Share

63

Author: pari
last update publish date: 2026-03-17 18:50:52

Six weeks.

Forty-two days of complete silence.

No letters. No phone calls. No flowers. No drunk visits at the gate. No mysterious texts. Nothing.

Julian Ashford had vanished from Lia's life like he'd never existed.

She should have been relieved.

She was relieved.

Mostly.

Lia stood in the nursery, hanging tiny dresses in the closet. She was nine months pregnant now, due any day. Her belly was huge, her back ached constantly, and she couldn't see her feet anymore.

But the nursery was perfect. Sof
Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Locked Chapter

Latest chapter

  • His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret    92

    The evidence was laid out on Caspian's desk like a map of betrayal.Bank transfers. Three of them. Twenty thousand dollars total. Traced through shell companies and offshore accounts. But they all led back to one source.Julian Whitmore.Caspian sat in his office above The Onyx Club. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. But he wasn't looking at the view. He was looking at the printouts. At the confession Dorian had extracted from Sophie the actress. At the timeline that proved Julian had paid for the Sophia stunt while sitting in a prison cell.The man was supposed to be broken. Defeated. Done.Instead, he was making moves. Still fighting. Still trying to destroy what Caspian had built with Lia."When do you want to go see him?" Dorian asked from across the desk."Today. Now. Before the day shift changes."Caspian grabbed his jacket. The kind of jacket that said he wasn't just some business owner. The kind that made people nervous.The prison was forty minutes away. Maximum

  • His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret    91

    The prison cell was twelve feet by eight feet. Julian had measured it a thousand times by pacing.Three steps one way. Three steps to the other. A bed bolted to the wall. A toilet. A sink. A small window with bars that looked out onto a concrete courtyard where men who'd given up hope sat in the sun.He wasn't like them. Not yet.But he was starting to understand how people ended up that way.His cellmate was an older guy named Marcus. Thirty years for armed robbery. Marcus kept to himself mostly, which was fine because Julian didn't want to talk to anyone. Didn't want to explain how he got here. Didn't want to hear that he deserved it.Everyone said that. The guards. The social worker assigned to him. Even his own family."You deserve it, Julian," his mother's voice in his head. Except Margaret wasn't alive anymore to actually say it. Heart attack two months ago. The irony wasn't lost on him. She'd spent his whole life controlling him, protecting him, making excuses for him. And then

  • His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret    90

    Sophia sat on the edge of the chair like she might run at any second. Her hands were shaking. The blonde hair that had looked so polished when she walked in now seemed cheap, like a wig that didn't quite fit right. "I'm sorry," she said again. For the fifth time maybe. Lia had stopped counting. "Just tell me everything," Lia said. She was sitting on the hospital bed, one hand on her belly. The baby was moving restlessly. Like she could sense her mother's stress. Sophia took a breath. I looked away. "My name is actually Sophie. Not Sophia. Just... Sophie. I work as an actress. Background stuff mostly. Theater, some commercials. But I'm broke. Always broke." She laughed bitterly. "I have a gambling problem. Online poker. I lost money I didn't have." "Who hired you?" "I don't know his name. That was the weird part. Everything was done through a lawyer. He called me three weeks ago. Said someone wanted me to come to this hospital. Pretend to be a woman named Sophia. Claim I was pregna

  • His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret    89

    Lia sat up in bed. Heart pounding. "What's happening? Why are there police?"Caspian had his hands up. Four officers. Guns drawn. One of them is reading rights."You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you...""Stop!" Lia tried to get out of bed. An officer moved to stop her. "Don't touch me! I'm pregnant!""Ma'am, stay in bed. This doesn't concern you.""The hell it doesn't! That's my boyfriend! The father of my baby! You can't just...""We have a warrant for his arrest. Murder. He needs to come with us.""Murder? Caspian didn't murder anyone!"Caspian finally looked at her. His expression broke her heart. Guilty. Resigned. Like he'd been expecting this."Lia. It's okay. Let them do their job.""No! It's not okay! You were defending yourself! Defending me! Kozlov tried to kill us!""Ma'am, we need you to calm down or we'll have to ask you to leave.""This is MY room! You leave!"One of the officers moved toward Caspian. Handcuffs out."Wait.

  • His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret    88

    Caspian parked in the hospital garage. Sat in the dark for a minute. Trying to breathe. Trying to think.Twenty-four hours. That's all he had. Before the detective came for him. Before everything fell apart.But first, Lia. He had to see her. I had to make sure she was okay.He got out of the car. His side was still bleeding through the bandage. Not bad. But enough to leave a trail. Enough to get him caught.He needed to clean up. Couldn't walk into Lia's room covered in blood and evidence.The emergency room bathroom was empty. He locked the door. Looked at himself in the mirror.Worse than he thought. Blood on his shirt. His hands. His face. Splattered across his neck where he'd missed it before.Kozlov's blood. Mixed with his own.He stripped off his shirt. Threw it in the trash. Washed his hands. His face. His neck. The water is running pink then red then pink again.The gunshot wound was still seeping. He pressed paper towels against it. Applied pressure. I waited for it to slow

  • His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret    87

    The abandoned factory smelled like rust and death.Caspian stood in the shadows. Watching. Waiting. Gun in one hand. Knife in the other. Blood still seeping through the bandage on his side from the gunshot wound.He should be in a hospital bed. Should be with Lia. Should be doing anything except this.But Kozlov was here. And Kozlov needed to die.Marcus had tracked him. Found the location through a captured Bratva soldier who talked after minimal persuasion. This factory. South side. Abandoned for years. Perfect place to hide.Perfect place to die.Caspian moved forward. Silent. Every step calculated. He'd done this before. Hundreds of times. Hunted men. Killed men. This was what he was good at.This was what he was.The main floor was empty. Just old machinery and broken windows. Moonlight cutting through the darkness."Mr. Nero." Kozlov's voice echoed from somewhere above. "I knew you'd come. Couldn't resist, could you?"Caspian didn't answer. Just kept moving. Toward the stairs. T

  • His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret    The Trap

    Lia didn't sleep Sunday night.She lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Victor Kane's cold smile. Heard his words echoing in her head. You're sleeping with the most dangerous man in Silvercrest. That makes you valuable.She was trapped. Completely and utterly t

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-19
  • His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret    BLACKMAIL

    LIA'S POVLia couldn't breathe.She stared at her phone screen. At the photo of herself walking into the Azure Hotel. At the message threatening to tell Julian everything.Her hands shook so badly she almost dropped the phone. Someone knew. Someone had followed her. Photographed her. And now they we

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-19
  • His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret    CLAIMING HER (PART 2) 🔞

    WARNING: Extremely explicit sexual contentLIA'S POVLia couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. Couldn't do anything except feel.Caspian's mouth was on her. His tongue sliding through her folds. Hot and wet and absolutely sinful. She'd never felt anything like this. Julian had never gone down on her.

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-18
  • His Open Marriage, My Forbidden Secret    CLAIMING HER (PART 1) 🔞

    WARNING: Explicit sexual contentLIA'S POVThe suite hadn't changed since she'd arrived. Still dim lighting casting shadows across expensive furniture. Still warm from the fireplace crackling in the corner. Still thick with something she couldn't name but could feel crawling across her skin like el

    last updateLast Updated : 2026-03-18
More Chapters
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status