LOGIN
DARIAN
“Where’s that bastard?”
My eyes snapped toward the woman storming into the room like a hurricane.
“I couldn’t stop her, Mr. Darian!”
I waved the guy away and studied the woman whose hair looked like it had gone through war, clearly fighting her way up here. My brothers looked just as entertained as I did confused.
“Which bastard?”
“My bastard of a husband! Where is Darian Freeman?”
My brothers burst out laughing like they’d just witnessed the world’s finest comedy show.
I, however, failed to see the joke.
She smoothed her wild hair, fixing those hazel eyes on me.
“Tell me where he is. I swear I won’t kill him. I just want to shove these papers down his throat,” she said, waving the papers in my face.
“There must be a mistake,” I said, still trying to piece this insanity together.
“Oh stop feeding me fairy tales! Where is that son of a bitch?”
“Are you insane? There’s clearly a mistake here! I am Darian Freeman and I am one hundred percent sure I am not your husband!”
---
ONE WEEK EARLIER
BELINDA
“What the hell are you doing?”
I stared at the lawyer, the repossession officers, and my landlord glaring at me like I’d personally ruined his precious morning.
I’d gone to bed late. Mornings and I? Never friends.
So why were these people outside my door at this ungodly hour?
“Add that too,” one of the officers said. I shot him my deadliest glare and blocked his way.
Sure, he was on official duty—but that didn’t mean he got to ignore me.
Who the hell did he think he was?
His attitude awoke the feral cat inside me.
“Hey! Look at me!” I snapped, shoving his shoulder. He had to tilt his head down to see me.
Yeah, I’m short. Yeah, that means my temper hits the ceiling fast. Try me.
“You owe a debt. You were notified several times.”
“I WAS NOT!” I shouted.
“Is the government lying then?” he asked, oh so smug.
“I—no, but—” My voice shrank.
The empty walls of my home hit me like a slap.
What was happening?
They were taking my furniture out. MY furniture. Without my permission.
I had no debt! Okay… not anymore. I had already paid off the debt my wonderful excuse for a husband left me with when he emptied our house and vanished like the useless stain he was.
So… how the hell was I being repossessed again?
Long story short?
My house was stripped bare. Correction: robbed clean by life.
The officers left. And I stood there with my cat, my bag, and my landlord staring like he owned the universe.
“Well, since you have no furniture left,” he grumbled, “get out of my house.”
He acted like he was being evicted. Old troll.
Next thing I knew?
Me, my barely-functional belongings and my fluffy traitor of a cat were kicked out.
So yeah. I was royally screwed.
---
I dumped my cat and luggage at the bar where I worked and spent the whole day chasing this debt.
Lawyers. Offices. Banks. Demons disguised as financial institutions.
Turns out the debt wasn’t 500,000.
It was three million.
People inherit fortunes.
I inherited debt.
Did I mention fate could kiss my ass?
And when I thought the universe was done—
It wasn’t.
Two days later, while I was singing on stage, two strangers dragged me off by force.
Turns out I owed another two million to a crime syndicate.
Because why the hell not?
Their boss threatened me, I cried, begged, survived…
But I had three days to pay. I had 500 lira to my name.
Which led me here.
A park bench.
A cat.
A suitcase.
A girl questioning every life choice since birth.
Crying solves nothing.
I cried enough in the orphanage, begging for parents.
All I ever got was cold floors and harsh words.
“Okay,” I told my cat, Paspas. “Time to hunt down my husband Darian Freeman and drown that bastard in his own spit.”
Paspas purred. Good. She agreed.
We were going to ruin him.
Not punish — destroy.
---
And here I was.
The bastard who left me broke apparently built a company.
Took me days, but I found him.
Ask and fate delivers. Sometimes by slapping you in the face.
Motels had chewed me alive.
Now it was my turn to chew him.
He left me heartbroken back then. I rebuilt myself. Slowly. Painfully. And stupidly believed he’d return, so I didn’t even file for divorce. That title protected me.
Idiot didn’t come back. So I came to drag him by the tail.
Cat in one arm, luggage swinging in the other, I marched into his empire.
“I’m here to see Darian Freeman,” I told reception.
“Do you have an appointment?”
Oh please. This was every drama ever.
“Yes,” I smirked. “Tell him someone he’s been waiting for is here.”
“And your name?”
“Belinda Freeman. His wife.”
Silence.
Judgment.
Rage.
“Out,” the receptionist hissed. “Mr. Freeman isn’t married. Are you insane?”
“Call him,” I barked.
Security moved. I moved faster.
As soon as he stepped forward, I sprinted to the elevator and slammed the top floor button.
Oof. I ran like my landlord was behind me again.
A woman entered on floor two.
“What floor is Mr. Freeman’s office?” I whispered sweetly.
“Sixth.”
“Thanks.” Ding. Floor six. War time.
Doors opened. I stormed down the corridor, checked rooms, ignored the looks—and found a secretary.
“I need to see Darian Freeman.”
“No appointment.”
“I’m his WIFE. Move.”
I put my cat on her desk like a furry grenade and shoved the door open.
I warned everyone, didn’t I?
Short girl. Fast temper.
Three faces snapped toward me.
Three ridiculously handsome faces.
And not a single one was my traitor of a husband.
BELINDA“What are we doing, Mop?” I asked my cat, who was staring at me like an idiot.“Miaaow!”“You’re right, I don’t know either. But I have to do something. I don’t even want that bastard’s sins anymore at this point!”“Miaaaowww!”“I know you’re drooling over the guy, but tough luck. We can’t stay here. Don’t think I’ll swallow those lines, sweetheart. Don’t even try to convince me!”“Prrrr…”“Hey!” I snapped. “You’re my cat. He might own this place, but I own you. Watch yourself. Or I’ll put you outside and you can sit on your ass till morning!”She let out a tiny “meow” and dropped her head onto her paws.“Don’t try emotional manipulation. The man kicked you! Don’t you dare fantasize about him picking you up and cuddling you. Get your head straight.”When she didn’t even bother replying this time, I grabbed her by the waist and set her down on the floor.“Sleep on the ground. Maybe that’ll knock some sense into you. No bed for you tonight!”She tensed, ready to jump, but I wagg
DARIAN"Do you want me to try?""You can try. But to get out of here, you won't just have to get past security—you’ll have to get past me."He took a step. I took one too. The distance between us closed so much that I could feel his breath on my skin. I could see that with every movement, he was trying to hide another emotion just as intense as his anger.He had enjoyed our kiss as much as I did. Even if he made stinging remarks, I knew it. Did he think I didn’t? What did he take me for? Some teenager having his first kiss?"So, you won't let me leave?" she asked, her voice dropping to a challenging whisper."Just realizing that now, little lady?"A moment of hesitation… Her eyes locked onto mine. A spark flickered in her gaze. Suddenly, she pulled back, took a sharp breath, turned around, and marched toward the villa.I smiled.As she turned and started walking, I was about to congratulate myself on my victory. But her steps weren't headed for the villa; she was veering toward a secl
DARIANShe had completely thrown me off balance. She wasn’t my height—not even close—but if there was one undeniable truth, it was that her temperament matched mine perfectly. She knew how to throw barbs, and she never let anyone get the upper hand.Fuck.The moment I thought getting the upper hand, my mind veered off in an entirely different direction.She had landed a solid blow with her words.Damn it. I had deserved that.What kind of clinging was that anyway? I’d turned into a teenager who’d never kissed before. If it weren’t for my pride, despite what she’d said, I would have dragged her back from the door, crushed my mouth against hers again—and this time, I wouldn’t have stopped at just clinging.My body ached with need. I stormed into the bathroom, irritated beyond reason. The thought that she’d been standing here naked just minutes ago made me hard as steel.I shut my eyes in frustration and stepped under the water.Damn it.Neither that kiss nor the image of her bare body w
BELINDA Oh my God.He’s kissing me.A friend once said unexpected kisses are the best kind. Screw that. I swear she was right.Nothing—nothing—had ever felt like this. When I compared it to the excitement I’d experienced before, this one multiplied everything by ten, maybe a hundred.At first, I froze in shock. Then anger rushed in. And somewhere between those two, the urge to kiss him back took hold. Seconds stretched into hours as I stood there, completely unsure of what to do.Pulling away wasn’t an option. Stepping back felt impossible. It was like we were magnets—drawn together by some uncontrollable force.Darian was undeniably handsome. Anyone who denied it would be lying. He looked like someone pulled straight from the middle of a fashion show and dropped into a corporate empire. That arrogant, self-satisfied smirk only made him more infuriatingly attractive.But good looks didn’t save his personality. He was an asshole. And yes—the very asshole whose kiss I was returning, th
DARÍANAfter putting on the outfit Marcia brought, I headed to the bar in the office and poured myself a whiskey.“At this hour?” Marcus asked in a disapproving tone.To hell with the time. Was anything left of my sense of time anyway? It felt like a bomb had gone off in the middle of my office.I took the whiskey and sat down at Luke’s still-open computer. Scanned through all the information again. As if looking at it one more time would magically change the outcome.I scrolled down and opened a new page. Typed in Belinda’s info. I had to gather everything I could about her. I needed to know what I was dealing with.“She might be working with those guys. Playing the victim to get money,” I said.“Didn’t look like that to me, but go ahead, check,” Marcus replied as he pulled a chair beside me.“How did she not? She was way too calm. Professional. First she acted shocked, and then she tried clinging to me.”“Looked more like she was terrified of being alone and ran to us for help…”“Yo
BELINDAIt only took ten minutes to get down to the parking lot, get in the car, and pull up in front of a villa. If I had known his house was this close, I wouldn’t have bothered going to the office—I’d have called a locksmith and walked in as his wife.“It’s pretty close,” I muttered as I unbuckled my seatbelt, clutching Paspas tight in my arms.Stepping out of the car, I let out a low whistle. Clearly the scam artist married the wrong person. Darian should’ve married himself.“We’ve been here for two years. When the land went up for sale three years ago, we bought it.”“You all live here?”“Yes. The ground floor is Marcus’s, second floor is mine, top floor is my brother’s.”“He knows how to choose,” I said, eyeing the massive villa. “Saved the best view for himself.”Normally villas had a single entrance, but this one had a separate outdoor entrance to each floor.“Big property,” I commented, noticing there were no houses nearby.“Big enough,” he murmured. My version of “enough” an







