LOGIN~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE~ “Well, I don’t care if you forgot,” Cassie says, leaning forward with that determined look I know too well. “We are celebrating. Your first birthday as a married woman to one of the most influential men in this city? Please, we’re shutting it down.” I let out a soft laugh, shaking my head at her intensity. “Bitch, you’ve always been the life of the party,” she adds, pointing at me like she’s stating a fact no one can argue with. I nod slowly, feeling her energy pull me in. “We’re going to have fun,” I say, more certain now. “Real fun. We’ll go clubbing.” Her reaction is immediate, she almost yells, catching herself halfway as she glances around, suddenly aware of where we are. “Now that’s my girl,” she murmurs, grabbing my arm with a grin. “Yes.” I can’t help but laugh. “I’ll be heading home in a few days,” she continues, already mapping everything out. “But I’ll come back on your birthday and get ready from your house.” “Perfect,”
~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR~“Good morning, beautiful… I saw that you’re awake.”His voice comes through low and smooth, like nothing ever happened last night. Like I didn’t pull fragments of a bullet out of him.I frown slightly, sitting up straighter.“Saw me from where?”There’s a pause.Then—“You’ve forgotten my little friend already?”Before I can ask what he means, something moves at the edge of my bed.I turn, and there it is.The small robot. Rolling toward me like it’s here on a mission. I stare at it with a smirk.“I thought I killed that thing the last time,” I mutter, giving it a look.He chuckles softly through the phone.“Well, if turning it off counts as killing… then I guess it survived.”I shake my head, exhaling quietly before leaning back against the headboard.“Shouldn’t you be resting?” I ask, my tone shifting. “You need to heal properly, Hardin.”“This?” he says lightly. “This is nothing. I’ve had worse. And… thank you for last night. I feel fine. No pain.”I
~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THREE~ AMELIA’S POVIn my dream, I’m standing in a quiet orchard, sunlight spilling through the leaves, soft and golden. The air smells clean, like rain and earth,and there’s a branch just above me, heavy with green apples.I reach up. My fingers brush the skin of one—“Ma’am…”The voice cuts through it.Distant at first.“Ma’am…”Closer now.The orchard slips away as the light fades.My eyes open.Tia is standing beside my bed.“Good morning, Mrs. Massimo,” she says, her head slightly bowed, her voice gentle but enough to pull me fully out of sleep.I blink slowly, disoriented, my body still heavy as I turn my head toward the other side of the bed.Empty. The sheets are cold.Hardin is gone.A faint scoff settles in my chest, but I push it aside. It doesn't surprise me that he’s already out of bed.“Is there a problem?” I ask, my voice rough, still thick with sleep. I don’t sit up yet. I’m not ready to move.“No, ma’am,” Tia replies. “But it seems you hav
~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWO~“When I was working at the club, I had to step in a few times,” I say. “Men would get into situations they couldn't bring to a hospital, and I was the only one who knew how to patch them up. My grandmother was a retired doctor; she made sure I knew my way around a wound before I could even drive.”I lean in and press a kiss to his lips—soft, quick, and light, before pulling back to meet his gaze. “You can’t take a bath, but I’m going to clean you up,” I tell him, my voice leaving no room for debate. “Sit.”To my surprise, he simply raises his hands in a silent gesture of surrender and sits back without a single word of argument. I move with a practiced efficiency, clearing away the bloodied tools and disposal materials as if this were a normal occurrence, as if treating a bullet wound were just another part of our nightly routine.When I return to him with a bowl of warm water, he is watching me with a heavy, quiet intensity that follows every move I make
~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND ONE~AMELIA’S POVThe moment his eyes meet mine, he goes utterly still, freezing in a way that feels less like a simple pause and more like I’ve caught him in a moment he never intended for me to witness. My gaze drops instinctively to his hands, landing on the small mirror gripped in his left and the thin metal probe in his right, and suddenly, the gruesome reality clicks into place, he is digging into his own flesh.My stomach twists into a tight knot, yet I remain silent, stepping slowly onto the cold tiles with bare feet, careful not to startle him even though the secret is already out.“Amelia, go back to sleep,” he says, his voice firm and controlled despite the undeniable strain beneath the surface. “You shouldn’t be seeing this.” He reaches for his shirt, which is already soaked through with dark blood, and presses it hard against his side in a desperate, futile attempt to hide the damage.I don’t offer a response; instead, I walk directly toward him
~CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED~He’s looking down at me, a faint smile on his lips, his presence grounding in a way I didn’t realize I needed.“Babe… you’re back?” I murmur, my voice thick with sleep.“Yeah,” he replies, his voice low and warm. “You fell asleep watching a movie with our guest.”I blink, shifting slightly before glancing to the side.Cassie is sitting there, wide awake, staring at us like she’s witnessing something out of a fantasy. She bites her lip, trying, and failing, not to smile.I narrow my eyes at her slightly.She’s ridiculous.Hardin hands his work bag to Andrew without looking away from me, then bends and lifts me effortlessly into his arms. He groans a little, but I don’t pay much attention to it.I don’t even protest. I just melt into him.He turns slightly toward Cassie. “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll take her in.”“Thank you,” she says quickly, clearly enjoying every second of this. “I definitely will. Goodnight, babes.”I wave lazily from his arms. “Nighty-nigh
~CHAPTER SEVENTY~ I’m still trembling, his hands firm on my waist, his gaze locked on my face like he’s studying every flicker of emotion. He doesn’t look away. Not once. He leans down and kisses me slowly, deliberately, then hovers just inches from my mouth, his eyes dropping to my lips. “We
~CHAPTER SIXTY SIX~ I let out a soft, traitorous moan before I can swallow it down. No, Amelia. Don’t you dare. His mouth is on mine, hungry and consuming, his kiss all heat and dominance. The water shifts around us as his body presses me harder against the cold wall of the pool. I can feel the
~CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE~ The silence that follows is deafening. I see his fist clench beneath the water, the muscles in his scarred arm bulging. I expect him to roar. I expect him to snap and hurt me. Instead, he sounds… broken. “You’re not fucking leaving me, Amelia.” I freeze. I have never heard
~CHAPTER SIXTY TWO~ AMELIA’S POV We step out of the restroom together. Cassie adjusts the collar of my coat around her shoulders, glancing at herself in the mirror one last time. I smooth down hers. “Okay,” she mutters. “This feels illegal.” “It’s not,” I say. It feels like it. I press a cl







