LOGINRafael’s POV:Young minds and a heart like ancient wood. Meenah is obsessed with the idea of Diana McCoy, it worries me. On no account will I allow that meeting happen.I staggered down the hallways to my room, lost in thought. Marie was on the bed. I entered, shut the door, walked to my side, and sat. I was still wondering about the possibility of Diana meeting my muse. What the outcome would truly be...I felt hands creep under my black t-shirt to my chest. A jaw rested on my shoulder. I acted like I felt nothing. Her lips kissed my cheek.“Cinta~” she spoke. It made me jump. I've had women whisper in my ear with seductive voices. Why does Marie's have be awful? Why is everything with Marie so displeasing? Why does it all have to feel so... dry?I tried to pull away, but she held tight. “Fuck,” I cussed.She ki
---“No, you didn't,” Marcus announced, like that was the truth. Everyone paid close attention when he stood up, pretending to be calm. “Rafael, you never hurt him. You never shot him, we all loved Wire so much hence you couldn't have. Eric killed our son, Eric did it—although it's your fault.”“No,” Rafael replied, shaking his head, eyes wide, the disbelief in his eye clear as day... “No. It's not my fault... I-i-it's not my fault. No.” He hit his head again.“It was your fault,” Marcus concluded and walked away. His only goal was to put the blame on Eric alone, while letting Rafael know deep down it was really him—like the ghost behind his eyes ever since that day.---My vision went blurry...My hearing slowly faded...Maids rushed to me.My brain went blank and I passed out.The strong urge to follow him.The urge to die along with him.I was struggling to die. I wanted to end it all. I didn't want to live in this cruel world without Wire as my shield. I only wanted Wire—only him.
Louisa Palms is the youngest of the fifth generation of McCoys. She's married to Thomas Palms and has one son, Austen.Ever since she came to the United States for her brother, she's had no peace. Diana De L' Rosa is the cause of her frustration. To Louisa, how could a little troublemaker like Diana think she could take all her brother's properties for herself, and get away with it? Seducing Eric's damn lawyer to alter the will with that wicked body. Hmph!She went to the one person who could actually help her case. In return, she only had to track Diana everywhere she went and pester her.“I didn't know Tilda was in town,” Louisa smiled.“Isn't that Louisa McCoy?” Matilda whispered to her father from where they sat.Jacob De L' Rosa is the only man Louisa can trust to help her. He's proved it before—helping her with a past “burden” and introducing her to her savior, the Guvnor.Louisa had always been a very proud woman. She came to the States planning to live off her older brother fo
No response followed Meenah’s words, the silence thick as incense in the opulent dining hall. She let it linger, riding the uncomfortable hush until Sidney finally shattered it.“I’m officially enrolled at Wicks International,” he announced, voice laced with cautious pride.Rafael glanced up from his plate, chewing slowly. “You chose Wicks.”“Yeah.” Sidney’s smile widened, dimples— inherited from his mother—carving deep into his cheeks like innocent craters in a battlefield.Meenah leaned toward him, her whisper soft against the clink of silverware. “I’m proud of you.”Sidney nodded, a flicker of warmth easing the tension in his shoulders.Marieh poured wine with deliberate grace, her voice syrupy. “Whatever happened to the prestigious institutions here, my love? Doha has exceptional academies… you know.”“Mom,” Sidney countered, steady but firm, “the core of our empire—and the business—remains anchored in the U.S. We have to be there. Father migrates like a restless avian, and Meenah
Rafael's POV:“Cinta!~” she sang as she returned from the walk-in.I looked up. She stood stark naked in the doorway, skin flushed under the chandelier’s golden spill.Flabbergasted didn’t cover it.What in the actual fuck?I stared, fury boiling beneath my ribs like acid, but a dark, twisted humor clawed its way up my throat, choking me with its absurdity. My face burned with second-hand shame and helpless hilarity—the kind that twists your gut when life serves you another plate of pathetic. I swallowed the laugh that threatened to escape, barely holding it down. Lifted my gaze again and crooked a finger, beckoning her. “Get over here, you skank,” I grinned, voice low and dangerous, laced with the bitterness that never left me.She caught the amusement flickering in my eyes, her face lighting up like a child’s who’d finally pleased a cruel parent. She hurried forward, breasts bouncing in that ridiculous, desperate rhythm that made my stomach turn. The sight was pathetic. Tragic. And
The city of Berlin is beautiful in the morning.“Rafael left?”Disappointment coated my voice. Not only had he ignored the contract, but he’d fled Germany without a single word back to me.Zeeflora cleared her throat. “Uh—yeah. Last night I stayed as planned. I saw him leave.”Zee sat beside Joshua. Preston and Steven stood guard outside the door, as they should. Anika lingered in the corner.Despite the wreckage of last night, fury simmered beneath my skin. It was infuriating.“Pack up.” I shook my head. “We leave for home.” I drained a glass of water. Restless, but a new plan already coiled in my mind.Another goddamn two days wasted.>>>>>>CALIFORNIADE L’ ROSA MANSIONJacob De L’ Rosa lounged on the living-room couch, sneering at Rafael while lighting a cigarette pinched between index and middle fingers. “I didn’t know you’d crawl back to the States so soon.”Rafael sat beside him, gaze fixed on the chandelier glittering above the centre of the room. He offered no reply.Their at







