Celine stopped counting the hours she’d spent under Hector’s control. Her body knew his rhythm too well now—the ruthless game he played with her bare skin. They moved in sync, switched positions, not for love, but to chase some cruel satisfaction in each other’s exhaustion.Hector’s hands clamped hard around her waist as he pulled back, his expression carved from stone. His brows furrowed, eyes sharp—not like a man losing himself in a woman’s body, but like a soldier mid-siege. Focused. Detached. Dangerous.He slipped out of her, his breath steady, movements cold. Celine wasn’t even sure what she was feeling—pleasure had long left the room. Still, she grabbed him as he stepped away, refusing to be left sprawled across the wrecked table like a forgotten plaything.“Are you going to her now?” she asked, voice rough, lined with defiance. Her lipstick was smudged, mascara streaked from sweat and hours of being tangled with him. She didn’t care. His scent clung to her skin like a second la
Celine returned to Hector’s house just as the sky began to bruise into twilight, the weight of the day clinging to her shoulders. The past week had been unforgiving—Hector’s recovery had left a temporary void in leadership within the family, and as always, she had stepped in without hesitation. Decisions, confrontations, damage control—each task taken with the practiced sharpness of someone who knew this world far too well.Despite the exhaustion pressing at her spine, a chuckle escaped her lips as she climbed the stairs to the second floor. One memory from earlier played vividly in her mind, its ridiculousness cutting through the day’s fatigue. “I should’ve recorded his face,” she muttered, laughing softly to herself. “God, it was hilarious.”Her hand reached the doorknob to Hector’s room and twisted it open—only to be greeted by silence. The bed was undisturbed. The room empty.Celine stepped inside, blinking. “Hector?” she called, her voice cautious at first. No reply.She moved qu
Edgar reacted with the precision of instinct honed by years in the field. In one fluid motion, he intercepted the man’s wrist just as the blade came within inches of Jeanne. His grip was unrelenting, steel around flesh, forcing the attacker’s arm back with a sharp twist. The man stumbled, his body turning involuntarily as Edgar used his own momentum against him. With another calculated movement, Edgar wrenched the weapon free, the knife clattering harmlessly to the floor as gasps filled the lobby.Before the man could recover, Edgar spun him around and locked his arms behind his back, securing him with a practiced, effortless force. The would-be assailant grunted and struggled, but Edgar had already subdued stronger men with less effort. The tension only broke when a woman—young, breathless, and clearly shaken—rushed forward from the crowd.“Oh my God, my phone! My phone!” she cried, her voice frantic.Edgar, expression taut with focus, shoved his hand into the inside of the man’s hea
Edgar had changed. Anyone who had known him before might have dismissed it as temporary guilt or a passing impulse to mend what had once been taken for granted. But Jeanne knew better—because she was living it.Since her return, Edgar had devoted himself entirely to her, as if every moment they spent apart was now owed back tenfold. He no longer split his attention between work and home. In fact, for the first time in years, he had taken a full week off—voluntarily—just to be with her. He hovered without smothering, cared without commanding. And above all, he made it clear that she, and the child growing inside her, were now his first and only priority.She could see how earnestly he was making use of this second chance. He made no assumptions, didn’t take her forgiveness as a guarantee, and never once tried to rush what was fragile between them. Instead, he worked at it, day by day, making her feel wanted, protected, remembered. It wasn’t perfect. It couldn’t undo three years of isol
Jeanne stepped into her home for the first time in what felt like forever. The house, with its modern minimalist design and muted grey walls, seemed to reflect the heavy stillness in her heart.Her eyes were still swollen, red, and exhausted—she hadn’t slept once during the journey back. Edgar knew her mind was still on Hector. The deal he had forced upon her had been cruel, perhaps unbearably so—but why should he care? Or at least, that’s what he told himself.He tried to speak with her, but Jeanne remained silent, her focus distant, never truly returning to him. Calling her name felt like the only way to bridge the growing void.“Do you want to go straight to bed?”Edgar guided her to their bedroom. Jeanne sat on the edge of the bed while he knelt before her, his gaze filled with quiet concern.He took her hands in his, searching for warmth that had long since slipped away. It should have meant something, but now it felt hollow. Jeanne might have once convinced herself she missed hi
Hector moved swiftly through the shadows, two pistols firmly in hand, each motion calculated as he closed the door behind him to ensure Jeanne was safe.Instead of aiming for the police directly, he fired into the air and around the perimeter, creating a barrier to stall their movement. He wasn’t aiming to kill—he was buying time.As a seasoned fighter, Hector knew when to engage and when to avoid, and the presence of so many officers was no reason to rush into a reckless firefight. But when a few of them came too close, trying to subdue him, Hector fought back with lethal precision.His strikes were fast, calculated, and unrelenting. He knew how to turn the environment to his advantage, using everything—from walls to discarded weapons—as tools to avoid bullets and deliver quick, powerful blows. Hector was a master of his craft, and it showed as he incapacitated his opponents, knocking them down in one swift motion each time. He was cold, calculating, and ruthlessly efficient.After d
That night, before going to bed, Jeanne gently wound the music box Hector had given her earlier. The soft, lullaby tones filled the quiet room, soothing her nerves and sparing her from having to pace while singing to her unborn child as she usually did. It was comforting, in a way she hadn’t expected, as though the melody itself had wrapped its arms around her.She lay back, running her fingers over the curve of her stomach, feeling how it had begun to lose its flatness. The sensation made her heart flutter. “Maybe you’re small like your mother,” she whispered with a weak laugh. “I’ve been too thin, too stressed… I’m sorry, little one. I promise I won’t let myself be this sad anymore.”Turning onto her side, she hugged the still-playing music box to her chest. “Should I find out if you’re a boy or a girl?” she mused aloud, her voice tender and playful. “I won’t mind either way, so will you let me see? I’ll ask Hector to come with me!”The joy in her voice hung for a moment before falt
Hector found himself alone in the supermarket that evening, shopping for kitchen essentials—a task that usually fell to Celine, as the house was never more than a temporary stopover for him. He moved with quiet purpose, heading straight to the baking aisle. He intended to make a batch of muffins Jeanne could enjoy during her quiet moments. He had noticed her fondness for sweets lately—something she admitted herself, despite claiming she hadn’t had a sweet tooth before.As he examined various brands of chocolate, he muttered under his breath, “Is this what people call cravings? It's amusing to think a woman can suddenly want something completely unfamiliar just because the baby inside her does.”With the baking items secured, Hector continued through the store, stopping at the produce section. He stood for a moment, surveying the vibrant array of fruits and vegetables while his thoughts lingered on Jeanne. “Aren’t pregnant women supposed to consume more natural nutrients?” he pondered.
Jeanne froze where she sat—perched stiffly on the edge of the wooden chair—her body snapping to attention as if caught in something forbidden. The door had flown open with a sharp bang, and her name had been shouted so suddenly, so urgently, that her first instinct was to leap to her feet. But when her wide, startled eyes met Hector’s, she remained still, lips parting in stunned recognition.“Hector…?” Her voice wavered, caught between confusion and a flicker of unease.He stood just inside the doorway, breath uneven and gaze sweeping the room in a quick, frantic scan, but the tension in his shoulders eased as he saw her unharmed. The anxiety that had propelled him to barge in now ebbed into guilt—he had startled her more than whatever had made the noise in the first place.“I thought you were hurt,” Hector said, stepping forward slowly, trying to steady his tone. “Jeanne… are you all right?”She nodded, her brows drawing together as she tried to process the moment. “I’m fine. You… wh