LOGINGabriella's POV I lay on the bed for a long time. The phone was sitting on the nightstand beside me. It was face down and silent. The room was completely quiet. The only sound was the slow rhythm of my own breathing. I had until eight o'clock in the morning. Less than twelve hours. My mother's voice was still echoing in my head. The threats. The coldness. The absolute certainty that she had won. I picked up the phone. My fingers moved without thinking. They scrolled through the contacts until they found his name. Mariano. I pressed call. He answered on the first ring. "Gabriella." His voice was sharp and immediate. "Are you okay? What happened?" "No." My voice was flat and hollow. "I am not okay." There was a pause on the other end of the line. I could hear him breathing. I could hear movement. He was probably standing up, grabbing his jacket, getting ready to come to me. "What happened?" he asked again. "My mother called me." The line went completely silent. "She called
Gabriella's POVI lay on the bed for a long time.The phone was sitting on the nightstand beside me. It was face down and silent. The room was completely quiet. The only sound was the slow rhythm of my own breathing.I had until eight o'clock in the morning. Less than twelve hours. My mother's voice was still echoing in my head. The threats. The coldness. The absolute certainty that she had won.I picked up the phone. My fingers moved without thinking. They scrolled through the contacts until they found his name. Mariano.I pressed call.He answered on the first ring."Gabriella." His voice was sharp and immediate. "Are you okay? What happened?""No." My voice was flat and hollow. "I am not okay."There was a pause on the other end of the line. I could hear him breathing. I could hear movement. He was probably standing up, grabbing his jacket, getting ready to come to me."What happened?" he asked again."My mother called me."The line went completely silent."She called me," I repeat
Gabriella pov"I know the truth now," I said. "I see everything now.""You see nothing," my mother said. "You are standing in the middle of a room, facing criminal charges, with no allies left. Who do you have? Nok? Nok gave you a set of clothes and a push out the door because I told her to."My heart stopped for a second. "What?""Did you really think Nok helped you out of the goodness of her heart?" my mother asked. "She works for me, Gabriella. Every move you made was allowed by me. Every door you opened was unlocked by me.""You are lying," I said, though my voice sounded small."I do not lie to you, Gabriella," my mother said. "I manipulate you. There is a difference. Levi did what he was told because he wanted to keep his sister safe. Nok did what she was told because she knows what happens when people disobey me.""I am going to tell the university," I said. "I am going to tell the court. I will tell the judge everything you did.""With what proof?" my mother asked. "Levi will
"Then explain it to me," I said. I stopped walking and stood still in the center of the room. "Explain why you framed me. Explain why you destroyed my life. Explain why you are calling my phone right now.""I cannot explain everything," Levi said. "Not over the phone. It is not safe.""I do not care about safe," I shouted. "I care about the truth. Tell me the truth, Levi. Tell me why you did this to me."There was another long pause on the line. Levi took a heavy breath."Because I had no choice," Levi said. "Because she threatened the people I love. Because if I did not do what she asked, she would have killed them."I held the phone against my ear. My heart was pounding hard against my chest. My mind was racing to understand his words."Who?" I asked. My voice was lower now. "Who did she threaten?""My sister," Levi said. "Nok. She said if I did not help her frame you, she would kill Nok. She said she would make it look like an accident. She said she would destroy everyone I care ab
Gabriella PovI was lying on my bed with my eyes open. My hands were folded across my stomach. The ceiling was white and blank. I had been staring at it for hours. Maybe days. I had lost track of time completely.Something in me had changed. The fog in my head had lifted. The jumbled thoughts were gone. The chaos had settled into something cold and clear.I was thinking about everything. I thought about every single piece of my life. I thought about every single person who had betrayed me.I thought about Davis. He had talked about me behind my back. He had called me a prude with a nice body. He had grabbed my arm and left bruises on my skin. He had broken into my room. He had tried to rape me. He had smiled when he thought he had won.I thought about Mariano. He had looked at me in that club in Vegas. He had held me in his arms. He had promised to protect me. Then he had called me weak and walked out the door.I thought about Vincent. He had saved my life. Then he had betrayed Marian
Raphael walked slowly down the hallway toward Gabriella's room. His footsteps were heavy on the hardwood floor. His chest was tight. His hands were still shaking from the argument with his father. He stopped outside her door. The door was still broken from where Mariano had kicked it in. The frame was splintered. The lock was hanging loose. He could see her inside. She was lying on her bed with her back to the door. Her shoulders were shaking. He could hear her crying. Soft, broken sobs that tore through the quiet house like knives. He reached out to push the door open. His hand hovered over the wood. He wanted to go in. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay. But he could not. Because he did not know if it was going to be okay. He did not know if anything would ever be okay again. He pulled his hand back. He turned away from the door. He walked to his own room and closed the door behind him. He sat down on the edge of his bed. He pulled
Gabriella's POV "Excuse me?" His voice snapped me out of my daze. "Huh?" I looked up at him. God he was more handsome up closer. His eyes were deep like whirlpools slowly dragging me in. "I believe you must be in the wrong place." He said, his voice was deep but the sound slid through m
Gabriella's POV"You have no idea how irritated I am by her presence. She's just sexy visually. A fucking prude." Davis, my fiancee, groaned.I stood by the door, visibly frozen in place. The little basket of hand made snacks felt heavy.Was he talking about me? It couldn't be."No way dude," Kevin
Gabriella's POV"—and then Darius came along to claim the proposal but I beat him to it and got the patent." Davis droned on"Nice." I said half-heartedly "Nice? I just told you how I worked hard during my travels and all I get is 'Nice'?" He turned to me annoyed that I was fawning over him like b
Gabriella's POVIn one swoop I was in his arms as he walked towards a different door. I helped him open it and there was an inner room with a more simple yet luxurious decor.He dropped me on the bed, towering over me as he threw his shirt to a corner of the room and then his hands moved to his bel







