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CHAPTER 10: MELTING HEARTS
Last Updated:
2025-02-28 23:44:35
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Desperate Measures CHAPTER 11: THE FIRST CRACK
Aldo stood in his study, his gaze lost in the fireplace while the rain beat heavily against the windows and roof. The whiskey in his hand was barely touched as he recalled what he had said to Liya and he felt like kicking himself in the leg. He remembered the hurt on her face and concluded that he was such a jerk. He didn't mean to blurt out what he had said to her but she was tearing down walls that had been erected for a long time with so much ease that she barely noticed and he didn't want that or did he?His thoughts however shifted to what he had been trying to ignore, the reason why he seemed so lost. Despite locking up the past, some ghosts still slipped through the cracks, and the night was one of those nights.The door to his study opened and he knew only one person could enter his study unannounced. Liya. He didn't turn around, ashamed to face her after what he said in the Library.“I knew I'd find you here,” Liya’s voice was soft when she spoke. He'd expected her not to bot
Last Updated : 2025-03-06Desperate Measures CHAPTER 12: LIAM IN TROUBLE
Liya was up early the next morning even though she barely slept after her conversation with Aldo. She still couldn't believe he had told her something so personal and though it wasn't much, it was an improvement in their relationship— she would take whatever she could. It wasn't every time he let his guard down.And then the electricity in the room had changed when he grabbed her hand. Even now she could still feel his light touch on her wrist but she did what she knew best— she left before she could make a fool of herself. She didn't want them to blur lines seeing as what they had was only an arrangement, a marriage in name and paper only. Besides he had told her she wasn't there to stay so she didn't want to get attached. That didn't stop them from having a cordial relationship while they lived together.She was standing by the window, going over her thoughts when her phone rang. When she saw the number on the screen, her heart stopped and she wished he wasn't in trouble. She didn't
Last Updated : 2025-03-13Desperate Measures CHAPTER 13: His Plan
The house was very quiet after Aldo left to make his call. Liya couldn't stop pacing the room as she felt so restless and uneasy about the situation. She didn't exactly feel good that she just had to wait while Liam was out there, in danger with the one person she tried to stay clear of. How could he be so stupid to get involved with him again? Didn't he learn from the last time? He had to grow up because she wasn't always going to be there to get him out of his mess.Aldo had asked her to trust him— at least that he could bring her brother back. And if there was anyone she had little faith in, it was him. She finally took a seat on her bed when she got tired from her movements. Many thoughts were running through her mind. She wondered why Damian was after Aldo so badly. Why was he on their necks? There was definitely more to it than the surface game they were playing but she didn't know how deep it was. There was no way to find out.She thought back to how broken Aldo had looked whe
Last Updated : 2025-04-07Desperate Measures CHAPTER 14: His Associates
“Looks like they roughed you up a little,” Aldo said while his expression changed. “It's good to see you too, Marino,” Liam let out as he stepped inside.Liya immediately turned and rushed to him. She was filled with worry as she took in his appearance. His clothes were twisted and his shirt was missing some buttons. His face had a bruise on it and this made Liya both concerned and angry. “Liam. Are you okay? What happened to you?” her voice was filled with anxiety.“I'm fine. It's nothing I can't handle,” he said, brushing off her worry. His eyes fell on Aldo as he asked him. “I thought you had things under control.”“I did until you found yourself in trouble again. I thought you'd listen to your sister and stay away from him but it looks like I thought wrong,” Aldo said while putting his hands in his pockets.“I don't remember taking orders from you, Marino,” Liam challenged.“And I don't remember being paid to get you out of trouble every time Glensdale,” Aldo voiced out with a ra
Last Updated : 2025-04-09Desperate Measures CHAPTER 15: Warning Signs
Liya stared at her phone screen, the message blinking in the dim light of the SUV. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears. Be careful. You don't know who you married. The words wrapped around her thoughts, suffocating her brief moment of calm.She tilted the phone, hoping the message would somehow vanish, like it had been a mistake. No such luck."Something wrong?" Aldo's voice was calm, but that subtle undertone of control sent chills down her spine.She quickly turned off her phone screen. "No, just... spam. You know how it is."His eyes flicked to her for half a second, and though he didn’t press, she knew he’d sensed the tension. He always did. The rest of the ride passed in a heavy silence. Not awkward, not forced but anticipatory, like the universe itself was holding its breath.When they arrived at the mansion, Aldo’s guards resumed their posts like shadows. Liya stepped into the large space, but it felt smaller tonight. Like the walls had secrets. Like the floors remembered footste
Last Updated : 2025-04-19Desperate Measures CHAPTER 16: Smoke and Mirrors
Liya stood on the balcony, barefoot, the silk hem of her nightgown brushing her ankles as the moonlight painted shifting shadows across the marble floor inside, but her gaze stayed fixed on the darkness far below. Her thoughts were too loud to be silenced by the muffled sounds of insects. The house was very quiet as she decided to wait for Aldo.Her phone vibrated on the table behind her, the sound loud in the otherwise silent house. She turned, grabbed it, and stared at the screen which showed another message that left her confused.Unknown Number. “They’re watching.”That was the third message that week. All anonymous. All vague. But every one of them had made her feel like she was drowning in unseen eyes. She locked the screen and stared at her reflection in the glass door. The woman staring back didn’t look like her anymore.The sharp sound of unlocking behind her startled her. She turned quickly, heart in her throat, but it was only Aldo. He looked like he’d fought a war and lost
Last Updated : 2025-04-21Desperate Measures CHAPTER 17: Strange delivery
Liya didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until knocking on the door shook her. It wasn’t loud, more like a soft tap meant to disturb without causing alarm. Still, in the dead silence of the early morning, it was deafening.She sat up, the blanket slipping off her shoulders. She glanced at the clock. 5:42 a.m. Odd. Too early for housekeeping or whoever it was.A moment passed, and then the knock came again. This time, a single tap. Then silence. She rose cautiously, wrapping her robe around her body as she approached the door. “Who is it?” she asked, her voice firmer than she felt.No response.She opened the door just a crack, peeking into the hallway. Empty. No sound, no movement. Just the numerous paintings on the wall. Her room was at a good distance from the main quarters. No one wandered here unless they had a reason.Her eyes dropped to the floor. A small parcel lay at the foot of her door. Wrapped in plain brown paper, no ribbons, no stamps. No handwriting on the outside. Like a
Last Updated : 2025-04-21Desperate Measures CHAPTER 18: Brother in the rain
The rain hadn’t stopped since dawn as Liya sat in the library, a blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders. The fireplace crackled low, adding warmth but not comfort. There was a stillness to the house today, the kind that makes silence feel louder. Outside, the guards were posted under the arches of the front gate, unmoving, rain dotting their coats. No one came in. No one left. Not that anyone could, not without Aldo’s permission.The message still haunted her. Two of them now, from the same anonymous number. Military-grade encryption, Mason had said. The kind of thing that could get someone killed just by tracing it. But what haunted her more was that lingering sense that the sender wasn’t a stranger.The way they wrote… it felt personal.She hadn’t spoken to Aldo since after their walk in the garden. He’d disappeared again. His absence left the mansion hollow in a way that didn’t make sense, considering it had always been too large for two people.Liya tucked her legs under her
Last Updated : 2025-04-21
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Desperate Measures CHAPTER 26: Comfort
Liya quickly had her bath and headed to Aria's room. She was barely in the mood for breakfast. All she wanted to do was spend some time with the little girl. Just as she was heading there, she walked past Aldo in the hallway. She opened her mouth to greet him, but the look that he gave her made her shut her mouth immediately. She wanted to go after him and ask him what was wrong, but she knew better than to do that. She couldn't push away the feeling that something had happened. Something that had shaken him. Something that couldn't have been easily fixed. Liya knocked, trying to smile as she got into Aria's room. Aria was already up and refreshed, reading a book on her bed. Liya tried observing every single action that Aria made, trying to see if she noticed that something was going on with her brother. But Aria seemed like she was oblivious to whatever had happened to Aldo. “Have you read Frieda McFadden's newest book?” She asked out of excitement. “Yes, I have,” Liya said, try
Desperate Measures CHAPTER 25: Broken Trust
After talking to Liya, Aldo knew that nothing would ever remain the same. He wanted to head to his room, but he knew that sleep was the last thing on his mind at the moment. He ended up going to his study to see if he would be able to go through some files that needed his attention. Business was the only thing that seemed to save him whenever he was drowning in thoughts. He tried going through them, but he couldn't get Liya’s voice out of his head. Her calm voice when she said she just wanted him to be real with her. He didn't know if all the answers that he had given her were the best but at least he was truthful to her. It was true that he and Damian were close. Very close allies and businessmen back then. Damian was more like an older brother and that was due to their age difference. He was a mentor but now Damian was more like a wolf hunting Aldo down. Aldo ran his hands through his hair in frustration, as he tried not to groan. A knock on the door brought him out of his dilemm
Desperate Measures CHAPTER 24: Photograph
After checking up on Aria and going back to his office to check on the security cameras that Melinda had said she put in place, Aldo headed back to his study to go through a few documents that needed his attention. He checked up on Aria again and this time, she was really asleep. He couldn’t hold back his chuckle. He was glad she could sleep after all that they had been throughout that day. Liya decided to keep herself busy with something after Aria had left her room for hers. As she walked down the halls, she noticed the door to Aldo’s room was open. She had never been in there so she didn’t bother knocking as she walked into the room. It was the first time so she took time to admire it. The room was covered in white. Like a hospital. The only things that were of a different color were the mahogany doors and tables. She wondered how he managed to stay in an almost monochrome room. She was so lost in thought, that she didn’t even notice when he walked into the room. He tapped her sh
Desperate Measures CHAPTER 23: Sister Talk
Aria walked into Liya’s room. Liya had been able to regulate her breathing and stop herself from freaking out, panicking, and flinching at every single sound by some miracle. She didn’t know how she was able to do it, but she did it. Aldo had already left her to herself after he had hugged her and promised to protect her. She knew that he was either in his study or in his room, reading over a few files just as usual. It was like she had almost been right in front of death but was somehow lucky. For how long though?Aria’s knock on the door was able to bring her back to reality. She managed to smile at the girl, who returned the smile with the brightest one she could muster. “Do you need something?” Liya asked, and she shook her head. “I just wanted to see you before I go to bed,” Aria whispered, tip-toeing until she got to Liya’s bed, and sat down, taking her hand in her smaller ones.“That’s okay,” Liya whispered back, making both of them laugh. But then, Liya had other things in m
Desperate Measures CHAPTER 22: Meeting
Aldo walked down to the basement. He could finally breathe after so long. After making sure that his girls were okay, he could finally pay attention to things that were a threat to their safety. His men pushed the iron door aside, and he walked in, inspecting the room. He noticed the man they had captured sitting in a corner, tied to the chair. Aldo felt his hands ball into fists as he walked up to the guy immediately. His head was cocked to the side, as blood flowed from the sides of his mouth. Aldo looked over to the men who were standing behind the attacker. “Has he said anything?” he asked, and they shook their heads. “He just kept saying that he won't say a word until his boss feels like he is worth saving.”Aldo tried his best to hold back his laughter at the mention of that. The attacker obviously didn’t know the kind of person he worked for. He was just going to be one of the countless souls who lost their lives all because they were sent on missions that they couldn’t retu
Desperate Measures CHAPTER 21: Just In Time
Aldo was going through some of the files that had been sitting at his table for the longest time. It was time that he focused on work properly, at least to take his mind off all the things that had been happening at home. His phone suddenly rang, and he rushed to pick it up. Melinda’s name flashed on the screen, and he frowned. He hurried to answer, hoping that there was nothing wrong happening at home. “What’s wrong?” he asked, with a sense of urgency in his tone.“Sir,” Melinda answered, panting. “The warehouse at the harbor is on fire.”“What?” he asked, hoping that he didn’t hear her properly, but she repeated the same statement. That alone made anger fill his body immediately. He managed to regain himself. He couldn’t be caught slipping. He hurried out of the office, into his car, and drove to the harbor.On his way there, Aldo hoped to God that Melinda was playing some kind of joke. He promised himself that he wasn’t going to react negatively if it turned out that she was telli
Desperate Measures CHAPTER 20: An attack
Liya woke up and she could instantly tell that something was wrong before she even properly opened her eyes. Her blanket slowly slipped off her shoulders as she stood up. She hurried downstairs to check where Melinda and Aldo were but everywhere was quiet. She didn’t want to panic. She hurried back to her room, bracing herself to call him and ask where he was. She didn't know why but she had a strong feeling of danger.Liya walked into the room just in time to hear the phone ping. Cautiously, she picked it up. She was slightly relieved when she saw that it was just a text from Melinda. That meant they were fine, right?Stay inside today. It’s not safe. The text said.Liya had to roll her eyes. Like it was ever safe at the house. They were always assuring her that the estate was safe and secure but somehow, someone always managed to breach the security. Going past the gates, going past the guards, making it through the alarm sensor, and sometimes, even crossing the electric fence. The
Desperate Measures CHAPTER 19: Partial Truth
Liya walked back to the mansion as she wrung her hands together. She still couldn’t make sense of the fact that Liam was there, trying to talk to her and then he was gone in a flash. The fear was obvious in his voice. Maybe if he hadn’t shown her how stupid he was, she might have believed him and trusted him to take care of himself. She was fighting a silent battle, trying to see if she wanted to tell Aldo about everything that Liam had just told her. But he specifically asked her not to trust Aldo. Not yet at least. Just as she was about to walk into the mansion, a blaring sound went off immediately, making her flinch and panic. It was the alarm. She hurried inside before any of the guards could come and see her outside. She looked around as she made her way up the stairs. She waited for Aldo to show up at any minute. Things were extremely unpredictable when it came to the man.Liya hurried to her room, changing her clothes which were now soaking wet. Just as she tied the comfortabl
Desperate Measures CHAPTER 18: Brother in the rain
The rain hadn’t stopped since dawn as Liya sat in the library, a blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders. The fireplace crackled low, adding warmth but not comfort. There was a stillness to the house today, the kind that makes silence feel louder. Outside, the guards were posted under the arches of the front gate, unmoving, rain dotting their coats. No one came in. No one left. Not that anyone could, not without Aldo’s permission.The message still haunted her. Two of them now, from the same anonymous number. Military-grade encryption, Mason had said. The kind of thing that could get someone killed just by tracing it. But what haunted her more was that lingering sense that the sender wasn’t a stranger.The way they wrote… it felt personal.She hadn’t spoken to Aldo since after their walk in the garden. He’d disappeared again. His absence left the mansion hollow in a way that didn’t make sense, considering it had always been too large for two people.Liya tucked her legs under her
