LOGINIn a world of wealth and power, Giana Marino's life seems perfect as the wife of ruthless millioniare Dante North. But behind closed doors, she's trapped in a toxic marriage. When Dante's great-grandfather passes away, he seizes the opportunity to secure his inheritance - by divorcing Giana due to her scandalous past and marrying actress Piper Lane. Left shattered and destitute, Giana's world is turned upside down. But her life takes a dramatic turn when she's rescued by the enigmatic and seductive Maximilian who offers her a contract marriage in exchange of a job and shelter. But apart from the intense electrical chemistry they share he shocks her when he is introduced as Dante’s Uncle, now not only is she Dante’s ex-wife, she is also now his Step-Aunt. As they ignite in a passionate affair, Giana must confront her past and the danger that follows her. Will Maximilian be her salvation or a new threat? Can she escape her demons and find love in the arms of this mysterious stranger?
View MoreGIANA POV
“Sign the divorce papers now Giana, we don’t have time to waste” Dante threw the papers in my face, with no remorse. “What if I don’t want to?” I ask my hands shaking as I reach the papers from the floor, “I wanted to be done with Dante for good but I owed him my life, I was married to him for five years and I've been loyal, like a dog, like a stepping stool. “Then you will have to go to court and I don't think you have a dime to your name to pay any lawyers do you?” Piper my little step- sister said beside him. Both of them, Dante and Piper were the perfect couple to everyone, they played movie roles together, and she even attended his CEO parties with him like they were husband and wife but I was his wife, embarrassed by me and my curvy stature, and he kept me at home away from his family and friends. He only married me out of pity I know, he had saved me from a crime I had committed while we were in college and married me to keep me safe, leaving me with only my step-mother and step-sister, Piper, they maltreated me in all forms but I stayed because I had committed a great crime, one they all knew about, and due to this, they had power over me. I was to get a part of the family inheritance after my fathers death but only if I was married, Dante seized the opportunity and convinced me into giving him everything. I was happy he was serving me the divorce papers and finally happy about parting ways but I was distraught, where would I go from here? Sleep on the streets? Beg for money? Tears glazed my eyes and I turned to look at the both of them. “You both always hated me” I whisper staring at the paper in my hands, “you made sure to always make it known” I sigh, “I won’t sign the papers unless you give me a portion of my inheritance back!!” I turn to Dante with angry eyes, tears running down my face. Piper giggles beside him, stepping forward, a slap is thrown across my face before I can catch it throwing me to the floor. I gasp my eyes wide as I stare up at her, “You were married to Dante for long, you ate, slept, and remained clothed under his roof, I think that's enough payment for a woman whose mother was a whore and whose daughter was a killer” she laughs going to stand beside Dante. He approves of this, she always acted weak and fragile in front of him and always painted me as a bad person and I was always severely punished for it. I grit my teeth the tears from before heavier, what do I do now? “I want my wages!!” I say with panicked eyes, “I worked hard as your personal assistant for years Dante, I deserve my wages.” Dante walks towards me roughly grabbing my hair in his, he turns my eyes to meet with his angry ones. “Sign the damn papers Giana or I’ll make you pay, I will destroy you and you don’t want to see that side of me” he lets go of my head throwing me to the floor like a rag. My fingers shake as I sign the papers, permanently removing me from his life. As soon as I sign the papers, a bag is thrown on my lap. “Those are your clothes, get out before I ask the guards to do it myself” Piper rolls her eyes, her fingers wrapped around Dante's neck as they share a passion-filled kiss. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Dante turns to me brows raised, his eyes pointing to the door. I stepped out of the house, my phone in hand and a bag in the other, the moon reflects down at me as the guards kicked me out of the gates, standing by the side of the road, I’m confused, I call the only number I have saved on my phone. My stepmother. “Hello Mother,” I say into the phone the cold wind catching up with me as I walk further into the city. “I told you not to call me that, I am not your mother??, what do you want?” “A place for the night,” I say my voice coming out in panic once I realize I'm alone and liable to be raped or worse killed out here on the streets, my eyes move around, homeless men and women litter the street, I can't end up here. She laughs into the phone, “Piper and Dante are to be married soon and Piper is already pregnant, something you couldn't do in your years of marriage, why should I help you? Goodnight Giana” she says her voice rough and angry call ending with a harsh tone. Tears fill my eyes and my lips start to shake in the cold, my eyes move around the street, apart from the bars and restaurants open, my eyes meet with one signage. “Maxis Stip and pole dancing club” if there's anything I know, they will accept everyone and anything.Melody’s POVThe corridor back to my room felt colder than usual.It was not the kind of cold that comes from air-conditioning, but the kind that seeps into you slowly and personally.Every step resounded way too loudly, as if the walls themselves were listening.I passed the nurses’ station, nodded when one of them called my name, and smiled the way I’d learned to , small, polite,and empty. The kind of smile that convinced people you were a very nice person.Inside, my pulse was trembling.When I reached my room, I shut the door and leaned back against it, breathing in the faint smell of bleach and flowers. Someone had replaced the vase on the table with fresh lilies again. I used to like their scent, but now it only made my stomach twist.She wanted me to kill the child.No, wanted wasn’t even the right word. She’d said it so casually, like she was asking me to help rearrange the furniture in his mind. I mean I had attempted to do it before but I landed in this hospital, if I did i
Melody’s POVIt had been three days since the last session.Three long, quiet days where the hospital walls seemed absolutely no different to me.I’d counted the hours on the clock, the minutes ticking by like a heartbeat that didn’t belong to me.Something in me had changed since that talk with Dr. Halpern.I couldn’t explain it, not even to myself.It wasn’t fear exactly, more like the faint vibration that lingers after lightning strikes nearby, the kind you feel under your skin long after the thunder fades.No one had called me in since then.The world outside my window moved without me. I wondered if Max ever thought about me when he looked up.Then I reminded myself he didn’t and that reminder burned less each day.I tried to read, but the words slipped apart in my mind. I tried to sleep, but my dreams came loud and broken, all mirrors and reminding me of painful memories.By the fourth morning, I’d begun to think they’d forgotten about me entirely.That was when the knock came.
Maximilian’s POVThe rain hadn’t stopped since morning.It had a rhythm of its own, it was soft, relentless, the kind that reminded me of the first time she came into my life. I stood by the window, watching the city dissolve behind the curtain of silver drizzle, the glow of traffic lights bleeding through it like fading embers.She was still asleep.For a long time, I didn’t move. There was something about the way she slept that quieted everything in me. The small rise and fall of her chest, the way one hand always reached out for the space beside her as if making sure I was still there.I’d spent half the night watching her, rehearsing what I would say if she asked about the call.But she hadn’t.And that was both a relief and a knife twisting quietly beneath my ribs. I knew that she was listening on me. I turned away from the window and picked up my phone from the table. The message thread was still open, the florist confirming the final order. I scrolled down, checking every det
Gianna’s POVThe morning light in the penthouse was pale and gentle, the kind that slid in quietly through the tall windows and kissed the floors. I stood barefoot in the kitchen, the hem of my silk robe brushing my ankles as I stirred the pot in front of me.The scent of warm tomatoes and basil filled the air. I didn’t usually cook, the staff always did, and Max preferred me to rest but I wanted to do this myself today. Maybe because I needed to feel useful. Maybe because the silence had become too heavy lately, and I thought a small act of care might soften it.I wanted him to come home to something warm. To me, waiting with a smile, pretending that nothing between us had changed.The doctor had said I was early in the pregnancy, that I needed more rest, less worry. He didn’t say how to stop the worry. It was everywhere, the taste of morning tea, in the rhythm of the clock, in the empty chair across from mine at breakfast.Max had gone before dawn again. No note. No call. The habit






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