Mag-log inI tried to suppress the memory from last night as I sat with Axel in the back of his car.
The butler had asked me to get dressed, I was to accompany Axel somewhere and now we were in his car, on our way to God knows where. With the nervous tension from our encounter last night still clinging to me, I couldn’t find the courage to say even a single word to him. “I didn't see anything,” he spoke, breaking the awkward silence. “What?” “Last night, I didn't see anything when your robe fell,” he said, turning to look at me. I quickly tore my gaze from his and fixed my eyes on the road as I gulped, letting out a sigh of relief. Thank God! The car pulled up to a towering skyscraper that seemed to touch the sky, its glass exterior glowing under the sunlight like a jewel. The moment we stepped inside, I couldn't help but gawk at what I was looking at, the interior was even more stunning. Delicate, intricate floral designs wove seamlessly into an ultra-modern aesthetic, a perfect balance of elegance and innovation. At the far end, a glass elevator glistened like crystal, rising gracefully toward the heights above “It's beautiful,” I whispered. “It sure is,” he replied. “It's yours,” he smiled, hands in both pockets. The first time his smile has looked genuine. Wait! Did he just say the building was mine? “You're joking,” my jaw was on the floor, disbelief written all over me. He gestured for a man standing in the corner to come close, and he grabbed some documents from his hands and gave it to me. My hands were visibly shaking. Is he joking? “I bought the building in your name last night, you can check the documents to confirm,” I examined the document carefully. In bold, unmistakable print, the deed stated: Registered Owner, Elara Steele. A forty-eight-storey skyscraper, legally mine. He wasn't bluffing. “I…I don't…I don't know what to say,” I stuttered, trying to decide if I should scream in excitement or jump. “I made a promise to you that I would help you take down Dorian and his mistress, this is the first step,” “This…this is a lot and I….I'm very shocked and impressed, but…. I don't see how buying me a million dollar skyscraper could help to enforce our plan.” He walked closer to me and spoke. “This building is for your jewelry company. With your creativity, I'm going to make you the biggest jeweller in the United States and make sure you drive Dorian's mistress to bankruptcy and have her company at your mercy.” He had a serious expression on his face now and I knew he meant business. Axel took me to another building he purchased for his automobile company he was starting up. Dorian's field. His company's goal was the same as mine, dominate the field until Dorian's company shrinks, till it eventually dies. He had taken me to his after leaving the…..my…my new company. I smiled as I thought about it. Axel was making my dream come true. For so long, it looked out of my reach. Having my own jewelry company looked like a myth, a fantasy, but Axel took it out of my dreams and brought it to life. Oh my God, Elara get your sh*t together. He wasn't being nice to me because he cares or anything, I'm just a means to an end for him, a way to get to Dorian. He dropped me off at a beauty clinic , to meet up with Cyrus. Apparently, Cyrus told him we had a spa date. I sat at the private lounge, waiting for Cyrus to show up and he finally called after more than 15 minutes of me sipping red wine and staring at the wall waiting for him. I walked to the parking lot where he was supposed to be and the first thing that hit my eyes was the black Range Rover parked a few feet from where I was standing. Dorian's car. What are the fucking odds! I turned to leave before he could see me but he called my name from behind. “Elara.” I rolled my eyes and slowly turned to his direction. “What do you want?” I fired at him. “I know what you're doing,” he said, voice laced with bitterness. “I have no idea what you're talking about,” I folded both arms staring intently at him. He scoffed,“You need to drop the strong girl act, it looks stupid on you,” “F**k you, Dorian,” I spat and stormed back to the Spa. “Come back here you stupid bitch,” he followed closely behind me. “I got information you were inspecting a new company today with some guy,” I just shook my head and kept on walking, completely ignoring him, but he didn't stop. “That's what you're doing now? Trying to sleep with whoever is willing so you can get back at me, I knew you were stupid and worthless but I never knew you could go so low as to selling yourself for a few favours from rich men. Thankfully your parents are not alive to see how shameful and pathetic their daughter has become.” The next second, the thunderous sound of a slap echoed in the air as my palm landed on Dorian’s cheek. “Don't you dare speak to me like that,” I warned, eyes burning with rage as he stood staring at me, hand against his face where I had hit him. “And just so you know, I'm married now,” I said, waving my ring in front of his eyes. His eyes followed the ring closely, his face contorted in shock and disbelief. “I'm married to someone a hundred times richer and more powerful than you will ever be, thank you for initiating the divorce and freeing me from that shameful marriage,” my lips curved in a wicked smile, seeing how deep my words were cutting him. The look on his face was mixed with shock and resentment, eyes widened in disbelief, his jaws clenched tightly. I let out an exhilarating laugh, it felt so good to finally stand up to him. After years of him controlling me and making me feel less of myself. Seeing the look on his face was nothing short of satisfactory. “I'll find out who he is,” he warned. “I'll make him see you as the liability you are and I'll make sure he leaves you.” “Good luck with that,” I chuckled and walked off. “I know you're up to something,” he continued . “You better watch your back, Elara. I'll find out what you're doing and I'll make sure it blows in your face.” He yelled from behind me. What a joke.I ran through the hallway as fast as my legs could carry me, gripping the gun tightly in my hand while my heart slammed hard against my chest.I had no idea where I was going.I just knew I had to keep moving.Gunshots echoed through the house from different directions, making me flinch every few seconds as fear crawled deeper into my body.Then finally, I saw the staircase going downstairs.Relief almost made my knees give out.I turned sharply toward it and rushed down the stairs, breathing hard, my vision slightly blurry from panic and tears.But the second I got halfway down...I froze.My breath caught instantly.He looked up at the exact same moment and his eyes landed on me.“Elara.”The way he said my name ignited something inside me.“Axel…”I dropped the gun immediately and ran down the remaining stairs.The second I reached him, his arms wrapped around me tightly and I broke down completely.“Oh my God…” I sobbed into his chest. “Oh my God…”His arms tightened around me like
*****Elara’s POV*****My heart pounded violently against my ribs as I stood in the middle of the room, completely frozen.Gunshots just kept going off outside the house, one after another, loud enough to make the walls tremble slightly around me and every single sound made chills run down my spine.My breathing became uneven as fear slowly crawled up my throat.It was scary not knowing what was happening out there and who was attacking the house.A loud scream echoed faintly from somewhere outside the house, followed by another round of bullets and my stomach twisted painfully.Then suddenly...BANG!!I jolted so hard my entire body shook.That gunshot was loud enough I could tell it came from inside the house.I felt the vibration run through the walls and my chest tightened instantly because something was wrong, very wrong.Before I could even process another thought, the door to the room flew open violently.I stumbled back in shock as Azura stormed inside looking furious, her che
Gunshots echoed repeatedly through the night as bodies dropped one after the other, with bullets flying across the property nonstop while I and my men pushed forward aggressively without slowing down.Azura’s men kept pouring out from every corner of the estate, from behind cars, the balconies and even the security posts, but I had come prepared for war.My men fired back, holding their ground firmly as the entire place erupted into chaos.“MOVE!” Knox yelled loudly over the gunfire.The men quickly created an opening, clearing a path toward the mansion for me, Knox, Cyrus and Dorian while the others stayed back, keeping Azura’s men occupied.Bullets whizzed past us as we ran toward the house, but we were somehow able to make it unscathed.The second we got to the entrance, Cyrus kicked the doors open hard and the four of us stormed inside before slamming the doors shut behind us.Immediately, the atmosphere changed.The loud gunshots outside suddenly sounded distant.The inside of th
My head snapped to the side as the sting exploded across my cheek.My hand slowly came up to my face, touching the spot as I turned back to look at her, completely consumed in shock.“The next time you try to touch me...” she said coldly as her eyes burned into mine, taking a step closer. “...I’ll cut your hand off.”I swallowed hard, not breaking her gaze.“What… what do you want from me?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.Her lips curled slowly.“I'm taking back what you stole from me...what is rightfully mine...your life...I'll get rid of you and I'll become the new Elara Steele.""Think of what you're doi..."“And I’ll bring down anything that stands in my way,”she interrupted me mid sentence. “Even that pathetic husband of yours.”"He has nothing to do with this."“I don’t care how many people I have to kill,” she added, her voice dark and unwavering. “As long as I get what I want."“You’re making a mistake.” I knew there was no point trying to talk her out of it since s
*****Elara’s POV*****A soft groan slipped out of my lips as my eyes fluttered open.Everything felt heavy, my head, my limbs… even my eyelids.I blinked slowly, trying to adjust, but the same disgusting sight came into view again.The horrid looking room I'd been trapped in since I was taken.Cobwebs clung to the corners of the ceiling, swaying slightly like they had a life of their own. The walls were worse… paint peeling off roughly along the walls, revealing patches of green mold and moss that crawled out of the cracks like fungus.The smell alone was enough to make my stomach turn.I lifted my hands weakly… but they dropped back onto the thin mattress almost immediately.I exhaled slowly, staring up at the ceiling.For days I've been hoping to speak to someone, anyone, just to understand what was going on, but I was completely left alone with my own thoughts.A shaky breath left me as I forced myself up, the bed creaking loudly under my weight.My fingers curled into a fist ins
She was still smiling at me when I realised my hand was still cupping her face.A quiet chuckle slipped out of me as I slowly dropped my hands, shaking my head a little like I still couldn't believe it. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear those words.”Skye’s smile softened, her fingers still loosely holding onto mine like she couldn't get enough of this moment too.“I’ve been searching for you both for years,” she said, glancing between me and Dorian. “And When I finally found you, I just… I didn’t know how to approach you. I found you both months ago actually, but I kept hanging around from a distance.”My brows pulled together slightly. “Months?”She nodded, a small nervous laugh leaving her. “Yeah. I kept thinking… what if you didn’t want to see me? What if I just showed up and it ruined everything?”I scoffed quietly, leaning back slightly against the bed. “Skye… I’ve been trying to find you for years. There is no way in this world you showing up would have ruine
He rolled over on the bed and let out a deep exhale, then took my hand, prompting me to look at him.“Are you okay?” He asked softly.“Yeah,” I nodded my head.“Alright, just making sure…because that was really intense.”Intense?Intense doesn't even begin to describe it.“It's nothing I can't hand
“You’ve got to be f*cking kidding me,” I cursed as I lay flat on the bed. “Is this some kind of game to you? Trying to make me sexually frustrated.” An exasperated sigh slipped from my lips, gaze fixed on the ceiling.But he didn't answer.“I honestly don't see what you're trying to achieve with t
“You're joking,” I whispered under a shaky breath as I lifted my head for a brief second, catching only a glimpse of the satisfied smile on his face before tears completely blurred my vision.I had faith in Axel that he would help me get back what Dorian stole from me, but never in a million years
*****Axel's POV*****“I don't need a hit man, I'll do it myself.” Dorian crossed the line coming for Elara, he has no idea, but he just signed his death deal.“What do you think would happen if it gets out that Axel Thorne, Elara's husband murdered his blood brother, what do you think would happ







