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CHAPTER 45

Author: Shadyside2004
last update Last Updated: 2025-09-19 20:25:17

(4 WEEKS AGO — Damian’s POV)

I staggered my way to the last bedroom at the end of the elongated hall, opened to a scene that will torment me in the dark hours for years to come.

She lay there on the floor, half-covered by her ripped clothes, her hair an ink-spill across the boards. Her body was bruised, her blood soaking the thin linen of her dress. Her face was pale, like chalk, and there were new shadows under her eyes. She was not moving, not in any way that meant life as I knew it. The sight of her — so small, so broken — did something to the ground under me; I felt the air leave my lungs.

And there was Leonard — he might as well have been a statue carved from ice. He stood by the window where light spilled in like judgment, hands in his pockets as if this were a morning ritual, as if watching a used rag on the floor were the most natural view in the world.

For a second I could do nothing but stand there, the air in my lungs suddenly thicker than the ground under my boots. Then a
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  • LOVE BENEATH RIVALRY    CHAPTER 86

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  • LOVE BENEATH RIVALRY    CHAPTER 85

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  • LOVE BENEATH RIVALRY    CHAPTER 84

    Darkness swallowed her.The gunshot echoed endlessly, louder and louder, until it became—“Ma'am. Mrs. Rowan.”Her eyes flew open.“Elisa—we’ve arrived.”She gasped sharply, hand flying to her chest. Her heart was racing violently, her breathing uneven, shallow. For a moment, she couldn’t move. She was soaked in cold sweat, her hair clinging to her temples, her hands trembling uncontrollably.The driver turned slightly in his seat, concern flickering across his face.“Are you alright, ma’am?”She swallowed hard, blinking rapidly as the image of Leonard’s smile, the gun, the alley, all dissolved into the dim interior of the car.“…Yes,” she whispered hoarsely. “I’m fine.”A dream.Just a dream.She pressed her fingers into her palms, grounding herself, forcing her breath to slow. Leonard wasn’t here. He hadn’t found her. She was safe. She had been safe for three months.Still, it took effort to open the car door.The towering building loomed before her, glass and steel reaching into th

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  • LOVE BENEATH RIVALRY    CHAPTER 82

    For a moment, Damian didn’t move.He simply stared at her as though the words had struck him physically.“…What?” he whispered.Elisa sat rigid on the edge of the bed, her hands folded tightly in her lap, fingers trembling so badly she had to press them together to keep them still. Her eyes were lowered, her shoulders hunched inward like she was bracing for impact.Damian took one step toward her.“I—what did you say?” he asked again, louder this time, disbelief sharpening his voice. “Elisa, what did you just say?”Before she could answer, he rushed forward and grabbed her arm.His grip was firm—too sudden.She flinched violently.Her breath hitched, eyes widening in instinctive terror.Damian froze instantly.“I—I’m sorry—!” He released her at once, hands lifting in surrender. “God—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to grab you like that. I just—I thought I misheard you.”He swallowed hard, running a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping in front of her again—this time keeping a c

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