I'm sorry for not updating yesterday. I've been down fever. I'm just forcing myself to not disappoint you guy. Also, we've reached 50k milestone. Thank you so much to every single one of you who made this journey easy for us—my gifters, gem givers, commenters, reviewers, silent readers—I thank you all.
Adele~My jaw flexed, tears trailing down my face. My trembling hand slid from his hair down the side of his face, my thumb grazing the corner of his trembling mouth.“Tell me,” I whispered, voice frayed, “how do I not want you?”My knees obeyed me as I sank down in front of him, kneeling with the man who’d hurt our daughter more than anyone else.I should be hating him for what our daughter went through under his roof, but I couldn't. God, I couldn't seek justice for our child. I locked foreheads with him, skin to skin, breath to breath. His lashes fluttered shut, like he was afraid to open his eyes and find me gone.“I can’t,” I choked out, my hands on his cheeks. “I can't even hate you. I want to hate you. But I can’t.”His eyes opened. His hands quivering on my arms. His breath hitched. “Adele…”I drew back just enough to see his face. His eyes were glittering with tears that didn't dare to fall just yet, as they fixed on mine with a kind of naked devotion that seized my breath.
Adele~Instead of explaining, Detroit stunned me with his action.He bent his knees! The mighty CEO Leighton D. West, the man the world bowed to, the man who never lowered his head for anyone–not even presidents and royalties–was kneeling before me. The crowd stirred, gasped, voices breaking out in shocked whispers and muffled exclamations.“What in the world—”“Did CEO West just kneel?”“He’s actually begging her?”Click! Click! Click! Camera shutters went off like fireworks, each flash illuminating the altar brighter than the chandeliers above us. My heartbeat stuttered, my breath catching in my throat. Detroit didn’t care about any of it – the stares, the murmurs, the chaos. His head tilted slightly up, his silver eyes locking onto mine with a raw vulnerability I had never seen in him.“Adele,” his voice was rough, breaking at the edges, “I found out a couple of days ago. I should have told you the truth then. But I didn’t. And for that, I'm also guilty.”My chest ached. My
Adele~Standing on the altar again this time was different. A couple of minutes ago, I had no one, but now, I have a family, sitting there and watching me get married to the man I didn't know how I fell in love with. The man who entered my life like a storm and swept me off my feet. I couldn't ask for anything else. Although this situation felt like a dream I didn’t want to wake up from, my mind knew it was my reality now. A reality I couldn't wait to throw myself into. Detroit's hand brushed against mine, pulling my mind back to him. My veil was on again. Sarah had pinned it back in place and told me I needed to get married like the queen I was. Despite myself, a soft laugh had slipped from my lips. But even with my veil on, I could see the restlessness buried underneath his eyes. It was as though he was fighting a battle no one else could see.He’d just given me back my family. My name. My place in the world. And yet, I couldn’t shake the sense that Detroit was hiding something.
Detroit~This day was never supposed to be about their wedding. It was an event to acknowledge Adele, to protect her, and to put her back in her rightful place.A private reveal would have been best for the Harringtons’ reputation, but Detroit knew the downside of that—these people were obsessed with appearances. If he revealed her lineage in secret, it would only give the monsters time to bury the truth. They could erase Adele again. They could kill the old man. They could silence Alaric.But if he did it in public, on the grandest stage, before the most influential witnesses in the world, Adele would finally be safe. They would have no choice but to recognize her, no choice but to give her back her rights.At first, Detroit only wanted Adele to humiliate Mia and his mother—the two who had dared torment her while he was in a coma. But then his grandmother told him what she knew of Adele’s identity. And everything changed.He thought long and hard about how to execute it. That was whe
Adele~ Old Man Denver swayed. Instinctively, I dashed forward, nearly tripping on my gown as I hurried down the steps. My chest tightened, he looked like he would crumble any second. But before he did, someone reached first, steadying him. I paused in my steps, my grip on my skirt tightening until the pain from my artificial nails warned me of breaking. “Adele?” I blinked away from the drama, down to my right. Silver was standing there, holding a stack of neatly arranged papers. She stretched them out to me without another word. “W–why should I take that?” my voice trembled. I already knew why, but I couldn't believe it. No, it was too scary to believe. “Adele,” I heard Emily's voice. Only when I looked up at my friends stalking towards me did I notice that my eyes were blurry. “It's okay,” she smiled painfully, “Take them and read.” She took the papers from Silver, pried my trembling hand away from my skirt and shoved the papers into it. I shook my head, my heart hea
Adele~Silver’s look startled me. Why was she looking at me? Alaric’s laughter snapped me out of my daze. A low, dark laugh that slithered through my bones and made me shiver beneath my veil. It was that kind of laugh a man lets out when he knows he holds the winning card. Then, suddenly, the look on his face changed. Alaric was no longer the playful devil in the hall. He was now the judge from hell. “You really thought that would stop me?” His voice cut through the uproar, calm but laced with venom.Before anyone could move, he reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a stack of papers. My stomach twisted for some weird reasons. How many layers of madness did this man come prepared with?“I came prepared,” he sneered, waving the folder like a sword. “I have thousands of copies. You want to see?”And then, he threw them up.Papers rained down like poisoned snow, fluttering across chairs, catching on dresses, landing in laps. A few guests gasped, bending down to pick them up, ey