تسجيل الدخولRaina had been tucked back into her own bed in her nursery. Arabella was still leaning against the pillows with her hand resting on her stomach, and reading a novel.Adrian hadn’t returned to the room immediately. Instead, he had gone to pick up the large, flat box that Nathan had left at the door. It wasn't a jewelry box; it was wrapped in simple, high-end cream paper.On seeing the package, Adrian’s smile broadened. He looked down at the package again, his thumb brushing across the ribbon. “I asked her to marry me in the middle of chaos. There were lawyers, reporters and the media frenzy…” He shook his head slightly. “I think she said yes because we were drowning and holding onto each other was the only thing keeping us alive.”Adrian looked towards their room as he approached it. And suddenly, Adrian Whitmore felt terrified, not because he might lose something. But because he finally had something worth keeping forever, for real. Arabella was awake, flipping absently through a no
Arabella was tucked under a fluffy white duvet, looking like a queen on a throne of pillows. She was bored of being stuck in bed, but Adrian was doing his best to make it feel like a vacation."Adrian, you can stop now," Arabella laughed, trying to pull her foot away. "I think my ankles are officially pampered enough."Adrian didn't let go. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, his expensive suit jacket tossed on a chair and his shirt sleeves rolled up, he had just returned from the office and resumed his home duty almost immediately, rubbing a sweet-smelling mint cream into her feet with so much attention."The doctor said you need to keep your circulation up," Adrian said, flashing her that crooked smile that still made her heart skip. "And since I’m the one who made you this way, it’s my job to make sure you’re happy.""You 'made' me this way?" Arabella teased, reaching down to poke his shoulder. "I seem to remember being an active participant in that particular project."Adrian
Nathan Pierce was in the Whitmore building, standing right in the middle of Adrian’s office, staring at a security monitor with a cold sensation in his gut."He’s been sitting there for two hours," the head of security whispered. "He doesn't have an appointment, nor does he have a weapon on him. But he refused to leave until he spoke to 'the man in the commercials.'"Nathan looked at the boy on the screen. He was sitting on a designer bench in the corner of the lobby, a worn backpack at his feet. He was wearing a faded hoodie and sneakers that had seen better days, but it wasn't his clothes that had Nathan’s heart hammering against his ribs.It was the way the boy sat. One leg crossed over the other, his head tilted back with a certain arrogant indifference, the exact same posture Adrian used when he was bored in a boardroom. And when the boy looked up at the security camera, his eyes, a piercing, familiar shade of gray, seemed to look right through the lens."I'll handle it," Nathan
The headline of The Manhattan Insider stared back at Adrian in his home office. Adrian didn't throw the tablet or call his PR team. Instead, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Memories he had pushed aside for months began to resurface even more clearly. He could hear the rattling breath of his mother, Claudia, and the venom in her voice as she leaned toward the glass.“And your sister? The one you're so desperately trying to avenge?”At the time, Adrian had been so consumed by the revelation of Raina’s origin, so blinded by the war for Arabella’s safety, that he had let the comment slide as just another one of his mother’s psychological barbs. He had seen Nathan’s face go pale, had seen the tremor in his jaw, and he had done nothing. He had let his most loyal ally walk back into the light alone, carrying a burden that was clearly crushing him.The heavy doors of the library creaked open and Nathan stepped in. He didn't look like the shark of Manhattan today. His coat was damp from th
While Arabella was confined to her hospital bed and Adrian was in the penthouse being present for his daughter, Raina, Nathan Pierce was in a place he never let the Whitmores see.Nathan Pierce had spent years walking into rooms filled with powerful men without ever feeling small. But Room 402 reduced him to ash every single time. Nathan stood outside the partially opened door, his hand tightening around the door handle. Inside, Maya sat beside the window in a pale blue cardigan, watching the snow drift lazily outside. At thirty-four, she should have been in the prime of her life. Her once-sharp posture had become fragile over time. One of her hands trembled faintly in her lap, a small but relentless movement. The doctors called it neurological damage caused by autoimmune destabilization. “She asked for you twice this morning,” the nurse said quietly as she passed him in the hallway.Nathan nodded once before stepping inside. Maya turned slowly at the sound of the door opening. Her
Arabella lay propped up on three pillows. She felt hollow, as if the hemorrhage hadn't just taken blood, but had drained the very essence of her energy. The monitor beside her bed was turned away so she couldn't see the numbers, but she could hear the heartbeat.Thump... thump... thump.It was steady now, but slower than it should be. Adrian sat in the chair beside her. He hadn’t showered. He hadn’t eaten. He looked like a man who had been carved out of stone, his eyes bloodshot and fixed on the door as if he expected a physical enemy to burst through at any moment."I’ve talked to the board," Adrian said, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. "I’m moving the entire security team to this floor. I’ve rented out the rooms on either side of yours. No one gets in without a retinal scan. And when you’re stable enough to move, I’ve found a facility in the Berkshires. It’s a private medical estate. We’ll move Raina there. We’ll bring the doctors. You’ll never have to see a stranger again."Arabell
Arabella woke up to her phone ringing at six-thirty in the morning.She'd barely slept. After seeing the article about Adrian's donor past, she'd stayed up until two AM reading every version of the story, watching it spread across social media like wildfire, seeing the comments sections fill with o
Arabella arrived at the Quinn residence ten minutes early.She sat in the car with the engine running, fingers gripping the steering wheel harder than necessary, eyes fixed on the front door like it might disappear if she blinked.Four PM.She checked her watch again.Four PM exactly. The door open
Lilian watched Patricia Hart being escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs, and something inside her cracked. Beside her, Vanessa's breathing had gone shallow."Don't," Lilian whispered without looking at her. "Not here."Vanessa's hands were white-knuckled fists in her lap. "They arrested her."
Arabella barely slept. She arrived at the courthouse thirty minutes early, Catherine already waiting at the entrance with two assistants carrying boxes of evidence."Ready?" Catherine asked. Arabella nodded.The courtroom filled quickly. Everett and his team at their table. Lilian in the gallery.A







