Mag-log inAfter the heartwarming dinner, Rose wanted to bid him goodbye until he was out of sight and share some honest talks of her heart.“You don’t want to come all the way here.” “I want to thank you properly for the lovely time, Antler. My parents… they are so happy.” Rose chuckled, gripping onto his arms as they were walking towards the building’s exit.“Thank you for everything.” Rose’s eyes twinkled, refusing to look anywhere else but him, her heart flapping rapidly with delight. “Anything for my little bird.” He chuckled, wrapping his hand protectively around her shoulder, encasing her in his chest.“Antler… Thank you.” She whispered, tears filling her eyes, “Truly. Thank you so much.”“For what?”With her expressions softening, she was right into his space, holding the lapel of his coat as a tear rolled down her cheek.“For entering my life, for loving me, for…teasing me. I-I never admitted it but I loved all your teasing…” She sobbed, her tears soaking through the fabric but her f
“Can you imagine, Kristine?” Zayne asked.His head tilted, resting against his wife as the couple were staring at the man before them with suspicion and controlled snicker.“I absolutely cannot.”Antler stood in the center of the room, arms crossed over his massive chest, “It’s a formal introduction. Not a comedy special. Pipe down.”They glanced at each other and despite their harshness and tough condition, a genuine laughter broke. The situation was too humorous for them.“Antler, the man who treats every social interaction like a hostage negotiation? Meeting Rose’s parents?” Kristine laughed, holding her stomach, her mind impotent to register how quickly this moment arrived.“I’m just trying to imagine you sitting at a dinner table,” Zayne gasped, wiping a stray tear, trying to mimic him, "Pass the salt, or I’ll be forced to use lethal force.'"“Or, or,” Kristine extended her hand, resting it on Zayne’s forearm.“Who knows if he makes her marry him at gun point. That’s something he
THIRD POV***************After their euphorically intimate moment, Antler was lying shirtless with Rose’s head on his chest, her fingers trailing lines on his toned chest.They took a shower, he was staring at her in mesmerization, tracing his fingers through her locks.Wanting to exist in this moment only where a stoic man like him had found redemption and softness in the woman before him.“What happened? You look disturbed, Antler.” Rose looked up, her gaze searching, her big eyes blinking innocently.“Just thinking about some things, little bird.”He sighed, playing with her hair, a seriousness engraved on his features that was pushing him towards a faze.She offered him a bright, encouraging smile. “You can share it with me.”He kissed the mole on her forearm, closing his eyes briefly, “I am thinking about the Sparrows.”“Cassandra surely shouldn’t have planned this much just to… die in the end, right?” Antler was convinced it couldn’t be mere obsession that bigger strings were
An unspoken spark I couldn’t resist, even if I wanted to make my body tremble.I didn’t want to, I shouldn’t but to back away was impossible too.With barely recognizable distances between us, his index finger trailed a sinful path that started from my knee to my inner thigh.“Wh… What are you doing?”I instinctively tried to close my legs. But he was already there, exposing the heat and those dark intentions that weakened me.“You tell me,” he growled. His sapphire eyes hold a mixture of desire and obsession.“G-Get away, Zayne. I am too tired for anything.”He hissed, losing his composure, “Me too, Baby. Me too.” He was extremely close, touching our foreheads. His breath across my lips, pushing me towards an undeniable edge.“I am too tired of being away and holding back. I fucking need you.” He was breathless, no longer in his own control. The vulnerability broke the last of my resistance. “Every breath. Every second. I… I don’t want to think beyond you. And I will gladly have y
If it had been anyone else, I would have walked away. But this was Zayne, the man who had attempted to build a fortress around me out of lies and longing– What should I do?“But, your plan fucked up, Zayne… everything is wrong now.” I slowly place my hand above his head, caressing his hair gently.He grabbed my wrists abruptly, his eyes flared with a new determination. My body stiffened when he refused to move an inch.“If you want me to leave it all, I will,” He announced unwaveringly.My eyes widened, my voice came out small and tentative, “Wh.. What?”My mind shut down, I didn’t know how else to react. Dorian never offered… that. He never said he would leave. That he would stop.I thought it was impossible to leave the filth. Could he… do this? For me? For us? “I’ll walk away from the Nest, from Dorian, from everything. I’ll be the nobody you wanted. But you have to choose, Kristine.” The idea itself was so heartwarming. But, I was afraid, I had my hesitations now. “Choose…
In a swift motion, Zayne grabbed my wrists, I was rigidly locked on his toned chest with no escape. My whole being halted. I could feel it, his patience had been shattered.Shivering in fear, my tears eyes were locked on him. He twisted my arms behind my back, earning a wince of pain. Pressing me toward the wall, imprisoning me against the cold surface using the weight of his body.“I said enough.”His face was inches from mine, and for the first time, the controlled Zayne was gone. His eyes were outrageous, his nostrils flared accompanied by a frightening aura that silenced me briefly.“You want the truth huh? You want to know what’s happening?” His lips were against my cheek, losing his forbearance with me. “Since the very beginning… as long as I am breathing… I have been crazy for you, Kristine… and you have no damn idea, woman.”My throat dried, impotent to utter another sound. Tense, I wince when he pulled my arms harder, his blazing breath blending with mine.“And ‘If’ I had
The world stopped. The air left my lungs as I was left with the incapability to react in time. My heart had withered in my chest. I couldn't move. I couldn't even blink.He knew.The word, the reality, alone was enough to horrify me.The atmosphere was tense, darkness was consuming. The longer I se
The party had ended. The pink confetti was everywhere, a reminder that we were about to welcome a baby girl.I was bidding our guests goodbye. Relieved when the event went well only to find Antler standing at the entrance with a mystifying gaze, smoking a cigarette.He crushed the cigarette when I
Present DayNothing was enough anymore.I carve for much more than I already owned.I wanted to be the first thing when she woke, and the last thing before she slept. One night, I was working till late only to receive a video call from Kristine. I picked it up without thinking twice and angled the
“You think eradicating the existence of Miss Iglesias is this smooth?” Another one died by me. Not by her guards. Not by her supposed protector but by me. I worked to save her life harder than those lazy suckers.While Antler worked the legal and underworld channels to get that price off her hea







