Chapter 9Camile – POVHis voice did something to me.Not just the way he growled it like a promise, but the way it carried something deeper—possessiveness, apology, longing. Maybe even love. Maybe.But I didn’t ask for love.I asked for loyalty.I let him lay me back on the bed, my breath catching as his weight hovered over me, his lips ghosting across my collarbone like he was trying to memorize me. My thighs tightened around him instinctively, my hands still gripping his shoulders, skin hot and trembling beneath my fingertips.This wasn’t just sex.Not this time.Barry didn’t tear my clothes off like a man starved—he peeled them from me like they were something sacred. His hands, once harsh and commanding, now moved like he was trying to make amends with every glide of his palm. My breath hitched when his fingers brushed down the valley between my breasts, across my stomach, and lower… slower… like time didn’t matter. Like it was just us in this broken world.“Say it again,” I whis
Chapter 8Barry – POV“Should I say, you messed up? Or how am I going to place it, you really did mess up, Camile!”I shouted, my hand on the glass tightened, my eyes heavy with anger that had reddened my eyes.I was seated on the stool at the bar section in our house, my heart raced with anticipation as I glared at the liquor in my glass. The liquid shimmered under the pendant light like it held all the wrong choices I had made.“Camile, have you been listening?” I turned to her.She was sitting on the arm of the couch, her legs crossed lazily, mindlessly scrolling through her phone like we weren’t in the middle of a goddamn storm.I sighed heavily, dropping down from the stool sluggishly. The thought of how I met my ex-wife with another man wouldn’t leave my head. It played on a loop, over and over. Her laugh. Her eyes sparkling. The way she leaned into him like he was the gravity pulling her in.She even had the nerve to kiss him—in public. Around people. Like I never existed.Like
Chapter 7Alina povI didn’t say a word as we pulled up in front of the towering glass building. Dante’s so-called "surprise penthouse review" had my brain reeling, but hell would freeze over before I let him see that. My jaw nearly unhinged at the sheer size and sleekness of the place. The sky reflected off the high-rise like a mirror, and I had to blink twice to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.Of course it would be this grand. This is Dante we’re talking about.But no, I wouldn’t let the shock show on my face. I straightened my back, tilted my chin slightly upward, and tucked the awe somewhere behind my ribcage.We reached the penthouse entrance minutes later, and my eyes darted around, trying to take in every bit of the surrounding luxury. A smile teased the edge of my lips the moment I caught sight of the swimming pool—a shimmering grey pool, not the cliché blue. Strange. Unnerving. Elegant.But then something froze me.Just beneath the surface of the pool’s calm, grey sheen, I
Chapter 6Dante povThe silence between us was thick, and I could feel her eyes burning into the side of my face. I could see the way she wanted to speak—her mouth twitched, and her thoughts were like a parade of unwelcome questions. But I wasn’t in the mood for her probing today. I was still trying to shake off the unease that settled in my chest after seeing her earlier. Something in her expression, something in her silence had stirred a part of me I wasn’t ready to confront.I turned my eyes back to the window, pretending to be absorbed in the landscape blurring by. I wasn’t going to let her get to me. Not this time.Her voice finally broke the silence, light and casual, like she was asking for the weather forecast.“You knew I was going to ask.”I couldn’t help the small, sharp laugh that escaped me. “Alina, you’re simple to read.” I turned to face her, and my eyes locked with hers. She was playing that same game again, the one where she pretended to be uninterested, detached. But
Chapter 5: I woke up in Dante's penthouse with a sharp pain in my chest. I couldn't stop thinking about last night, including the fake smile on Camille's face, the flashing cameras and Barry's derisive eyes. I wasn't even sure which I hated more about him or myself or possibly both. The mattress was too supple. The air quality was too high. I was out of place here. The quiet drew me out of the guest room. The space was too large and too silent and it felt like I had been transported to Birmingham Palace in my dreams.If there was something I loved about last night, it was the shock on both Barry and Camille's face, they never believed I could move on quickly and Barry might have a cardiac arrest soonHe must be a joker if he thinks I would stick around begging him to take me back and I never knew he was this stupid that he hadn't even signed the divorce papers.Or maybe he wasn't stupid after all.Damn him.Fresh coffee and the expensive , sweet scent of leather and sandalwood fil
Chapter 4: Alina's pov That night I slept very little. I was having trouble processing the contract I had just signed and my thoughts were racing. One part of me wanted to laugh, another to scream and a tiny silent part to cry. But nothing would change if I cried. It was precisely at 6:00 a. m when my phone buzzed. Dante: The car is downstairs. Get ready.He said as if he already owned me, I gazed at the message and the audacious assurance in his words. I got dressed quickly wearing dark jeans, a white silk blouse and not much makeup. I had to appear gentle without being frail. Untouchable but beautiful. A woman who wouldn't recoil when she married a billionaire. It was a sleek, black spy-movie-type car. With a nod, a silent driver opened the door. Nothing to say, just a luxury. “Miss Alina,” he said courteously. I slid in after nodding back. Yes,now my name is Alina Thompson, the wife who was forgotten. This sister who was betrayed. But that is no longer the case. As we pul