LOGINBrielle’s POVThe first thing I did was close the laptop.The click echoed louder than it should have, snapping another round of tension between the both of us.And for a few more seconds, neither of us spoke.I could feel Axel standing behind me. I didn’t have to turn around to know the exact expression on his face—his clenching jaws, the storm brewing behind his eyes, his trembling lips that meant he was stuck between lying and telling the truth.My fingers curled slowly against the desk as a wave of anger and disappointment crashed over me.God. Not this over all again.I had spent months convincing myself things were different now. That the man behind me had changed. That the secrets, the manipulation, the careful games were all behind us. Heck, I believed Axel changed..Apparently, I was wrong.I turned around slowly to face him properly. And just doing that alone already made him so tense that he held back a breath before speaking.“Brielle—”“Don’t.” The word came out sharper t
Axel’s POVFor a moment, I stopped breathing.Because across the street, under what seemed like the dim halo of a streetlamp, stood a man who was supposed to be dead.My very own father.The chairman’s posture was unmistakable—arrogantly straightened up, hands folded neatly behind his back like he was attending a board meeting instead of standing in the middle of a Munich street watching his son propose.Watching us.Each day I learnt something about him, it just got more creepier.My heart pounded hard and fast against my ribs as I started to panic.Besides me, Brielle's hand tightened slightly on my shoulder. “Axel?”I didn’t answer.Because the second I blinked to react, he moved. He turned calmly, as if he’d just finished observing something mildly interesting, and stepped into the flow of pedestrians moving down the street.Disappearing without a trace. Like it was just my mind playing tricks on me now.But my mind was never the one to make such a mistake.Which was simply why I
Axel’s POVMunich looked…different at night.Quiet working be the word for it as it had never been silent for a while now. The city lights reflected off the wet cobblestones like scattered rays of gold, and the cold evening air wafted the smell of roasted chestnuts from a street vendor somewhere down the block.And for the first time in weeks, no one was trying to kill us.That alone was the difference. It felt strange…and very unreal.I sat across from Brielle at a small candlelit table near the window of some downtown restaurant tucked between two historic buildings. Now, it wasn’t one of the extravagant places we usually ended up in during business meetings.This one was quite the opposite. Welcoming. Normal. Safer.Which had been the entire point.Brielle had also insisted on it, wanting us to start something fresh and completely normal.“We shouldn't have bodyguards within five meters,” she’d said earlier, but I had compromised with ten.Now they sat scattered around the restaur
Brielle’s POVWho would have guessed that transportation in a snowstorm was a bad idea?Well, not me apparently.Snow battered the armored SUV like handfuls of sand thrown from the raging sky. The mountain roads were barely visible anymore, and the headlights carved narrow tunnels through the white covering ahead of us.But inside the vehicle, the silence brewing among us was worse than all of that.Especially since Jason sat across from me.Or whatever remained of him.His wrists were secured in reinforced cuffs bolted to the seat frame. Axel had insisted on that part. Actually, Axel had insisted on far worse.Yet somehow, Jason didn’t resist. Didn’t speak.Didn’t even look at the restraints.He just stared at his own hands like they weren't his. Like he was trying to remember where they came from.Every now and then his fingers would flex slowly, testing the movement in a subtle, not aggressive manner. Just… curiously.Like a child discovering their body for the first time.Alexei s
Axel’s POVThe moment Brielle activated that little black remote, everything moved to our advantage in minutes.Jason’s arm spasmed like someone had plugged him straight into a power surge. His grip loosened just enough for Brielle to drop from his hold, landing hard on her feet as she staggered backward, coughing up for more air.And as she placed both hands on her knees to regain herself, all hell broke loose around us.Jason’s arm jerked violently again.Metal joints clicked against themselves with a terrifying grinding sound. The silver glow in his eye flickered rapidly, like a broken lightbulb struggling to stay on without going off completely.“What—did—you—do?” he snarled, his voice glitching through the words.But instead of Brielle to answer him, she just pressed another button, her eyes as cold as the smile on her lips.And within seconds, a sharp electronic pulse ripped through the chalet itself. And soon, every soldier in the room stood frozen with wide eyes.Not the kind
Brielle’s POVI watched as the helicopters disappeared into the clouds like they’d never been there.Snow drifted slowly past the windows of the chalet, thick flakes spiraling down from the sky. From the outside, the place still looked peaceful; warm lights glowing through the glass alongside the smoke still curling lazily from the chimney.It'd have been the perfect vacation from all these havoc, but unfortunately, that thought was snatched away when I saw the men approaching now.I stepped away from the kitchen counter and grabbed one of the knives from the block. Not because I needed a knife.But because I needed my hands to have a grasp of something—anything that could catch them off guard in the most unpredictable situations ahead.Alexei moved beside me, his expression calm but the frequent darting of his eyes said otherwise. I mean, I haven't heard him crack a joke in the last twenty minutes now.“Eight,” he muttered under his breath like he couldn't believe it.“Unfortunately,







