“How? Why? And who the hell is this other woman? Come on Philip. Really? A threesome? And you involve my best friend?” Aliya Van Alen had sacrificed her life as the Van Alen heiress for the man she thought loved her, only to discover his devastating betrayal after molding him into the polished man he became. Determined to take revenge against Philip, Aliya faces a new challenge. To inherit the entire Van Alen fortune, she must marry within two days. She is tasked to find a worthy man in record time or tie the knot with the ruthless and enigmatic Liam De Luca in order to save her undeserving family from debt. Will Aliya walk away from her family and the wealth that defines her, or risk it all to marry a mysterious man that could either save or destroy her?
view moreEpilogue: Aliya’s POV It had been a year—twelve long months of quiet peace mixed with regret, because no matter how life moved forward, a life lost could never be recovered. I stepped out of the car, clutching against my chest the bouquet of flowers I had picked up from the nearby store, and walked slowly past rows of engraved stones that held the names of the departed. When I reached the headstone I had come for, I crouched down, set the flowers gently at its base, and removed my glasses to whisper a small prayer to the heavens. “Told you to wait for me,” a voice said from behind. I turned and found Liam standing there, holding his own set of flowers. He wore a subtle smile, though exhaustion lingered in his expression. He looked worn out, yet happy all the same. “I didn’t think you were serious about coming,” I replied softly. He crouched beside me, placing his bouquet down as well. “I wrapped up my board meeting earlier than expected,” he said. “So I had to join my wife.” Th
Liam’s POVAs Posh and I hit the road, my eyes stayed glued to my phone while his were fixed on the road. My stomach stung from the bullet, but I didn’t care — all I wanted was Aliya, and maybe to salvage what’s left of my sister’s lunatic mind.The thought that I’d been shot right in front of her and she hadn’t felt an ounce of guilt said a lot about the slave she was becoming to a revenge that couldn’t save her.I was slowly losing the people I could call my own. My father had probably been transferred to the next psychiatric ward, I’d lost Brooke long ago without realizing it, and now I wasn’t going to lose Aliya, the only sane family I had left.“Can’t this car go any faster?” I asked anxiously.“Boss, we’re going as fast as we can,” Posh said.“And the guns — are they here?” I asked, remembering I’d told Posh to always keep them because they might come in handy.He nodded. “Yes, boss. Check the glove compartment.”I opened it and took out two Colts 1911. One bullet from either of
Liam’s POV “Liam!” My eyes snapped open, staring blankly into space as my chest heaved. The constant beeping around me caught my attention while I struggled to push myself upright. Pipes ran in and around me, and a bag of what looked like blood hung by the bedside, connected to my body. Reality slammed into me as a throbbing headache pounded my skull and the searing pain in my stomach made me squint. The images came flooding of how I’d been shot in the stomach and Aliya had been kidnapped. “Fuck! She’s been kidnapped,” I muttered aloud, realizing it wasn’t a dream. “Finally you’re awake,” a deep voice said. “Good.” I turned my head to the side as a familiar man dropped the magazine he’d been combing through and approached, dressed in a casual T-shirt and black pants. “I know you,” I muttered. He grinned, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Yes, you do.” “You’re Aliya’s friend… Wel—” I stammered, trying to dig through my foggy memory for his name. He extended his ha
Aliya’s POV“So, you’re telling me that you’re an imposter and my real dad has been dead for years?” I asked, eyes wide with disbelief.At this point, I thought I was prepared for anything they could throw at me, but this? This was the cruelest truth anyone could hand a person moments before death. Because of course I wasn’t going to get out of here alive.“Yes,” he answered with a steady nod.A sharp, hysterical laugh burst out of me. “I’m sure this is some kind of TikTok prank. Where are the cameras? You can bring them out now so we all laugh, you both head back to prison, and I get to live my life with Liam.”“You’re so delusional, Aliya,” Brooke chuckled darkly.“Let me ask you something,” Vinichi began, his tone deliberate. “When your father left for that business trip, how long did he stay in France?”My brows knitted as I thought carefully. “I think nine months or more. Practically a year. Mother said it was because he was grieving the loss of this same Hans Oliver you claim to
Aliya’s POV My life was about to end in an old abandoned oil refinery, at least that’s what it looked like judging from the rusty barrels I had been staring at for minutes. Brooke had strapped my hands to a chair and left with a sinister smile. She said something about an associate. Why this so-called associate wanted me alive was still a mystery to me. Well, I was about to find out. My head hung low, sweat and tears dripping from my face to the ground as I struggled against the cuffs biting into my wrists, but it was useless. Suddenly, a chuckle cut through the silence, followed by a slow clap. I traced the sound until my gaze landed on a pair of black boots planted firmly in front of me. Slowly, I lifted my head, and the sight sent a violent shiver through me. “Dad!?” I whispered, more to myself than to the man who wasn’t supposed to be here, not when he was meant to be rotting behind bars. Never in my life had I felt so close to losing my mind in less than a single
Aliya’s POVMy eyes refused to open, and every time I tried, they slipped shut again. My whole body felt heavy and numb, like I couldn’t move a single muscle no matter how hard I fought.With one desperate push, my eyelids fluttered and parted, revealing a crooked ceiling fan that spun in lazy circles, dangling as though it was seconds away from crashing down. Maybe it would take me with it.A pounding ache surged through my skull, forcing me to squint as I tried to make out my surroundings, but all I saw was darkness wrapped around an unfamiliar room.“Where the fuck am I?” I whispered, my voice hoarse, struggling to shift. The sound of rattling chains cut through the silence, and reality slammed into me.I’d been kidnapped. Shackled to a bed so old and rusted even psychiatric patients wouldn’t be left on it. The metal cuffs bit into my skin. They were so heavy and cold. The only warmth came from the hot tears sliding down my cheeks as the image of Liam taking a bullet for me replaye
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