LOGINJADE“Haul the net in, luv! We've got church at six sharp!”“Aye, Captain!”I shot the grey haired man across the boat a salute, grinning, as he heaved another one of his insufferable sighs. Matteo Andani was the angel waiting with open arms on a safe side of the world, when I stumbled on a train to a random village in Rome’s countryside, five years ago.I knew God was on my side because he had sent me these two dashing men to keep me safe. It was a shame I lost one of them, but I still had my dear sweet Matteo.Violet eyes stayed in my mind, with the fragments of hope covered in dust and cobwebs. Matteo had groomed me into a strong woman. I never did know what it was like to lift fucking weights of barley for the sheep. Or haul nets breaking with good catches. Until I met him. He'd taught me what it meant to turn my pain into a weapon so sharp the barest cut brought me satisfaction. He'd taught me that losing certain people from your life was sometimes the best thing that could ha
JADEIn another thirty minutes, I'm driving out of the house. Freshly showered, in comfy jeans and a cream-colored knitted sweater. Hair free and loose around my shoulders. My heart is aching. I can't tell if it's because I miss Knight so badly tonight, or…because of the state of things between my husband and I. I didn’t care to tell him where I'm headed. He didn't bother to ask. He just locked himself up in his study after our argument. As I drive through the cold night, I think about how to protect my interests and that of my son. The facts are clear. Soren is having an affair. He doesn't care about me. He seems to have planned to steal from me right from the very beginning. He's not who I thought he was. What does all this mean for me? Anything can happen at any moment, and I would be left stranded, maybe my son too. I’m still not sure why Soren made me CEO of Lockwood Holdings, but I vow to make the most of it. I’ll become so successful that he would have to think twice if
JADEIf I had to pick sides, it would be mine. Anyday, anytime.But I don't tell that to my stepbrother. Instead…I take a few steps forward until there is no distance left between us. “Was there anything else you wanted to add?”A muscle throbs in his jaw, snagging my attention. “I asked you a question.” “And it's my choice to answer or not.” I pause, sliding my gaze to his lips. “Therefore, I choose not to answer such a ridiculous question.” Why would I pick sides with any of them? I don’t like my father. My husband is cheating, and doing a whole other list of strange things. And my stepbrother? I can’t spend more than ten seconds in his presence without thinking of fucking him. “Hmm.” He moves away from my face and begins to circle me like a predator. “You know, there's a reason why Jaxon offered you a seat on the board. You must decide who's side you want to stand on, or be prepared to fight a long battle.” He pauses by my side and leans close to my ear. “Which can get pretty m
JADEMy mood lightens as soon as I get on the road back to the office.And it's for no reason other than I’ll be seeing Knight soon. He's my next appointment, the last one for the day—aside from the personal scheduled dinner with Piper. That urge for rebellion has strongly consumed my being, colliding with the thirst for revenge. The combination has a blood curling effect that makes me want to exert the same pain on the people hurting me. Riley seems to detect my sour mood and keeps to herself the entire time. The driver in the seat is a new one that was hired after strict investigations into his background. By the time he pulls the car up to the front of Lockwood Holdings, I’m caught between two worlds. Telling Knight about everything that went down at the testrun, or just keeping it to myself. I wonder what the meeting would be about. Or is it just another excuse of his to see me? Not like it would be so bad to see him now…I head up to my office to find him waiting already, a
JADE “I believe you’re in the best position to know that.” Camille’s mouth drops open in mock surprise, and a nervous laugh spills through. She tries to mask it with a bit of elegance. “I'm sorry, what?” I take a step towards her, folding my arms across my chest, and it somehow comes across as menacing, because she backs away. “Do you have some kind of business with my husband? Something I don’t know about?” Only…I may know about it. She smirks, and God, it takes everything in me to not slap it off her face. Of course she's sleeping with Soren, and she's being smug about it. “What if I do?” She equally takes a menacing step towards me and gets in my face until I can see her silver eyes flare dangerously. “Would you happen to have a problem with it, little stepsister?” The way she sneers on that last word sends chills down my spine. It's almost like she knows something. “You look like you want to do something about it,” she purrs, squinting those stupid brows in mock pity
JADEI’ve had meetings all morning, and I've not been able to concentrate on a single one of them. My mind has been on the incident that occurred yesterday…how a total stranger had abducted me just for some cash. Although…I can't quite shake the feeling that there is more to it, generally. Especially the way I handled the abductor with surprising strength and ease. The old me would have panicked and not even thought about attacking the man. I feel there's something different about me—not just the necessary growth that happens to a woman who's seen the worst of life and had her heart broken. I'm talking major…unexplainable change. When did I start noticing it? Maybe it was on that day I looked at a pack of knives in the mall and felt a weird stirring underneath my skin. For some reason, that memory has refused to go away. It lurks at the back of my mind like it's an important encounter I must remember for a significant day to come. I mean…none of this makes sense but I can't ju







