LOGIN[Vienna]The last glass slammed against the wall, shattering with brutal force."Ahhhhhh," I yelled for the umpteenth time as I stared around me, but there was nothing else.There was fucking nothing else to break.Every nerve in my body burned with raw, searing pain.I stared at the phone lying on the floor. The fucking phone that had just delivered the worst Information.Yes, I have an informant.One of the nurses in that hospital is on my payroll.I pay her to keep an eye on Darian whenever I'm not in. She does a good job of calling me whenever Asher comes by, and I'm absent.She has no idea what is wrong with Darian, but she has been doing a perfect job for me, and right now she just passed me the fucking worst Information.Yesterday she said Asher has been pacing the hospital like a madman. She told me that he was almost losing it.I was fucking counting the damn time. I knew. I fucking knew that he would never know the child belonged to Elena, knowing how much I hated her.It wa
[Elena]My heart was thumping hard in my chest as I stared at the wall clock just as the doctor in front of me kept taking the samples he needed.Time was ticking, and so was my heart, but I couldn't let Asher know about that, and that was why I made the deal.It's either I save him and have him or I won't.When I said those words to him, I knew deep down in my heart that even if he said no, there was no way I would walk out, not with the way my heart was pounding so hard.Not with the way I was looking forward to seeing Darian again.My mind suddenly drifted to what Asher said a few minutes ago."Vienna is on the run." I shook my head, pushing the thoughts aside. That's absolutely none of my business."All done ma'am," The doctor's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I blinked back and stared at him, his brows were creased, a small smile playing on his lips."Please how long would it take for the results to be out? He said...I mean..." I paused, my nails digging into my palms. "That
[Asher]"What condition, Elena. Please mention it," I said slowly, staring at the woman in front of me.She looked nothing like the Elena I had known.Not the woman who had stayed with me for two years under a contract marriage.Not the woman who always wore a smile.This Elena looked carved from something colder. Harder.And right now, if looks could kill, I would have dropped dead right where I stood."My conditions are simple," Elena said, her voice cutting through my thoughts. "And it’s either you both respect them, or I take a step back and leave this hospital."I nodded immediately.Of course, I would agree.Of course I would.Even if she asked me to stand in the middle of the road and let a car crush me, I wouldn’t hesitate — if that means Darian would live."Just… mention it, Elena," I mumbled, my voice barely audible."Once the surgery is done," she said calmly, "Darian is going home with me."My heart tightened instantly."I am going to be his primary caregiver," she continu
[Asher]My heart was splitting into two. Every hair on my body stood on end.My hand has been hovering on my screen for what felt like eternity as I stared at Elena's number.My heart clenched and unclenched as I stared down the hallway, but of course, it has been the same since yesterday.I drove back here right after I was sent out of Elena's office. And even when a bigger part of my mind told me that she would never come to save Darian after everything. Another smaller part of me hoped. Painfully wished that Elena would have mercy on Darian.I hurt her so fucking much. I hate Vienna with every blood in me for making me do all of that, but I hate myself more for allowing that disgusting strategic liar to deceive me for years.For allowing her make me do things I shouldn't have fucking done.Elena did absolutely nothing to deserve all the things we made her go through.The only thing she ever said was telling me how she felt for me years back, which I'm sure would be one of her bigg
[Elena]My heart skipped as I stared at the mirror right in front of me, my reflection staring back like a stranger I didn’t quite recognize.I took a deeper breath—one I’d taken at least a hundred times this morning—yet it still didn’t feel like enough.My heart skipped again, my lips pressing into a tight line as my eyes took in my outfit. And immediately, without warning, that voice, that time, forced its way back into my mind with relentless force."Twenty-four hours. He has just twenty-four hours to live if you don’t save him."I swallowed hard, my chest tightening as my heart clenched painfully before I could stop it.My eyes drifted on their own to the wall clock.6:20 a.m.I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep last night.I’d paced back and forth until the early hours of this morning. My thoughts were running wild, until exhaustion finally pushed me into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed.After I made my decision last night, I couldn’t stop replaying everything in my hea
[Elena]"Did you… Did you believe what Langston said?" Raphael's words were slow, careful. "Is that why you’ve been so quiet?" He asked, his eyes fixed deeply on mine.I swallowed hard.My lips pressed into a tight line.I opened my mouth to say something—anything—but no sound came out. My heartbeat quickened, as his question settled somewhere deep inside my chest and refused to move.Did I believe what Asher said?The honest answer was simple.I had no idea.Deep down, I knew Asher wouldn’t walk into my office and drop to his knees if there wasn’t some truth to it. That wasn’t his style. Pride alone would never allow it.But I also knew there was nothing Asher and Vienna weren’t capable of plotting together.Nothing."Elena." Matteo’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I lifted my head to look at my two brothers.Both of them were watching me closely, their gazes steady and searching. I knew, in that moment, there was no point lying to them. No need to pretend.So I didn’t. "I







