LOGINDaniel stepped out of the bathroom, the lingering coolness of the ritual rinses still clinging to his hands and mouth.
His shirt sleeves were rolled up, his tie discarded somewhere in the corner. He was muttering under his breath, still irritated at the evening’s events. The soft click of the bathroom door behind him punctuated the otherwise silent room. And then he froze. Standing in the middle of the dimly lit suite was Irene, but she wasn’t just standing. She was completely bare, her skin glowing like porcelain under the subdued light, flawless and untouched. Daniel’s throat tightened, and an involuntary gulp escaped him, the sound echoing in the stillness. His eyes widened, unable to immediately process what he was seeing. “Hot,” Irene muttered, her voice slightly slurred as she bent down. Her fingers worked deftly at the clasp of her bra, unhooking it with an unsettling calm. The garment slipped down her arms and onto the floor, joining the other discarded pieces of her clothing. “I’m so hot,” she murmured again, running her hands through her tousled hair. Her movements were unsteady, but her tone was almost nonchalant, as though oblivious to Daniel's presence. Daniel’s breath hitched, his fists clenching at his sides as he fought the pull of his emotions. Annoyance. Shock. A spark of something darker that he shoved down with ruthless control. “Who the hell sent you?” His voice cut through the tension like a knife, low and furious. He crossed the room in two long strides, his hand shooting out to grasp her neck, not tightly but firm enough to still her movements. Irene gasped, her wide, dazed eyes locking onto his. Her lips parted, but no words came. She didn’t struggle, didn’t pull away. “Tell me,” Daniel growled, his face inches from hers, his dark eyes blazing with a mixture of anger and confusion. “Who sent you? Who the hell are you working for?” Her breath came in shallow pants, her chest heaving under his intense glare. “I… I don’t…” she stammered, her voice barely audible. His grip on Irene’s neck faltered as she swayed unsteadily, her glassy eyes unfocused. Irene did not answer his furious question—didn’t even acknowledge it. Instead, she tilted her head to one side, then the other, humming softly as if she were lost in her own world. “Who sent you?” he demanded again, his tone sharp and biting. “Answer me!” But Irene just giggled, the sound soft and strangely childlike. Before Daniel could react, she reached out, her fingers curling around his wrist. With surprising strength and drunken determination, she tugged him forward and turned him, pushing him flat onto the bed. “What the—” Daniel’s protest was cut off as Irene climbed on top of him, straddling his hips. Her hands pressed against his chest, and she leaned forward, her breath hot against his face. “I’m hot,” she murmured, her voice slurred but insistent. “So hot, Daniel.” Her hips began to move, grinding against him through the fabric of their clothes. Daniel froze, his hands gripping the bedspread as he fought the surge of heat flooding his body. His jaw clenched, his breathing quickening despite himself. “Get off me,” he growled, but his voice lacked its usual conviction. Irene shook her head, a teasing smile playing on her lips. “No,” she said simply, her hands sliding up to his shoulders. “You feel good. Cool. I need… cool.” Her movements became more deliberate, and Daniel’s restraint began to slip. His dark eyes burned with a mixture of anger and lust as he glared up at her. “You crazy woman,” he warned, his voice dangerously low. “Stop this right now.” She didn’t. Instead, she laughed softly, her drunken haze evident in every motion. You know we can have sex right I am ready for you Irene said roaming her hands over his chest through his clothes. Daniel groaned, his frustration mounting. His self-control was hanging by a thread, and she was unraveling it with every sway of her hips. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, his resolve breaking. In one swift movement, he flipped her over, pinning her beneath him. Her laughter died as she stared up at him, her lips parted and her chest heaving. “You don’t even know what you’re doing but better don't regret this and when you are back to your senses tomorrow I would take responsibility,” he growled, his voice rough with suppressed desire. Irene’s only response was a lazy smile, her hands trailing up his arms as if to taunt him further. Daniel’s gaze dropped, his eyes catching on the curve of her bare skin. His control snapped, and he bent down, his lips capturing her nipple. Her soft gasp was the only sound that broke the tense silence in the room. And then everything went quiet, save for the sound of Irene's moans.Irene’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, nails digging into her palms as she stared at Daniel. “That’s not what I meant!” she snapped, voice rising slightly. “I wasn’t talking about you! She shouted as she lifted her eyes to Daniel, voice trembling with barely contained rage. “And what? Who told you I am some crazy drunk or whatever nonsense you think about me? And how could you even say that in front of my children?” Her words landed sharp, her chest heaving as her jaw tightened. Daniel leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his expression unreadable but his dark eyes glinting with amusement. “Ah… I can say whatever I want, Irene,” he said softly, each word deliberate. “This is my house and I can decide what is said and what isn’t. Now… shall we move on?” He continued with obvious arrogance. And immediately Irene froze, eyes narrowing in disbelief her fists clenched in her laps, nails biting into her palms. “Move on, you say?” she questioned, voice sharp and rising
“What do you mean,” Daniel’s voice cut through the vast golden-lit foyer, low but sharp, “by in a stranger’s house?” Irene froze. He took one step forward, the expensive marble beneath his shoes echoing the sound like a warning bell. “That’s what you choose to call me?” Daniel continued, his gaze searing into her. “A stranger? In the presence of my sons?” The twins, who had been staring at the chandelier moments ago—still dazzled by the breathtaking interior—whipped their heads toward their mother. Ethan’s jaw tightened; Elias’ eyes widened a little. Irene inhaled slowly, forcing calm into her voice. “Not here, Mr. Blackwood… not here.” Her eyes flicked briefly toward the boys. “This is not a conversation we have in front of them.” Daniel scoffed—quiet but dangerous. “No. I still insist.” He stepped closer, not touching her, but invading just enough space to make her breath hitch. “What did you mean by that word? Stranger. Enlighten me.” His voice echoed through the house—this
A week passed, but it didn’t feel like seven days to Irene. It felt like seven steps toward a cliff she wasn’t ready to fall from. The sun hung low that morning, soft and gold, when she found herself standing before a towering mansion inside the well-secured gated estate — a place so quiet, so polished, it felt like she had stepped into a world she had no business entering. Her fingers tightened around Ethan’s hand. Her other hand clutched Elias’s. The boys stood on either side of her, their small faces tilted upward, eyes wide as they stared at the massive building before them. Glass windows stretched across the front like a wall of judgment. The gate behind them had closed with a heavy metallic thunk, one that still echoed inside her chest. Ethan tugged lightly at her fingers. “Mom…” he whispered, voice small, “are we… lost?” Irene swallowed, her throat tight. “No, baby. We’re not lost.” Elias leaned forward, peeking ahead with a squint. “Then why is this place so big? Is i
Irene stood in front of the cafe, her palms pressed tightly against the strap of her bag. Her chest rose and fell as she forced herself to breathe in and out. The cool air did little to ease the heat of anxiety that churned inside her. “Oh my God,” she whispered to herself. “I just have to do this because there is no way I am going to allow anyone to take my sons from me.” Her jaw tightened as she thought of Daniel barging into her home with his threats. She already knew why Mr. Henry Blackwood had sent her the address. It was because of what his son had come to say and she was not ready to give up her children for anything. So she was going to make that clear to him. At least Henry Blackwood, she thought, should be more reasonable than his arrogant son. With that, she pushed the glass door open and stepped into the cafe. The warm scent of coffee beans mixed with fresh pastries surrounded her, but it did nothing to soften the tension in her chest. Her eyes swept the room un
Irene held his gaze, the pulse in her throat beating fast but her chin lifting anyway. Her hand slid back to Ethan’s, and when his fingers squeezed, hers answered. “What exactly are these two options, and what do you mean by the second being something I would not want to take?” she asked. Daniel inclined his head a fraction, as if acknowledging that at least the question was sensible. “Option one,” he said, “you accept what is already inevitable. You allow me to take the boys peacefully, into the life I can give them — stability, education, protection. And because you are their mother, I put into consideration that you come with them. As my wife and as their guardian under my roof. That way, no battle is needed, and the children remain whole.” Levi’s breath shivered out of her, and she took half a step closer to Irene without meaning to. “And option two, what is it, and why say it like a threat?” Levi asked. As Daniel’s eyes moved to Levi for a beat, then back to Irene as i
Irene’s gaze snapped to the man stepping into her living room with a slim briefcase in his hand, the door still shivering on its hinges from his uninvited entrance, and for a heartbeat she simply stared because the morning had already bled too much shock into her. Then her arm lifted and she pointed straight at him, her voice cutting through the heavy air like a blade as she said, “What is going on, and in fact, who is this man that just barges into someone's home without knocking?” she asked. But Daniel did not answer at once — instead he smiled, slow and composed, as if he were in his boardroom and not in a cramped home with tired curtains and children pressed close to their mother. And then he turned back to the couch with a faint wrinkle of distaste, drew a folded handkerchief from his inner pocket, dusted the cushion with meticulous strokes that made Levi’s throat tighten. Then lowered himself and crossed one leg over the other, ankle resting neatly on his knee while he sett







