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Chapter 74

last update Last Updated: 2025-09-21 04:33:42

The gunshot shattered the night.

For a heartbeat, the world froze. The echo of it bounced off the trees, loud and endless, ringing in my ears like the tolling of a death bell. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. My heart slammed so hard against my ribs I thought it might split open.

Marcus’s head jerked sideways, his body staggering back. Blood sprayed in an arc, crimson in the silver wash of moonlight. He crumpled to the ground with a thud, his gun falling uselessly beside him.

And then, silence.

Nobody moved. Not the soldiers gripping their rifles. Not my aunt, whose hands clamped around my mother’s arm in frozen shock. Not even me, kneeling on the dirt, Xavier’s mother’s blood still warm against my skin.

Only Xavier moved.

The gun slipped from his hand, falling into the dirt with a dull thud. His chest heaved as he stared at the lifeless form of his father. His face, God, his face, was unreadable. Anger. Grief. Relief. Horror. All crashing and colliding at once until he just looke
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  • Married to the arrogant senior    Chapter 75

    The dawn was sharp, cold, and merciless.Shouts rattled the air outside the cabin, boots thundering against the dirt like war drums. The peace of our fragile moment shattered as reality slammed its weight against the thin wooden walls.Xavier’s hand was already around his gun. His movements were sharp but pained, every step making his wound throb. Still, he stood like a wall in front of me, as if his body alone could hold back an army.“Stay behind me,” he said, voice clipped, cold.“Xavier”“Behind me, Arielle.” His eyes flicked to my belly, then back to my face. For a heartbeat, the vulnerability in his gaze almost cracked me open. But then the steel dropped back into place, unyielding.The door slammed open before I could argue.A rush of men flooded inside, all dressed in immaculate black suits, their polished shoes muddy from the clearing. They weren’t soldiers. They were worse. They were Marcus Knight’s board, the political machine that fed on his empire, the power behind his th

  • Married to the arrogant senior    Chapter 74

    The gunshot shattered the night.For a heartbeat, the world froze. The echo of it bounced off the trees, loud and endless, ringing in my ears like the tolling of a death bell. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. My heart slammed so hard against my ribs I thought it might split open.Marcus’s head jerked sideways, his body staggering back. Blood sprayed in an arc, crimson in the silver wash of moonlight. He crumpled to the ground with a thud, his gun falling uselessly beside him.And then, silence.Nobody moved. Not the soldiers gripping their rifles. Not my aunt, whose hands clamped around my mother’s arm in frozen shock. Not even me, kneeling on the dirt, Xavier’s mother’s blood still warm against my skin.Only Xavier moved.The gun slipped from his hand, falling into the dirt with a dull thud. His chest heaved as he stared at the lifeless form of his father. His face, God, his face, was unreadable. Anger. Grief. Relief. Horror. All crashing and colliding at once until he just looke

  • Married to the arrogant senior    Chapter 73

    The blade gleamed under the moonlight, cruel and hungry. For a second, I couldn’t breathe. Every sound faded, the gunfire, the shouting, even my own heartbeat. All I could see was Marcus Knight’s eyes drilling into me, the promise of death etched into the sharp curve of his smile.My mother screamed, throwing herself in front of me. My aunt grabbed her arm, yanking her back, terrified we’d all go down together. Soldiers shifted, their guns raised but hesitating, no one wanted to fire and risk hitting the wrong person.And Xavier, God, Xavier was on his knees, blood soaking through his shirt, one hand pressed against his wound. His other hand groped blindly in the dirt for his gun, his face twisted with pain and fury.“Don’t touch her,” he gasped, his voice shredded but unyielding.Marcus ignored him. His gaze never left me, never left the swell of my belly, the life inside me that he already saw as a weapon.“You don’t deserve him,” Marcus hissed, stalking closer, knife glinting. “You

  • Married to the arrogant senior    Chapter 72

    The world was fire.The gunshots had turned the forest into thunder, every crack of a bullet shaking my bones. The acrid tang of gunpowder stung my nose, mixing with the wet earth and the sharp, metallic smell of blood. Soldiers shouted, some collapsing, some firing blindly into the fog. The air was alive with chaos, but all I could see was Xavier and Marcus, father and son, colliding in the middle of it like two storms destined to destroy each other.“Get back!” My mother’s voice tore through the madness as she dragged me toward the crumbling stone wall, her hands clawing into my arm with desperate strength. My aunt was in front of us, shielding me with her body even as bullets ripped the bark from the trees.But I couldn’t move. My feet wanted to stay rooted in the dirt. My heart screamed at me to stay with him, with Xavier. He was limping, his bandaged ribs bleeding through, yet he fought like an animal backed into a corner. Each time Marcus raised his gun, Xavier was there, matchi

  • Married to the arrogant senior    Chapter 71

    The air was different now, tainted, heavy, thick with Marcus Knight’s presence.Every breath I dragged into my lungs felt poisoned by his voice, that cold, smooth drawl that always seemed to crawl beneath my skin like a disease.“Running won’t save you, Arielle.”The words echoed in the air, bouncing off the trees, impossible to pin down. His tone wasn’t rushed, wasn’t desperate. No, he was savoring this, savoring our fear, savoring the control.Xavier’s hand tightened on mine like a vice, his entire body rigid even as the bandages around his ribs bled through. He stood in front of me, broken yet unbreakable, his body forming a wall between Marcus and me.“Show yourself, coward!” Xavier’s voice was hoarse, raw, but it carried through the silence like a gunshot.A laugh followed, low and amused. “Still so much of me in you, son. Even when you’re bleeding out, you can’t help but posture.”My stomach turned at the word son.Xavier’s jaw ticked, his fury radiating off him like fire. “You

  • Married to the arrogant senior    chapter 70

    The morning was cruel.The air outside bit against my skin, sharp and damp, carrying the scent of earth and ash. The world was quiet in that way that wasn’t peaceful, but tense, like every shadow hid an enemy, like every branch might crack under a boot that wasn’t ours.Xavier’s grip on my hand was iron. Too tight, almost painful, but I didn’t loosen. He needed me steady, and truthfully, I needed him just as much. His steps were slow, uneven, each one a battle against his battered body. The bandages wrapped around his side were already spotted with fresh blood, and each breath he pulled seemed too shallow, too fragile.But he kept walking. Of course he did. Xavier Orlando never stopped moving forward, even if the ground itself wanted to swallow him whole.The leader, an older man with a scar running across his temple and eyes like stone, marched ahead, silent and sharp. Behind him, the small group of soldiers flanked us, their boots crunching against the dirt path in harsh rhythm. My

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