LOGINRoxana Warmth. That is the first thing I feel, not happiness. Not relief. Just, Warmth. My eyes are still closed. But I can feel something soft pressing against my skin. A blanket. My body aches beneath it. Every muscle feels heavy, as though someone replaced my bones with stone. I try to move. A dull pain spreads through my arms immediately. My eyelids flutter. Light. Too bright. I squeeze my eyes shut again before slowly forcing them open. The ceiling is White. Familiar. My heartbeat stumbles. No. I know this ceiling. I know this room. My gaze slowly wanders across the bedroom. The large windows. The marble fireplace. The bookshelves. The oversized bed. Our bedroom. No. His bedroom. My throat tightens. Why am I here? The last thing I remember is… Cold. The tiny room. The freezing floor. The bars over the window. Then, nothing. A quiet clink makes my eyes shift toward the other side of the room. Tristan. He’s standing near the window with his back turned to me. One han
Tristan The doctor arrives in less than ten minutes. Yet it feels like an hour. I stand inside the room with my arms folded. Roxana hasn't opened her eyes once. I stand beside the bed while the older man works in silence. He checks her pulse. Her breathing. Her temperature. His expression grows darker. Texas hovers near the foot of the bed, wringing her hands together. She hasn’t stopped crying since we brought Roxana upstairs. I ignore it. I ignore everything. My eyes remain fixed on the woman lying beneath the blankets. She looks… Small. Smaller than I remember. The oversized shirt swallows her frame. Her blonde hair fans across the pillow. Her lips are still pale. Too pale. The doctor finally looks at me. “When was the last time she ate?” I don’t answer immediately. Lucian does. “Yesterday morning.” The doctor’s brows pull together. “And after that?” Silence. My silence. His eyes shift between us. “I asked a question.” I force the words out. “She refused the meals.”
TristanFor one second, nothing happens. The guard’s words hang in the air. “She’s not waking up.”My mind rejects it immediately. Nope. She only wants attention. There is nothing wrong with her. She’s perfectly fine. She has to be. It’s just another game. Another manipulation scheme that I won't succumb to. She wants me to walk through that door and race to her. Texas is already moving before I am. “What do you mean she’s not waking up?”The guard swallows hard, “We knocked several times, she didn't answer. We unlocked the door….” his voice falters, “She was on the floor.”Something cold settles beneath my ribs. I stand so abruptly the chair crashes backward onto the marble floor. The sound echoes through the office.Nobody speaks. Nobody moves. I don't even remember crossing the room. One second, I'm beside the desk, the next, the office door slams against the wall as I stride into the corridor.Texas trails behind me without saying a word. Although I can guess she’s practically
Tristan The first report arrives before sunrise. Belladonna again. Another warehouse. Another empty building. Another trail that goes cold. I stare at the photograph spread across my desk, burned documents, discarded weapons. Fresh tire tracks. Nothing useful. Nothing. My fingers drum against the desk, “Find them.”The men standing in front of me nod immediately, “We are trying boss.”“Trying is not enough.”Silence falls. Good. “You can leave.”They obey, and the office door snaps shut behind them. Leaving only me still sitting behind the huge desk.I should be working. Instead, I realize I’ve read the same report four times. Without remembering a single line. Fucking annoying. I throw the file aside and grab another. Accounts. Weapon shipments. Money transfers. The numbers blur altogether as I stare. My eyes drift toward the window. It’s raining. Again. My jaw tightens. Mexico had been raining too. “Enough.” I force myself back to work. Anything that will remove my mind from
Roxana The door closes behind him. Not loudly. Just quietly. The soft click somehow hurts more than every shout that came before it. I don't move. I can't. My body remains exactly where it fell, my knees pressed against the cold wooden floor, my palm trembling beneath my weight. For a long time, I don't hear anything. No footsteps, no voices. No sound of breeze rustling the flowers. Nothing. It’s as though the entire world has stopped breathing. Then my own breath catches in my throat. A sob tears free. Another follows. Then another. Until I can't tell where one ends and the next begins. I curl into myself. Small. As small as I can become. Maybe if I disappear, none of this will ever happen. Maybe if I close my eyes long enough, I will wake up the morning Tristan left for Italy. Back before I opened that file. Back before I believed the worst of him. Back before I ran. My chest tightens so painfully I clutch at my shirt. No. Not my shirt. The oversized white shirt Tris
TristanThe metal door to the torture room groans open and I step inside. The room smells of damp concrete and old blood. The kind of smell I'm used to. Daniel looks up immediately. He’s sitting on a wooden chair, wrists restrained in front of him, not beaten. Not yet.The moment our eyes meet, fear drains every ounce of color from his face. Good. He should be scared, because there is a certainty that he may not walk out of this room alive. I walk further into the room. Slowly, deliberately. The door clicks shut behind me. And silence settles between us. Heavy. Oppressive. The only sound in the room is the pounding of his breath. Daniel swallows, “ I.… I didn't know she was married.”I don't answer. I keep walking. Until I'm standing directly in front of him. The man my wife left me for. I stand close to him, so close he has to tilt his head back to look at me. My voice rings through the silence in the room, “You have been saying that.”His breathing becomes uneven. “It’s the tr
Roxana This is a nightmare! What did he say? Claim me? He’s acting like I’m something to be claimed. I open my mouth to argue but snap it shut. I know better than to argue with Tristan. “Don’t punish me, please….” My voice breaks, my pulse pounding loudly in my ears. “ I will.” With
Roxana I slam my hand over my mouth to stop from screaming as the scene unfolds before me. Tears choke me. My knees buckle, and my entire body shakes uncontrollably. Is this a nightmare? A lump forms in my throat. I can already feel wetness staining my cheeks. This is the man I love so much—th
Tristan My phone buzzes, waking me. I ignore it, opening my eyes for a moment and staring into the blank space. It buzzes again. This time, I stretch my hand to the bedside drawer and pick it up. There are several texts from my brothers, my mother, and all the family members. *We are in your li
RoxanaI keep turning on my bed, Aaron’s words replaying in my head. I have to leave this house tonight. That’s the only way I can escape this arranged marriage and be with the man who truly loves me.Checking the time for the hundredth time today, I get out of bed.It’s 6pm.Almost dinnertime.Onc







