LOGINLia’s POVLaughter filled the elegant ballroom, mingling with the constant clink of champagne glasses as people toasted and celebrated around us, their voices bright and excited, as if this were the happiest night of the year. Julian had gone all out for our engagement party, inviting his powerful friends, colleagues from the hospital, a few influential people from the city, and even some distant relatives. The chandeliers sparkled overhead, the tables were covered in white roses and gold decorations, and everyone kept coming up to us with wide smiles, telling us how perfect we looked together.I stood beside Julian with his arm wrapped tightly around my waist, smiling until my cheeks hurt, pretending I was the luckiest woman alive. Inside though, my heart felt like it was shattering into a thousand pieces. All I could think about was Kade. The way he must have looked when he found my note. The pain in his voice during that phone call. How much he must hate me right now for leavin
Kade’s POVThe drive to the east cabin felt longer than it should have, my mind racing the whole way with thoughts of Lia and everything that had happened today. After dealing with Selene and the police, all I wanted was to wrap her in my arms, feel her against me, and remind her that she was safe now, that I would burn the whole world down before I let anyone take her again. The memory of our last kiss kept replaying in my head, the way she had clung to me like she never wanted to let go, and it made my chest feel warm for the first time in hours.I pulled up to the cabin, killed the engine, and stepped out quickly, already calling her name as I unlocked the door. “Lia? Baby, I’m back.”I moved through the living room fast, checking the kitchen, then the bedroom. Nothing. The bed was untouched, and her things weren’t scattered around as I expected. My chest tightened as I checked every room twice. She wasn’t here.That was when my eyes landed on the small folded note sitting in the
Lia’s POVHis hands moved over me with urgency, sliding down my sides and tugging at the hem of my shirt as he kissed me harder, deeper, like he was afraid I might disappear again. He pulled the fabric over my head in one quick motion and tossed it aside, his mouth immediately moving to my neck, sucking and biting gently while his fingers worked on the button of my jeans.I made a decision right then. If I was going to survive this, if I was going to protect Kade and maybe find a way out later, I had to make Julian believe I was fully his. I had to play along as if I had finally chosen him, like my heart was no longer torn. So I let my body relax under his touch, I slid my hands up his chest and pulled him closer, pretending with everything I had.“Julian,” I whispered, letting my voice sound needy, “I’m here… I’m really yours now.”He paused for a second, surprised by my sudden submission, but then a pleased groan left his throat and he kissed me even harder. I kissed him back as I
Lia’s POVI stared down at Julian on one knee, the diamond ring catching the light and sparkling like it was mocking me. My mouth went dry, and my heart started hammering so hard I felt dizzy. “What… What are you doing, Julian?” I whispered, my voice shaking. “Why are you proposing right now, like this, what are you trying to do?”He looked up at me with those intense eyes, a mix of love and something darker I couldn’t quite name. “I want you to spend the rest of your life with me, Lia. No more running, no more Kade, no more back and forth. Marrying me is the only way I’ll keep that recording buried forever. Say yes and Kade stays free. Say no and I will send everything to the authorities before morning.”My knees felt weak. I was completely torn apart inside, my mind spinning between the man kneeling in front of me and the one I had left behind in that cabin with only a short note. Kade’s face kept flashing in my head, his possessive touch, the way he had kissed me like I was his w
Lia’s POVI tried calling Kade again, my fingers shaking as I pressed his name on the screen, but the line just kept ringing busy, over and over like the universe itself was blocking me from reaching him. I stared at the phone for a long moment, tears already burning in my eyes because I knew time was running out and Julian wasn’t going to wait forever. My chest felt so tight it was hard to breathe. If I stayed here, if I waited for Kade to come back, Julian would release that recording and destroy him. I couldn’t let that happen, not to Kade, not because of me.The only way to protect him now was to go back.I wiped my face quickly and looked around the quiet cabin, my heart breaking into pieces as I grabbed a small piece of paper and a pen from the drawer. My hand trembled while I wrote, keeping it short because I knew if I wrote too much I wouldn’t be able to leave.Kade, I’m sorry. I have to do this to protect you. Please forgive me. LiaI left the note right in the middle of
Kade’s POV“What…” Her face twisted with pure fury and disbelief as she spun towards me. “What the fuck did you just say?”I stood there calm on the outside, arms still crossed over my chest, watching the way her perfectly made-up face cracked right in front of me. The police had barely driven off, and the silence in the safe house felt heavier now, as if the air itself were waiting for what would happen next.For a second she just stared at me, then suddenly threw her head back and laughed, sharp and loud like I had told the funniest joke in the world. She wiped at the corner of her eye, still chuckling as she stepped closer. “Oh please, Kade, you almost had me there. Good one. Now stop playing around and tell me what you really mean because we both know you can’t just call off this wedding.”“I’m not joking, Selene.” I shot back coldly. “The wedding is cancelled because this alliance can go to hell for all I care. I want you out of my life.”Her laughter died instantly. The smile
Lia’s POV“Please, Lia. Don’t walk away from me, not again.” Kade’s voice came out quieter than intended the moment his dark eyes held mine as though I would disappear if he looked away for one second.“I have to,” I whispered, “If I stay back, Selene will destroy both of us.” He shook his head, hi
Kade’s POVI sat in the corner of the boutique, which smelled like roses and money — the kind of place where everything was too good to be true. All I could do was watch Selene spin slowly before the mirror as the fashion designer fussed with the lace on her gown. But all I could think about was h
Lia’s POVIt’s been two days since that incident with Julian at the hospital's parking lot but the world felt quieter, and inside me everything was chaos.My phone buzzed on the counter, and I picked it up lazily to see the most shocking thing in my life, the phone nearly slipped from my fingers as
Lia’s POVI didn’t even bother looking back as I stormed away from Julian’s hospital room, my hair was soaked and my hands were shaking. The image of Selene’s smiling face in that picture wouldn’t leave me.It replayed in my head over and over, louder than the rain which was pounding heavily on me.
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