FAZER LOGIN“Three months.”Celine smiled as she said it, one hand resting protectively over her stomach.For a second, I just stared at her.“You're pregnant?”“I am.”A laugh escaped her before she could stop it, her eyes immediately turning glassy. She looked happier than I had seen her in months.I blinked a few times, trying to process it.Three months.“You didn't tell me.”“I wanted to.” She reached for her glass of water, suddenly looking a little guilty. “But I wanted to tell you in person.”I leaned back against my chair and studied her.“You flew all the way here just to tell me you're pregnant?”“Partly.”“Partly?”She smiled.“There are other things I need to tell you.”Of course.With Celine, there was always a but hiding behind the good news.I glanced at her stomach again.Three months wasn't showing much yet, but somehow, knowing there was a tiny life growing inside her made everything feel different.“You're really going to be a mother.”“Don't say it like that.”“Like what?”“L
Still, for some strange reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that those masked eyes would follow me long after the car disappeared.I stayed by the window for a little longer, watching the empty road as if the car might suddenly reappear. It didn't. “Are you planning to keep staring at the road?” Michelle's voice came from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder. She was leaning against the doorway, holding her arms across her chest. There was a small smile on her lips—the kind that usually meant she was about to say something I wouldn't like. “No.”I said it a little too quickly, and judging by the way Michelle's eyebrow lifted, she noticed.“Then why are you still standing there?”I glanced back at the window before looking at her again. “I was thinking.”“About the masked man?”I looked at her.She smiled wider.That smile alone told me I had made a mistake by answering her in the first place.I sighed and folded my arms across my chest. “Why do you look so happy?”“Because you
The first thing I saw that morning was blood.Not mine.At least, not yet.It was splattered across the white marble floor outside my father's study, mixed with the broken pieces of a glass vase.I stopped walking so abruptly that the heel of my shoe scraped against the floor.For a few seconds, I simply stared.The blood was still wet.A small drop slid slowly along the edge of a broken piece of glass before falling onto the marble.My stomach turned.I looked around the hallway.Two guards stood a few feet away, their expressions unreadable as they stared straight ahead.Neither of them looked at the blood.Neither of them looked at me.That was when I became more nervous.“What happened here?”My voice came out quieter than I intended.The guards didn't answer.I looked from one to the other.“Whose blood?”Still nothing.Of course.In this palace, silence was practically another language.I took another careful step, making sure not to step on the broken glass.My eyes remained on
“Shane, please.” His voice was different. Not the confident voice I knew. Not the teasing one that used to make me smile. It was broken. Desperate. I tightened my grip on the doorknob. I shouldn't have stopped. I should have walked away. But hearing his voice break like that made me feel my chest ache. So I turned around. Luxxe was still standing in the middle of the room. The man who used to look untouchable now looked completely ruined. His hair was messy. His eyes were red. His breathing was uneven. And all of it was because of me. “Don't look at me like that,” I whispered. “Then don't leave.” My fingers tightened around the doorknob. “I have to.” “No.” His voice cracked. He crossed the room quickly, then stopped himself before he could get too close. He knew better. “You don't have to do this.” “Yes, I do.” “Shane, listen to me.” “I listened to you for years.” “You know that's not—” “Don't.” I shook my head. “Don't explain it anymore.” “I never wante







