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CHAPTER 18: Brother in the rain

Author: Bryan King
last update Last Updated: 2025-04-21 18:46:45

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
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  • Desperate Measures   CHAPTER 51: The Park

    Liya woke up the next morning extremely relieved. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to sleep beside someone. And even if Aldo had left the room before she even woke up, she still couldn't deny how peaceful the whole night felt to her. As she got downstairs, she saw that Aria was already dressed and having breakfast. “Good morning,” Aria said with a huge smile plastered on her face. Liya frowned. She was used to the girl smiling, but there was something different about that one. “Good morning, is everything okay?” She asked, and Aria nodded, lifting Aldo's credit card from the table. “He asked us to get a few things. Oh, and this time, he trusted us with the responsibility of restocking the library.”Liya cocked her head to the side. Did he forget that he had given her his other credit card? Aria answered the question like she was in her mind. “He said you should use the one he gave you for the picnic, and yourself alone. Just as a little warning, he would find out when y

  • Desperate Measures   CHAPTER 50: In Her Bed

    “Where were they found?” Liya asked as she turned back to face him. She could see the pure happiness on his face, and she was already bracing herself to hear that she had guessed wrong. That was the only thing that could make him that happy, right?He hesitated before walking over to her, and she found herself holding her breath. There was so much that was going on in her head as she looked at him. Things that she didn’t even want to feel. Feelings that came from her stomach. They were making the husband and wife thing look real. But she knew that she wanted more. She needed more. She needed Aldo. Liya could feel herself tune out as she watched him. Her mouth slowly fell open, and he slowly picked her up, twirling her around.“They were found in the warehouse. Just as you said they would be!”Liya froze. Did he just say what she thought she heard him say? A small smile spread across her lips as Aldo twirled her around again. “Shit I’m sorry,” he said, dropping her down. Liya frowned

  • Desperate Measures   CHAPTER 49: First Kill

    Liya covered her ears with her hands as soon as the gun went off. Aldo took her in his arms immediately, covering her face like he was shielding her from something. He didn’t want to see her crying. “You’re fine, Liya,” he whispered as he held her close to stop her from shaking. She was nodding against his chest. She waited and waited for the tears to flow. Nothing came to her eyes. The only thing that she could hear were the disgusting words that had left the man’s lips earlier. And she didn’t regret doing anything. Did that make her a monster?As soon as she stopped shaking, Aldo held her by the shoulders and made her look at him. She didn’t miss the look of pride on his face. The tips of his lips were turned up in a small smile. “You did perfectly well,” he whispered to her, as he leaned down, placing a small kiss on her lips. She felt her knees buckle, and the gun fell out of her hands. By the time the kiss broke, Aldo had a full smile on his face.“Are you okay now?” he asked,

  • Desperate Measures   CHAPTER 48: First Shot

    Liya bit her lip as she tried to hold herself from asking Aldo where he was taking her. The look he was giving her asked her to trust him. And she wanted to do that without any hesitation. She didn’t miss the look that Aria was giving her either. It was obviously about the outing. She gave Aria a thumbs-up before she headed out. That was enough as a sign that everything was going well. At least for now. She still couldn't bring herself to tell Aldo about Liam. Or the fact that he had called. But Liam would never cause her any bodily harm, would he? The only thing he would do is sell her off to Damian for a little cash.Liya didn't view it as harmful. Which was stupid because anything that involved Damian was harmful, and Liam had shown violent tendencies. But as long as it didn’t include a gun or any kind of sharp object, Liya didn’t want to count selling her off as harm. Aldo finally let go of her hand as he got into the car, urging her to do the same. She nodded, heading over to

  • Desperate Measures   CHAPTER 47: Suggestions

    “Aldo,” Liya called out, and he looked up immediately. He wanted to give her some kind of cheerful look, just the way he had done that morning, but he couldn’t even bring himself to do that. His mood was far from cheerful.“Is there a problem?” he asked, a little too sharply than he intended to. He noticed the way she flinched at his tone and squinted his eyes. His head was throbbing already.“Actually… yes,” she said, in a whisper, and he got up quickly. “What happened?” It was when he looked around the room that he noticed that Aria and Amelia were standing there. “Maybe we should talk in private,” Liya said, purposely looking over at Amelia. She could swear that she would have been more comfortable with Melinda around. “Sure,” Aldo said, as he walked out of the room. She walked behind him, and he walked into his room, still keeping the door open for her to walk in. As soon as she did, she locked it. “How is your arm?” he asked, looking her over. On a normal day, he would have t

  • Desperate Measures   CHAPTER 46: Call

    “Liam?” Liya asked immediately, and Aria frowned, with her head turned in Liya’s direction, waiting to see if there was any wrong or uncomfortable reaction on her face. She was very much ready to call Aldo if she noticed something off. She didn’t care if Aldo was mad at her. She didn’t care if she and Aldo weren’t on talking terms at the moment. She didn’t care if Liya was going to beg her not to call him yet. “Where are you?” Liya asked, trying to ignore the way Amelia was looking at her like she was going to jump at her if anything went wrong. “I’m sorry, I can't tell you right now,” Liam answered with some sort of urgency. “Are you with Damian?” Liya was about to ask if she should come and pick him up. But as she looked at Aria and the little bandage that was tied around her hand, she stopped herself. She knew that the injury had healed, for most of it, but she couldn’t take risks like that. She had to pick a side to be loyal to. And with everything that was happening, Liya knew

  • Desperate Measures   CHAPTER 45: Stolen

    Aldo walked through the warehouse with his hands clenched right beside him. He didn’t know how to feel after what Aria had blurted out. There was a little cliff where he usually went to exhale and unwind. But now, it didn’t seem to work. The only thing he could do was come to work, where he could keep himself busy. He hadn't expected Aria to bring her up. That would explain the shock he had felt. Even after she knew everything that happened between him and she was the last person he wanted to be thinking about at that moment. He had forgotten about this person, and Aria had to remind him.His men at the entrance of the warehouse bowed down as they greeted him. He nodded, not bothering to give them his usual small talk. He was not in the mood for that. He was just there to check up on the stock and probably head back home to rest. “There’s an issue, sir,” Melinda said, and he frowned. Of course, he couldn’t ask Melinda to go off for a whole week. She was only not allowed to come to

  • Desperate Measures   CHAPTER 44: Sad

    “Has Aldo left already?” Liya asked as she walked back into the kitchen, where she saw Aria wiping her tears. She noticed the way Aria was hurriedly wiping her tears and the way Aldo had sped out of the estate. “Did something happen?” she asked immediately, hurrying to where Aria stood. Aria shook her head. “I just brought up the past. It was something I shouldn’t have done. I don’t know if Aldo is going to ever speak to me again.”Liya frowned. She knew that Aria was Aldo’s favorite person in the world. So what was going to be so intense that he wouldn’t talk to her?“Do you want to talk about it? At least tell me what the past was about.”Aria shook her head immediately. “It’s not my story to tell, and Aldo would get even angrier if I did. If he wants to tell you, he will tell you himself.”Liya took a step back to observe her closely. It was the first time in a while that she had seen a girl like that. To Liya, it didn’t matter what Aria had done. Aldo didn’t have to get angry an

  • Desperate Measures   CHAPTER 43: Steak

    Aria held her breath as she headed down the stairs. After she had her bath, she headed out of her room and made her way to the kitchen. That was when she heard the voices of Liya and Aldo talking downstairs. The only thing that was on her mind was the hope that they weren’t arguing. Lately, everything that had been happening to her felt like it was her fault somehow. She was the reason why they were getting into countless arguments, and she didn’t even know how she could put an end to everything. The one person that she could have talked to was Melinda. But Melinda had gone for her holiday, and she didn't want to bother her with her problems. The woman hardly took a break. She had tried talking to Aldo the night before as well, and she begged him to tone down the harshness he was directing to Liya. He was going to change her and make her the monster that he wouldn’t like her to be. Aria saw how silent Aldo became after she said that, and she knew that there was something that had c

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