His eyes didn’t move from mine. It was like he was trying to read every thought I was trying to bury inside me. I wanted to twist my body, to break free, but his presence wrapped around me like a chain.He moved closer, and his knee touched against my thigh. The contact was for a second only, but my whole body reacted like it was a spark.I stiffened. I hated that he could feel it.“Still pretending?” he asked softly. His voice was almost kind… and that made it worse.I shook my head. “I’m not…”I just spoke when he moved again. The mattress dipped a little, and his leg pressed just enough for me to feel his weight and his strength.My heart beat so loud, I was sure he could hear it.“Valerie,” he said my name like it was something precious for him to hold on. “You’re trembling.”I wanted to scream at him to move away, but my throat felt tight. His close distance made my every thought crumble. His warmth rushed against my bare skin. “Why are you doing this?” I asked.He tilted his hea
Valerie Thorne’s POV:He stood a few steps away from me, his gaze roaming over my entire body. I felt hard to breathe from how intense his gaze was. I quickly lowered myself to pick up my towel to pick towel. But then the world spun on its axis. And before I could blink, I was lying on his bed, bare.I felt embarrassed. I reached for sheets or anything to cover myself. But there was nothing. “What are you doing?” I asked hesitantly. My hands reached to cover my private parts.“You look so good, Wife. There is no need to cover yourself.” Raven said with a shake of his head.“You’re impossible,” I shouted.“Am I?” He chuckled. But it just made my hand grip my body tighter. Every second he looked at me felt like a thousand needles pressing into my chest. My throat felt tight as I forced myself to speak. “Raven. Move away.”He didn’t move. Instead, he took a step closer. And he took another step, slow and controlled. I heard the faint creak of the bed frame as he sat beside me. The mattre
I chuckled. “Do I look like one?”Maxim Sokolov’s expression chilled. His body tensed. He knew who he was dealing with. He knew he needed my help if he was here. He knew there was no one else who could help me. He knew if he dared to do anything here, he would only get bloodshed. He remained silent. I waited. I looked at the time, it was ten thirty. I wondered what my pretty little Wife was doing at home? Did she miss me? Did she have the breakfast I made for her in the morning?“Fine.” I heard his response.I looked up at him.“Fine.” He repeated. “I will send you the papers.”“Good,” I replied happily. “I will let you know her location in three days.”“Three days?” He emphasised in a loud voice.“Yes.”“Remember three days, Blackwood.” He warned and walked out of my office. A short while later… I called Eliot to my office.He came in just the next second. I gestured for him to sit across my chair. Eliot took his seat, waiting for my next instruction.I looked out of the window at t
I took a closer step. She looked at me with her parted lips. I didn’t stop and continued walking. Valerie swallowed her breath, I saw, and she took a step back. More back steps, until her back hit the wall. My eyes locked with hers. “You say that now. But your eyes tell me a different story, Sweetheart.”She raised her hands and shoved me hard. “You don’t know me.”I didn’t budge from my place, but caught her wrist before she could hit me again. My grip was tight, but not painful. “I know you better than you think.”Her breathing turned fast, and her face turned red from anger. She trembled as she tried to shake my grip. “Let go.”I watched her face for a couple of seconds before I let it go silently.She didn’t wait for me to say a word before she walked into the room, slammed the door in my face, hard, and locked it from inside.I smiled faintly in amusement. She was still fighting with her fire. I leaned my head against the door for a second and murmured, “Sleep well, Valerie. One
Raven Blackwood’s POV:She looked at me with so much hate in her eyes. Valerie. She was My Wife now.I watched her stand up after I kissed her. She glared at me like she wanted to burn me with her eyes. “Never,” she said in a sure tone. It didn’t matter to her that we were married now. It didn’t matter that she had said ‘I do’ in front of everyone.She hated me. I could see it. Feel it. But I didn’t mind. Hate was better than her silence. Better than her ignoring me. Hate meant she still felt something, even if it wasn’t love.“You’ll change your mind,” I said softly to myself.She stood there with hard breathing, her eyes were full of fire. I had seen many people break before. I had watched strong men fall in front of me. But Valerie… she was different. She burned instead of breaking.I turned away and walked upstairs, not because I wanted to leave, but because I knew she needed a moment alone. I had learned one thing about her in the last years, that she fights harder when cornered.
Valerie Thorne’s Pov:The wedding ceremony finally began.The official attendant kept talking, god knows what, but I didn’t hear a word of it. My mind was miles away, spiraling in a dark, endless loop that was taking me away from the sunshine.I wanted to scream, to run, but every option seemed to lead me back to the same cold feeling, the same cold truth. I was trapped. I was getting trapped. And I saw no rescue around me.My gaze swept past the audience to the stranger’s faces. None of them was familiar, giving me no hope of escape. My friends were not here. Elara, trance, Elisa, Mia, Jordan. None of them were here.Raven had deliberately kept them away from me, isolating me in this very moment of deepest despair.I turned my head slightly to look at Raven, who was standing beside me calmly, who had orchestrated this entire nightmare. His expression was calm, almost serene, but I could feel the darkness underneath, hiding beneath his composed exterior.He had won. He always won.Soo