MasukThe place Daniel chose wasn’t on any map worth noticing.It was an old private lounge tucked behind a shuttered cigar shop on the outskirts of the city, very discreet, the kind of place men came to when they wanted answers without witnesses. No windows. No music. Just low amber lighting and thick leather chairs that swallowed sound and secrets alike.Daniel arrived early.He hated waiting these days. Ever since he woke up in that hospital bed, time felt sharper, every second too loud, too deliberate, like it was daring him to waste it.He took the seat farthest from the door, his back straight despite the lingering ache in his chest. The doctors had warned him not to strain himself, not yet. But they hadn’t lived inside his head. They hadn’t felt the gnawing unease that had taken root the moment he opened his eyes and saw Eva smiling at him too carefully.Too perfectly.He checked his watch.Christopher Hale was late.Daniel exhaled slowly, pressing his fingers together. He reminded h
The next day, Eva met Lydia at the same café they always met.Eva arrived early.She sat stiffly in the booth by the window, both hands wrapped around a mug she hadn’t touched. The steam curled upward, fogging the glass slightly, blurring the street outside. Her reflection stared back at her, eyes too bright, face drawn tight with resolve that felt rehearsed.She had practiced the words all morning.I’m going to divorce Daniel.I’m doing this for him.It’s the right thing.None of them felt real until Lydia walked in.Her sister spotted her immediately. Lydia’s steps slowed as she approached, concern etching itself deeply into her face.“Eva,” she said softly, sliding into the seat across from her. “You look like you haven’t slept.”Eva gave a small, humorless smile. “I did.”Lydia studied her for a moment longer, then frowned. “You’re lying.”Eva sighed. “Okay. I barely slept.”That earned a nod. Lydia wrapped her hands around her own cup as if grounding herself. “Alright. Talk to me
Adrian didn’t rush it. He didn’t claim her with hunger or urgency.That was what unsettled Eva the most.Instead, he lifted a hand slowly, almost reverently, and brushed his thumb along her cheek, wiping away the tear she hadn’t realized had fallen.“You’re shaking,” he murmured.“I’m terrified,” she whispered back.His gaze softened—not entirely, but enough to quiet the tremor in her chest.“Come here,” he said gently.Eva didn’t remember deciding to move.She only knew that suddenly she was standing closer, close enough to feel his warmth, to feel the steady rhythm of his breath. Close enough for everything she’d been fighting to collapse all at once.Adrian leaned in and kissed her.Softly at first.Tentative.As if asking permission.Her body answered before her mind could catch up.The kiss deepened—not frantic, not desperate, but full. Possessive in a way that felt less like control and more like certainty. His hands slid to her waist, warm and grounding, anchoring her to the mo
Eva shouldn’t have gone.She knew that the moment she pulled into the underground parking lot beneath Adrian’s apartment building. But fear had a way of pushing her into dangerous places.And right now, she was afraid of him.His threats.His obsession.She rode the elevator up alone, her reflection staring back at her from the mirrored walls—pale, hollow-eyed, hands folded protectively over her stomach without even realizing it.By the time the elevator chimed, her heart was already racing.Adrian opened the door before she knocked.As if he’d been waiting.He looked composed—too composed. Dark sweater, sleeves rolled to his forearms, jaw freshly shaved. The kind of calm that didn’t come from peace, but from certainty.“You came,” he said.Eva stepped inside without answering.The door closed behind her with a soft, final click that made her stomach twist.She turned to face him, arms crossed tightly around herself. “You can’t keep doing this, Adrian.”His brow lifted slightly. “Doi
Daniel sensed it.Not with words. Not even with logic.With instinct.The same instinct that once told him when Eva was falling in love with him.Now it whispered a different truth.She’s hiding something.But what could it be, that she couldn't even tell him.His suspicions started subtle.A flinch when the phone rang.A too-fast swipe of her screen.A forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes.At first, he thought it was stress. The hospital bills, his recovery, the pressure of adjusting to their life again after he had spent months in a coma.But then… the signs began stacking.And they didn’t lie.Not the way she did.He needed to know the truth.Eva tried. God knows she tried to act normal.But guilt had a way of slipping through the cracks—softening her voice, shaking her hands, putting a frantic shine in her eyes whenever Daniel was too close.And Daniel, once gentle and trusting, had grown observant. Hyper-aware.He was becoming suspicious.And that only meant she had to be extr
Eva spent the rest of the day moving like a ghost through her own life.Every step felt heavy. Every breath shallow. Every sound too loud.When she returned home from the café, Daniel was still asleep—peaceful, unaware, trusting. His chest rose and fell in soft, steady rhythms that once brought her comfort.Now it only filled her with dread.Her phone buzzed three times on the counter while she stood staring at him.All from the same person.Adrian.She didn’t open a single message.She couldn’t.Not after the pregnancy test.Not after Lydia’s voice drilling into her head.Who do you want?Eva didn’t know. Or maybe she did, but couldn’t face the consequences.So she ignored Adrian. All day.And all night.By morning, she almost convinced herself she could simply disappear from him. Cut him off. Let him fade like a shadow from a past she regretted.But men like Adrian Cross didn’t fade.They hunted.The confrontation came faster than she expected.Eva was in her office's parking lot th







