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38: Secrets in the Spotlight
Last Updated:
2025-04-13 12:14:54
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FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 39: House Under Fire
Chapter 39 “Mia, are you home?…” The knock continued, louder, frantic, Mia nearly jumped out of her skin. She’d expected the chaos, expected the press, expected something ugly—but not this. Not this pounding, not this desperation. She recognized the voice. Her hand trembled as she crept toward the door, her heart slamming against her ribs like a trapped bird. She peered through the peephole just to be sure and relief buckled her knees. It was Susan. With a shaky breath, Mia unlocked the door and pulled it open a crack revealing an agitated Susan standing in the doorway. Susan didn’t wait. She pushed her way in with urgent concern written all over her face. “Oh my God, Mia, are you okay? I came as soon as I saw the news—” But Mia wasn’t okay. Her breath came in short, urgent gasps. Her lips trembled. She stood there, eyes wide with disbelief, hands gripping the doorframe like it was the only thing keeping her upright. Susan reached for her immediately, gathering her into
Last Updated : 2025-04-13FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 40: Shadows Behind the Flash
Chapter 40 Mia’s heart pounded in her chest like a war drum as she bolted down the stairs, her arms wrapped tightly around a drowsy Sofia. Every creak of the steps, every flicker of light felt like it might snap her already fraying nerves. At the base of the stairs stood Susan and Carlos, her head of security, flanked by a few other of her guards. Their faces were grim, alert. “We have to move. Now,” Carlos said firmly, already motioning for his team to secure the perimeter. Mia’s fingers tightened instinctively around Sofia. “Where the hell are we even going?” she muttered under her breath. Before anyone could answer, the back door creaked open. The click of multiple safeties being released filled the air. Her security team raised their weapons, their eyes hard, focused on where the sound came from. Like wolves scenting a threat. “Don’t shoot!” a familiar voice called, muffled beneath a mask. The figure raised both hands slowly in surrender as he stepped into the dim light
Last Updated : 2025-04-14FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 41: Too Late for Truths
Chapter 41 The sea had smelled different that night. Saltier, sharper as though the breeze that swept through the terrace carried not just brine but a warning. Andreas leaned over the iron railing of the hotel’s top-floor suite in Greece, his phone slack in his hand, the message thread with Mia still open and unanswered. She hadn’t responded. Not to the photos he’d sent of the view or the dinner table he’d set for two. Not even the last message: "Wish you were here." Left on read. The blinking cursor mocked him like silence in a crowded room. Behind him, the suite was golden-lit and quiet, the kind of luxury meant for laughter and sex and the kind of intimacy he’d only ever wanted with her. But now the room felt hollow like a stage abandoned mid-play. He sighed and rubbed his jaw, dragging in a breath that didn’t fill his lungs. Maybe she wasn’t coming. Maybe she’d changed her mind. Then a knock came. It was sharp, urgent, almost impatient. His heart stuttered. For a second,
Last Updated : 2025-04-14FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 42: Everything Changes
Chapter 42 Andrea's point of view. The fury in my chest was hot, coiled, and clawing to be unleashed. I could still hear Mia’s voice in my head, thick with betrayal, her words cutting deeper than any blade. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come. Maybe am a fool.” The weight of her heartbreak sat heavily on my shoulders, and I knew one thing with certainty. I wasn’t going to let it end like this. Not until I had answers. Not until I knew got to the root of this. Only one person knew about my trip to Greece. Tania. And I suspected deep within my soul that she was behind this. I needed to know how deep Tania’s poison ran. I didn’t remember getting into the car. Didn’t register Martin’s concerned expression as he held the door open for me. My voice was cold steel when I ordered him to drive. There was only one place she could be. The streets blurred past in streaks of night and neon, my pulse drumming like war in my ears. When the car finally rolled to a stop outside the old b
Last Updated : 2025-04-15FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 43: Unspoken Years
Chapter 43Andreas’s Point of ViewI stood frozen in the worn-out living room of the bungalow that once smelled like burnt toast and cheap teenage perfume. Tania clutched a wide-eyed boy to her chest, her eyes flickering with guilt and something else. Hesitation? Fear? Maybe both. But her words were still crashing in my head."Brian is your son."I scoffed. It was the only sound my body was capable of. “You’re kidding.” My voice was low, hoarse. I ran a hand through my hair and took a step back. “You have to be joking.”Tania said nothing, just adjusted the boy on her hip. Her lips trembled, but she didn’t deny it.My heart pounded against my ribs as my mind yanked me backward, four years into the past, to a time when things were simpler. When I was just a boy in love, not a man betrayed.….It had been our semester in high school. The afternoon sun had streaked gold across the sidewalk as we walked hand in hand, our fingers loosely laced together. We were barefoot, having ditched our
Last Updated : 2025-04-15FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 44: Twisted Truths
Chapter 44Tania’s point of viewThe moment the door clicked shut behind Andreas, a wicked grin twisted my lips.For a second, I stood still, watching the empty hallway like a predator after killing its prey. My pulse was steady, my breath even, and my heart was buzzing with quiet victory. Then it hit me, the absurdity of it all, and I burst out laughing. The sound echoed through the kitchen, loud, sharp, and laced with venom.“Oh, Andreas…” I muttered to myself, shaking my head. “You’re still as gullible as ever.”Brian looked up at me from his corner on the floor, his big blue eyes blinking curiously, his thumb stuck halfway into his mouth. My laughter startled him, and I quickly lowered myself to the floor, scooping him up into my arms.“Shh, sweetheart. It’s okay,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Mummy’s just happy, that’s all.”But happy wasn’t the right word. Thrilled? Triumphant? Satisfied in a deeply twisted, soul-soaked kind of way? That came close.Andreas beli
Last Updated : 2025-04-16FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 45: Drunk on Her.
Chapter 45The city blurred past the windows like smudged charcoal under rain-slicked glass, but Andreas wasn’t looking. His elbow leaned heavily against the door of the sleek SUV, his chin resting on his fist. The silence inside the vehicle was thick, save for the low hum of tires against the road.Martin, his ever-loyal bodyguard, tapped the earpiece in his ear, voice calm but urgent. And Andreas suspected something was wrong. “Sir, we can’t take you back home. It’s not safe.”Andreas turned, his eyes hollow and bruised with exhaustion. “Not safe?”“They're Reporters, fans, stalkers, some with cameras, some just yelling your name. A few even climbed the fence. It’s complete chaos. And your safety is our priority.”Andreas exhaled a long, tired breath and dragged a hand down his face. “Shit,” he muttered. “Just take me to The Hollow.”Martin hesitated for a moment, then gave a nod and turned the wheel, the SUV peeling off into another direction. The Hollow is an obscure little bar hi
Last Updated : 2025-04-16FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 46: In Her Defense
Chapter 46 The sound of a child’s voice sliced through the heat of their kiss like a sudden crack of lightning. Mia froze. Andreas’s lips hovered just a breath away, his fingers still curled around her waist. But the moment had shattered. Like fragile glass dropped from a high place. “Mummy?” Sofia’s voice was soft, laced with sleep and confusion. Mia sprang up, heart pounding as she turned toward the hallway where her daughter stood, barefoot and clutching her stuffed bunny. The pale blue light from the fridge painted the girl in an ethereal glow, making her look impossibly small, impossibly vulnerable. “Mummy, what are you doing?” Mia swallowed hard, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. The silence between them hung heavy. “I… I was just getting water, sweetheart.” Mia rushed to her, gently scooping her into her arms. “Sweetheart…You should be in bed.” Sofia rubbed her eyes with her tiny fists. “Was that Andreas?” Mia hesitated. Her pulse thundered in her
Last Updated : 2025-04-17
Latest chapter
FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 67: What Love Costs
Chapter 67 Mia's point of view. The days passed like ghostly shadows crawling across the walls, slow, heavy, and heart-wrenching. I watched my daughter shrink more and more every day as she returned from school. And I couldn’t breathe under the weight of it. The guilt, the shame, the ache, it all folded itself around my lungs like vines, choking every bit of air from me. I’d brought Sofia back home from my mother's house. Tried to pretend like we were okay, like we could move past this. But that illusion shattered the moment she came to me that morning, fully dressed in her school uniform. Slowly, she walked to me, her tiny hands clutching my shirt, her tear-stained eyes pleading. “Please, Mommy,” she whispered. “I don’t want to go back to school. Don’t make me go back there. Please.” I froze, scared that I might know what her answer “Why, baby? What happened?” Her lip quivered. “They make fun of me at school. They said... they said you and I stole Brian's daddy. That I’m the r
FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 66: Clicking into Chaos
Chapter 66Mia’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking.She paced the length of Susan’s living room which had become her final place of comfort over the years. Mia felt like a storm trapped in a teacup, each breath sharp and tight in her chest. Her voice came out in tremors, barely containing the panic clawing at her throat. “He’s back, Susan. And he’s going to take her away from me.”Susan, calm as always, lifted her head from where she sat curled on the couch, her face lined with concern. “Mia… we don’t know that it’s Lucas. What if someone else was behind those messages? You said it was anonymous.”But Mia’s senses had already recognized the handwriting in the venom of those words. “It’s him,” she said firmly, her eyes gleaming with equal parts fear and rage. “I know it in my gut.”No amount of calm reasoning could reach her now. After receiving the message, Mia grabbed Sofia and drove her straight to her mother’s house without a second thought. She needed her safe. Out of reach. Far from t
FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 65: Dañger in the Air
Chapter 65The weight of Sofia's words hung in the air, suffocating Mia as if the walls themselves had shifted closer."What do you mean, baby..." Mia asked in shock as if she didn't already know what the child meant."I want to see my real daddy, Not Andreas" Sofia had said, her voice sharp and foreign to Mia's ears."But baby, you know Andreas loves you right? He..." Mia paused, and for a moment, she forgot how to breathe. Her hand hovered awkwardly mid-air, the fingers that had been poised to smooth Sofia's hair now stiff and useless. She blinked rapidly, trying to anchor herself to the moment, trying to steady the eruption she felt boiling just beneath her skin. She couldn't lash out. She wouldn't.Drawing in a slow breath, Mia crouched down, lowering herself to Sofia's eye level again, masking her spiraling emotions behind a soft, placating smile. "Sofia, baby..." she said carefully, feeling her heart pound against her ribs, "I understand you miss your daddy. But baby, the thing
FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 64: Cracks in the Silence
Chapter 64 Mia arrived at Sofia's school just five minutes behind schedule. And the first thing Mia noticed was the absence of a smile. Sofia didn’t come running toward her as she usually did, arms outstretched, curls bouncing with every hurried step, face split into the bright grin that had always been Mia’s anchor after long, hard days. Today, her daughter only walked toward her, shoulders slumped, backpack hanging awkwardly off one arm. She climbed into the backseat of the car without a word, buckled herself in, and muttered a flat, "Hi, Mom," staring out the window. Mia blinked, momentarily immobilized behind the wheel. Something twisted sharply inside her chest, but she quickly smoothed her expression before turning in her seat to face her daughter. "Hey, my love," she said in a bright, coaxing voice. "How was school?" A sharp, dismissive tut was Sofia’s only answer. She didn’t even look at Mia, she just sank deeper into the seat, arms crossed tight across her chest like a
FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 63: The Perfect Scene
Chapter 63If the devil wore perfume, she imagined it would smell like hers, the notes of oud and amber coiling through the air like subtle poison. Tania checked her reflection in the rearview mirror one final time, admiring the silk blouse cinched at her waist, the designer sunglasses that veiled the madness behind her eyes, and the dark lipstick she applied like war paint. No one would question her intentions today. She didn’t look like the type who came bearing vengeance. She looked just like an influential mother who'd just come to enroll her three-year-old son. Brian sat quietly in the back seat of the car she'd borrowed from her doctor buddy Luke. He sat in his booster behind her, clutching a juice box, his legs swinging gently. He had no idea what the day meant. What it cost.“Ready, baby?” she asked sweetly, stepping out of the car and rounding it with practiced elegance. The click of her heels was confident and precise as she unbuckled him and took his tiny hand in hers.The
FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 62: Where it Hurts.
Chapter 62The door slammed shut behind her like a final verdict.Tania’s heels clicked with frantic rhythm on the battered laminate floor as she stormed into the apartment, a raging storm of anger bubbling in her very being. She barely registered her environment as arms tightened around Brian, who was starting to squirm, and with a huff of frustration, she dropped him onto the lumpy old couch.He fussed immediately, whimpering, kicking, and rubbing his eyes with tiny balled fists, but she was already pacing, clawed hands dragging through her sweat-damp blonde hair. Her skin prickled. Her teeth ground together. Her ears buzzed with the echo of Andreas’s voice, still rattling around her skull like shrapnel.“Full custody,” she spat, venom thick on her tongue. “He said he wants full custody. He's crazy if he thinks, even for one second that I'll agree to give up my child without a fight!”Brian’s cries grew louder as he heard Tania's a
FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 61: Where Loyalty Lies
Chapter 61The words settled like a rock in Mia's chest."I'm fighting to get full custody of my son, Brian" Andreas whispered into the quiet of her room, his breath still warm against her collarbone.Mia stiffened in his arms, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes. The air between them crackled but not with the heat from moments before, but with the weight of something heavier, denser. Her lips parted, but the question came out as barely more than a breath."What?"Andreas’s hands slid to her waist, grounding her, steadying her as though he could sense the shift happening inside her. He didn’t repeat himself. He didn’t have to.The room felt suddenly colder, shadows stretching longer against the walls, and the humming silence that followed was almost unbearable.Mia stepped back, folding her arms over her chest as if she could shield herself from the storm that was gathering within. "You want to take him away f
FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 60: Last Strand
Chapter 60The late afternoon sun bled golden streaks across the sky, casting long shadows over the city park. Laughter rang in the air with children squealing in delight, parents chatting, and the occasional bark of a dog as it chased after a ball. To any outsider, it looked like a perfect family outing. But for Tania, every cheerful note in the air grated against her nerves. As her eyes landed on Andreas, she noticed the tension emanating from his body and he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. She watched from the bench as Andreas stood by the side of the play area, his hands in the pockets of his charcoal hoodie, eyes fixed on the small boy laughing inside the ball pit. Brian’s curls bounced as he flailed through the rainbow-colored plastic, his face lit up in wonder and glee. Occasionally, he’d look up, searching for his mother or Andreas. Whenever his gaze landed on Andreas, he’d wave shyly. And Andreas, sweetly and patiently, would
FALLING FOR THE FORBIDDEN STAR 59: Lyrics of Us
Chapter 59 Mia's night had shifted. It was no longer a hollow echo of Andreas's silence, but now something alive, something burning. The moment she ran into his arms, her body responded before her mind could catch up. His warmth swallowed her, strong arms lifting her as her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. Her breath caught in her throat as he kissed the side of her neck, his hands firm beneath her thighs. "Shh... quiet," she whispered against his ear, her voice low and teasing. "Sofia's asleep." "Then I guess we better keep our voices down," he murmured, his grin pressed against her skin. He carried her inside like she weighed nothing, and Mia giggled softly, burying her face in his shoulder. The door clicked shut behind them, sealing their world off from everything outside. He set her down in the living room, but Mia didn’t let go of his hand. She held it tightly, eyes sparkling with intention.
