LOGINThree years had passed, and somewhere between surgeries, sleepless nights, examinations, clan conflicts, and stolen kisses in kitchens and hallways, life had finally settled into something that felt frighteningly close to peace.Not the kind of peace that came from having no storms, because Reign and I were two people born under storms, but the kind that came from surviving enough disasters together that silence no longer felt temporary.Russiana was healthier now, stronger, with color back in her cheeks and enough energy to argue with me daily. Our home, the one Reign and I built two years ago after endless disagreements over wall paint and furniture, no longer felt like a structure of wood and concrete. It felt lived in. Warm. Full of laughter, arguments, footsteps, and the familiar scent of the man I loved.That evening, after the Nursing Licensure Examination results had been officially released and my name appeared among those who passed, I came home later than usual, exhausted fr
“Where are you?” Reign’s voice came through the phone in a low murmur threaded with unmistakable impatience, the kind that always surfaced whenever he could not immediately account for my whereabouts. I had my mobile trapped between my ear and shoulder because both of my hands were occupied with shopping bags, and I continued walking through the polished aisles of the department store with a smile threatening to betray me. Around me, the world was moving in ordinary rhythm, customers browsing displays, salesladies greeting people with practiced warmth, children tugging at their mothers’ sleeves, but all of it blurred into the background because the man on the other line sounded as though I had vanished for days instead of a few hours.“I’m at a store,” I replied, pretending innocence.“What store?” he asked so quickly that I almost laughed.I paused beside a section filled with beads and craft supplies, lowered my voice, and allowed a little mischief to color my tone. “That information
A week had passed since Russiana’s emergency surgery, and ever since then I had become twice as protective as before.“Oh, stop that, sweety,” I said the moment I saw her pulling notebooks and pencils from her school bag. “You just had surgery last week. Your doctor said you need complete rest for three months.”Russiana puffed her cheeks and looked at me pitifully. “But I want to study, Ruru. I’m getting bored.”I sighed and crouched in front of her so we were eye level. Her complexion was still pale, and the thought of what almost happened inside that bathroom still sent chills through me.I cupped her little face between my hands.“There will be plenty of time to study later, okay? Ruru already talked to your teacher. You are officially on leave for five months.”Her eyes widened. “Five months?”“Yes. Because your health matters more than assignments.” I pinched her nose lightly. “Do you want Ruru to get angry?” She shook her head immediately. “That’s my good girl. Then listen to me
Three days had passed since the night Reign dragged me out of the river and carried me back from death, and in those three days he had transformed into the most impossible version of himself. He refused to let me walk without assistance, refused to let me touch anything remotely heavy, refused to let me skip medicine, and refused, most annoyingly, to let me eat in peace.He was currently standing in front of the freezer with the concentration of a scientist trying to cure a global disease.“Vanilla?” he asked.I shook my head from the bed.He bent lower and searched again. “Strawberry?”“I hate strawberries.”He slowly turned to me, looking personally offended. “Who hates strawberries?”“I do. They taste too cheerful.”A look crossed his face that said he was reconsidering every life decision that led him to loving me. “You are difficult.”“And yet here you are.”He clicked his tongue and pulled out another tub. “Chocolate?”I considered it for dramatic effect. “That one can stay.”He
Reign sank down onto the wet ground without loosening his hold on me, as if even for a second he did not trust the world to keep me safe unless I was inside his arms. He settled with his back against the cold earth and drew me carefully across his lap, one arm wrapped tightly around my waist while the other rose to cradle my face. We were both drenched from the river. Water dripped from his hair onto my cheeks, mingling with my tears, but the only thing I could truly register was the frantic pounding of his heart beneath my ear and the trembling in the fingers touching me.His forehead pressed against mine.“I’m sorry,” he whispered.The words came out broken, not like a simple apology, but like something dragged painfully out of his soul. I kept my eyes closed because I was too weak to open them for long. My hand throbbed, my ribs screamed every time I breathed, and my body still shook from cold and fear, yet despite all that, being in his lap felt like stepping into the only place le
My heart pounded so violently that it felt ready to tear through my ribs, but before I could wrench free, Sharmon’s fist buried itself in my hair and snapped my head backward with such vicious force that a scream ripped out of me. Fire spread across my scalp. My hands flew to her wrist, nails digging desperately into flesh, but the instant I twisted enough to see her face, dread hollowed me out... whatever humanity she once possessed had been burned away. Her eyes shone with a feverish delight that made her look less like a woman and more like something that had crawled out of a nightmare.She bent close enough that I could smell the bitterness on her breath and laughed, shaking with excitement. “I have imagined this over and over,” she whispered. “Your blood, your tears, your face when you finally understand no one is coming to save you. I wanted to hear you scream my name before you die.”She hurled me forward. My face smashed into gravel. My lip split. Before I could drag in enough
“Miss. It’s already lunchtime. Please leave those papers first to eat your meal. Master ordered that you need to take your meals on time without being late for a second,” Thraia said while her head was bent down.“You don’t need to bow your h
It’s been a week since the night when Reign claimed me. After that day, we did things that the average couple does. We spend the days together, keeping the opportunity to know each other deeper.I wanted to open up about the photo I saw in Reign’s drawer and o
“Would you like some, miss?” Thraia asked, offering me a glass of orange juice. I reached my hand to take the glass from her hands.“Yes, thank you!” I said and then take a sip from the glass, “Come and join me here,” I added. I was sitting a
“Is this the reason why I can’t reach the both of you earlier?” I asked Reign with a soft voice. He was sitting on the bed in front of me while I was caressing Russiana’s hair; she was sleeping and making my legs as a pillow. We are still in Reign’s room.







