LOGIN“Azzmi.”Her voice cuts through the haze in his head instantly.Raven jerks awake.Reality crashes into him so hard his stomach twists.He immediately rolls away from her and sits up at the edge of the bed, breathing unevenly as the last few seconds replay in horrifying clarity.What the hell did he just do?His hand drags roughly over his face.The kiss.Her body under his.The way he touched her.A sharp wave of guilt hits him square in the chest.For a few seconds, he can barely think straight.Then the realization settles in.This was habit.A terrible one.Whenever he stayed over with Zerra, he always gravitated toward her in his sleep. Half awake. Reaching automatically for warmth beside him without fully realizing it.And tonight, in that foggy state between sleep and consciousness, his brain filled in the wrong person.He heard soft breathing.Felt someone beside him.And acted before he fully woke up enough to recognize the difference.Raven clenches his jaw hard.That explan
The second Azzmi walks out of the bathroom, Raven goes completely still.She still has the robe over the red nightgown.But the front hangs slightly open.Enough for him to notice far more than he should.The silk clings tightly to the narrowest part of her waist before skimming over her hips, and the hem sits dangerously high on her thighs. Delicate lace curves around her chest, drawing attention to cleavage he absolutely should not be looking at.Raven immediately clears his throat and grabs his phone.Pretending to text Zerra suddenly feels very important.Azzmi walks past him without noticing the way his attention keeps following her anyway.Or maybe she does notice.That possibility somehow makes it worse.She sits in front of the mirror and unwraps her damp hair. Wet strands spill over her shoulders and stick to the thin fabric of her robe, darkening it slightly.Azzmi frowns in annoyance before slipping the robe off completely and using a towel to dry the ends.Raven’s eyes lif
Azzmi’s Point of ViewThe second Raven pulled off his belt, something cold tightened in Azzmi’s chest.Not fear exactly.Something worse.The realization that he had already made up his mind.“What did you just say?” she asks, the words catching in her throat.“Don’t act surprised.” Raven grips the belt loosely in one hand. “You knew this was coming.”“But… why?”She rises from the chair too fast and instinctively steps back.“I literally just explained it.” His jaw tightens in irritation. “Were you not listening?”Azzmi folds her arms over herself, suddenly aware of how exposed she feels standing there with him watching her so directly.“But I thought we agreed we’d never do that.”“We did.” He takes a slow step toward her. “But things changed.”Another step.And another.Until her back touches the wall.Raven stops inches away from her, tall enough that she has to tilt her head slightly to keep eye contact. His expression stays cold. Controlled. Like this conversation means nothing
Raven’s Point of ViewFor one dangerous second, I almost defend Zerra.But that would be a disaster in this conversation, so instead, I force myself to let it go.I place a hand on my father’s shoulder lightly.“We should head back downstairs.”“Nice try.” He points at me immediately, amused. “You’re not fooling me.”I raise a brow.“You just want to get back to your wife.”I let out a short laugh, mostly because denying it would only make things worse.“You definitely got me there.”My father looks entirely too satisfied with himself as we leave the office together.Halfway down the hall, his phone rings.He slows to answer it, but I continue walking ahead.Then I hear laughter.A woman’s laugh.Soft.Bright.And unfamiliar enough coming from Azzmi that it immediately catches my attention.I round the corner,and stop.Romel is standing far too close to her.Close enough that my jaw tightens instantly.He’s leaning slightly toward her while she laughs at something he said, and the si
Of all the things her father-in-law could have mentioned tonight…grandchildren were the last thing Azzmi expected.And now Raven was beside her choking on his drink.“Aren’t you going to help your husband?” Amy laughed.Azzmi moved before she could even think.She quickly took the glass from Raven’s hand while he coughed roughly beside her. Then, without hesitation, she placed her hand gently against his chest.“I’m fine,” Raven said between coughs, covering her hand lightly with his own.The contact caught her off guard.“Are you sure?” she asked softly, unable to hide her concern.His coughing eased slightly as he looked at her.And suddenly the noise around them faded.“I’m okay,” he murmured, his voice quieter now. “I was just surprised.”For one brief moment, neither of them looked away.Her heartbeat stumbled painfully inside her chest.Because this didn’t feel like acting anymore.Not completely.And that terrified her a little.“Well,” her father-in-law said with a chuckle, u
Raven’s Point of View“Now’s the time to speak up,” I tell her, my voice tighter than I intend. “Because we’re almost there.”For a second, I think she’ll stay quiet again.Instead, Azzmi exhales softly and begins explaining everything that happened with her mother… and the bear.The irritation inside me fades with every word.Her voice never fully breaks, but I hear the strain underneath it. The effort it takes for her to stay composed. And somehow, that makes it worse.I almost reach for her hand.Almost.But I stop myself before I can.Too much.Too soon.As she talks, something ugly settles heavily in my chest.I remember our wedding night. The tears in her eyes. The way she avoided looking at me.Back then, I’d thought she cried because she didn’t want me enough.Because she regretted marrying me.God.The realization hits harder than it should.She hadn’t been mourning our marriage.She’d been mourning her mother.And I’d made it about my pride.“So yeah,” she says finally, forc
“I’ll never let you have Ullysis! Never,” Natalie swore in her head.She had regretted breaking up with Ullysis in the past. She even thought that she knew he couldn’t be as gentle and mean as other boyfriends, pampering her, pleasing her. Besides, he didn’t even help her get more of her father’s i
Hearing Old Mrs. Ray Ford’s words, Ullysis’s expression worsened.Without hesitation, Ullysis stood up and headed toward the bathroom, seeming to even quicken his pace.Seeing this, Old Mrs. Ray Ford sighed deeply.She said to herself, “My grandson isn’t as incurable as I thought.”Although Ullysis
Shortly after Shantal and Roy headed to the restaurant and found their table, they saw the waiter leading Old Mrs. Ray Ford, Erin, and Natalie, and just was walking toward where Shantal was sitting.Although her marriage to Ullysis had ended unhappily, Shantal didn’t hate Old Mrs. Ray Ford, as the
Ullysis’s heart sank.Shantal had averted her eyes and attention from Ullysis and redirected them to Ella. She said, “This place is very popular. Come in. Put our names on it. I need to use the bathroom.”It was New Year’s Day. People flocked to the mall during their vacation. Plus, it was almost d







