MasukNayla! Don’t move! Turn around,” He commanded, his tone intense. He looked dangerous….too sinful.
For a moment, my legs froze, and I was unable to move an inch. It felt as if they were cemented to the ground. This wasn’t real; No, I must have been hallucinating…. I was sure I was going insane. “I said, turn around!” His voice came again—hoarsely and more intense this time. Gathering all my courage, I ran. My legs felt stiff and heavy, but I made it; I fucking made it to my room. I shut the door and leaned against it, I placed my hand on my chest, panting heavily as I tried so hard to catch my breath. I shouldn’t have gone there. I should have stayed back and watched a movie or taken a peaceful nap. What the hell was wrong with me?! But damn! He was so hot and sexy……so fucking sexy, so irresistibly sexy. “Knock! Knock!” A loud knock jolted me from my thoughts. My eyes flew open, my heart pounding as if it might leap out of my chest. He was back?! “What do I do? What do I do?” I shut my eyes, trying to think of something—anything. “Knock! Knock!” The knock came again, louder this time. I squeezed my eyes tighter, mustering all the courage I had. I held my breath and turned to open the door. But to my surprise, it wasn’t Roy. It was Collin, smiling widely with both hands in his pockets. “Collin,” I managed to say. He raised an eyebrow, his smile fading slowly. “What’s wrong? Why do you look tense?” I forced a smile. “I—I just wasn’t expecting you,” I lied. Actually, I wasn’t lying at all. “You’re sure? Or is it about what the lawyer said? Roy told me everything over the phone. That’s why he invited me over to discuss,” Collin said, adjusting his black curly hair behind his ears. Why would Roy invite Collin over when he had nothing to do with the fact that me and Roy had to get married in three months? “Why don’t you come down so we can all discuss this?” “Actually, I’m really busy. How about you go ahead? He’ll inform me later,” I said, making up an excuse to avoid seeing Roy. How could I face him? “But you have to be there. Roy said it’s important for you to be present,” Collin insisted. I sighed, nodding slightly. “Alright, I’ll be down in a minute,” I said, and he nodded with a smirk. Collin turned to leave, leaving me with the killing thought of how I was going to face Roy…. ROY’S POV. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” What have I done? Why did I stop her from leaving? How did I get so carried away? What is she going to think of me after this? I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have let her go. Now she’s going to hate me. Fuck! “You’ve been lost in your thoughts? It’s still about your father’s will, right?” Collin asked, breaking me from my thoughts once more. “Yeah, I mean, I’ve worked too hard to just let his assets go like that,” I said. If only Collin knew that something else was bothering me—something I wished I could erase. “Nayla, what took you so long?” Collin said as my eyes caught sight of her… Nayla. I felt my chest tighten as she made her way down the stairs. She wasn’t staring at me. She normally did, but this time she didn’t… How could she look at me after what I’ve done? I fucked up. She sat across from me, right beside Collin. Finally, she looked up at me, causing my breath to hitch in my throat. For the first time ever, I couldn’t stand her gaze. I looked away, clearing my throat. “So what did you want to talk about, Roy? Nayla is here already,” Collin said, reminding me of why I had called this meeting. I had totally forgotten. I was already losing my mind. “Yeah, I called you both to discuss the issue of the will and how we could work it out,” I said, turning to Collin, who was staring at Nayla with his usual lustful eyes. I knew Collin had always had a thing for Nayla. He knows not to mess with her because she’s mine…I mean, she’s my sister. But today, I had made a tough decision that was crucial… or else I wouldn’t be able to get hold of my father’s will. “Collin, I need you to focus on me because this is important for you and Nayla,” I said calmly. Nayla and Collin exchanged glances before turning to look at me. “Nayla, in order for you to get your part of father’s will, you would have to get married to Collin.” “What?!” she exclaimed, frowning in disbelief. --- NAYLA’S POV. “What?!” I yelled, unsure if I heard him correctly. “Please listen to me, Nayla. It’s only going to be for a couple of months—six months, to be precise. I have requested a contract that Collin would sign. After six months, you both can part ways, and you’ll be free to be with whoever you want,” Roy explained. But I wasn’t sure how to take it. What about him? Did it mean he was going to do the same with Laurel? Or get married to her for real? “What about you?” Collin asked. I shifted my gaze from Collin to Roy, my brow slightly raised. “I have someone…..You already know her, Laurel,” He said and I felt my heart drop. I knew it! “You really don’t have to worry about me. It’s all going to be strictly professional too—for both mine and yours,” Roy said, his eyes locking onto mine. I managed to breathe out in relief. But I couldn’t help but notice how intense he was staring at me……as if he was really letting me know that I had to be strictly professional about it too. It’s not like I had a choice. Collin was an extremely handsome guy. “If looks could kill,” that was the definition of Collin’s look. But besides admiration, I had never felt any kind of way towards him. To me, he was just my big brother’s best friend. “I’ll arrange for the contract signing next week. I hope we all cooperate?” Roy asked, and I turned to glance at Collin, who was smiling at me. He seemed to be really excited about it. “Is that all?” I asked. “Well, that’s all for now,” Roy said, and I nodded. “Okay, I’ll be in my room then,” I said, getting up from the couch. “See you later, Collin,” I said before walking out. “See you,” Collin responded. Just as I was making my way up the stairs, I overheard Roy say something to Collin… something that made me stop in my tracks.MNAYLA’S POV“How can I help you first? How can I kill these murderfuckers that want you and your brother dead?… I only need your permission for this one last kill,” Marco said, staring deep into my eyes, his jaw clenched and fists tight at his sides.“But you want us dead too, right? You were the person who was paid to have me and my brother killed? Which means you know who wants us dead, right?” I said, and he hesitated, shifting his weight from one foot to the other before nodding.“Yes, I know who wants you dead… but I don’t know if she could be harmed because she has a child and is pregnant with her second child as we speak,” Marco explained, his expression turning serious, brow furrowed in thought. But nothing about what he had just said made sense at all.“Are you trying to tell me the person who wants me dead is a pregnant woman?” I asked, feeling the air leave my lungs, my heart racing as I processed his words. I was even more shocked when he nodded in response to my question
ROY’S POV.I watched closely at the screen in front of us as it displayed what had happened that day……the day Nayla had checked in at the hotel.I saw Nayla walk into her room, accompanied by a room server who helped her wheel her belongings inside.For the next few minutes, nothing happened; she didn’t step out of her room, just a few guests walked by.“Fast forward until you see any movement from her door,” Collin said. I stared at him, about to question why he wanted to fast forward. I needed every detail, every movement. No matter how long it took.But the only problem was that I was getting impatient, and I could tell Collin was too, with the way he furrowed his brow and the tightness in his jaw as his eyes were intensely fixed on the screen.The security staff fast-forwarded the footage, just like he was instructed.“Stop!” I said, raising my right hand to halt him.In the footage, we could see a man who appeared to be a room service wheeling her food to her room. He glanced aro
MNAYLA’S POV“Marco…” My voice finally broke the silence, but I was unsure how to continue. “I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said quietly. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be evil for evil. You can choose a different path…Killing would only worsen the situation of the world, and who knows, you could probably make life harder gor a young boy who desperately needs help from the world,”“Killing is wrong…expecially from a man life you who had spent his life building a lagacy….most children who would be in that situation where everything was taken from them woukd have given up and maybe died from the heart ache. But no, you chose to be strong, and now you have become whi that boy vould never have imagined you would be. That would be the greatest gift you vould give to you little self, that is more than enough for you,” Tears filled my eyes, and I sniffed in my tears, wiping them away quickly. “I know what it’s like to lose everything. I was only eight when my life changed totally…..I di
NAYLA’S POVWhile I lay on my bed, wondering how I was going to get out of there without being caught again, I watched the door gently open, revealing Marco.He turned to close the door behind him, and I quickly adjusted my dress, trying to hide the mess I had made.“Nayla,” he said, walking slowly toward me.“You know one thing? You’re wrong… you are so wrong about me. I know I might seem scary and cruel. I know I might have betrayed your trust. But I want you to know I didn’t choose this path for myself. Killing was a form of therapy for me. A way I learned to survive.”His voice dropped, and sadness laced his words. A chill ran down my spine. What was he going to say next?Marco sat down next to me while I shifted because I still did not feel comfortable being so close to him.His gaze falling to the floor as he began to speak. “I grew up in Italy, in a neighborhood where nothing came easy. I didn’t have a silver spoon. My mother, who was a single mother, abandoned by my father, wo
ROY’S POV.We got to Luke’s office, where he offered us a seat.“You both are welcome to my office,” he said with a warm, inviting smile.He sat in his chair, picking up one of the phones from the table, his brow slightly furrowed in concentration as he typed on it before placing it to his ear.He stared at the ceiling, his lips pressed together in thought as he waited for whoever he was calling to pick up.“Hello,” he said once the receiver answered. His expression shifted to urgency as he spoke. “I need you up in my office now; there’s something important I need you to do for me…. Okay…. hurry up, I need you now.” He hung up the call.He smiled widely as he looked back at me and Collin, his eyes brightening. “It’s really nice seeing you both again… And I am so sorry about my manager. I don’t really know why he didn’t let you see the footage, especially when this is a critical case.” He offered an apologetic look, and I smirked, nodding slowly.“It’s fine,” I said, my gaze drifting
“I promise to protect your brother too. I just need you to trust me.” My brows furrowed in disbelief as I turned to him, my eyes narrowing.“And who told you Roy needs protection?” I scoffed, watching as a frown formed on his face. “My only worry is that I do not want him taken unaware. I want to talk to him; I could warn him, but that doesn’t mean he could be defeated. So do not worry, you do not have anything to use against me in order to gain my trust,” I said, a smirk playing on my lips as I walked away, glancing back to gauge his reaction.MARCO’S POV.“So do not worry, you do not have anything to use against me in order to gain my trust,” Nayla said, a smile playing on her lips as she walked away, her eyes sparkling mischievously.I felt my heart clench at her words, causing me to stumble back a bit, my legs nearly buckling beneath me.Was that really what I was doing? Cornering my way into her heart so she could love me like I desperately wanted her to?I played the hard guy. I







