr. Nightwood’s baby.Is it for revenge or a beginning of a new bond that is yet to find out. We are wai
Sunlight penetrated through the window, cascading over my face, dragging me back to my senses as I woke up to a room that didn't belong to me.My head throbbed, a reminder of too much tequila and a heartbreak that hadn't quite died. I reached out, expecting to feel Zayne’s warm skin, but the sheet
The door to his place hadn't even fully clicked shut before he had me pinned against the wall possessively.When his lips met mine in a magical way, I mindlessly reacted, feeling daring enough due to the alcohol, and kissed him back.He tasted like expensive bourbon and dark intentions, a mystic sy
How could he do this to me? Weren’t we in love?Tonight, on New Year's Day, where spirits were high, excitement in the air, my world crashed. My trust, my love, my future, my emotions, everything died when I saw my ‘forever’ was pressed against the headboard, his hands gripping the waist of my bes







