It made more sense in my head, at least. “What? Where do you… where do you even get such claims from?” Joseph pressed, eyes narrowing as I stared at him. “You needed him to look for me. You knew he’d find me after you lost Beatrice. After she ran away from you.” “She didn’t run away.” “She left you. Because of your—” “My what?” he snapped. “You know nothing. You absolutely know nothing.” “Hey!” A voice called from behind. I turned to the door. Seriously. They don’t knock in this company? Of course—it was Celeste. She walked in with that stupid suit then settled into a seat at the back. “I’m so sorry if I interrupted you, Daddy… Sister. But the meeting is still ongoing, and we can’t proceed without your presence. If you’ll excuse us, Sister. Daddy, please.” Joseph’s eyes shifted to her, then back to me looking almost apologetic. “Oh, it’s fine,” I muttered. “Actually, it’s fine. I’ll be going now.” “Wait—” “No, really. It’s fine.” I stood, casting one last
It would seem my twin was far more crazy than I ever imagined because every single one of her diary entries was laced with obsession. Page after page, she wrote about a man with blue eyes that she’d been stalking. It was night now, and I’d already retreated to bed after a quiet, draining dinner of half-warm noodle soup in the living room. Mom still hadn’t come downstairs. So I did what I always did, left her food at her door without a word. I carried the empty lunch plate back to the kitchen. At least she ate everything. The ceramic gleamed beneath the kitchen light, like it had been licked clean. Somehow, that made me feel better. A little. I felt kinda bad for going over to Alex’s house and… stealing. Well… scratch that. I didn’t steal anything. Not really. Besides, those were things I needed to see, needed to know. Regardless. What I did know now was that Drew was definitely back from Manchester. My accusations to Joseph had started off as pure bluff— But the look that fl
I blinked, snapping back to reality as I stared at the same receptionist who had once led me into this very building when I came to sign the contract. Now she was leaning slightly over the front desk, her expression politely blank, her voice lined with confusion. “What?” I asked again, this time more sharply. I’d called his line earlier, sure. But I’d assumed he was just busy. Not… unavailable. “Did he say why?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay even. She squinted at the open file on her desk, her bright blue eyes narrowed slightly beneath long lashes. Dressed in a fitted black skirt and matching jacket, her high ponytail was perfectly slicked back—not a single hair out of place. She looked really pretty and professional. “No, ma’am,” she said, looking up again. “He didn’t inform us. We tried contacting him too, but his line isn’t going through.” I folded my arms and tried to act unbothered. “Right. I see…” There was a pause. Then she said, “You’d probably know what’s goin
I didn’t expect the world to crumble in a single afternoon. One moment, I was hoping for a miracle. The next, I was holding a medical report with a death sentence wrapped in a six-figure invoice. “Your mother needs immediate surgery, Miss Monroe,” the doctor had said. “If it’s not done within the next seventy-two hours, she may not survive.” He said it like he wasn’t talking about someone’s life. Like he wasn’t talking about the only person I had left in this world. When I walked out of that office, it felt like my legs weren’t mine anymore. My fingers clutched the hospital file so tightly, my nails dug into the plastic cover. I didn’t even notice when I stepped into the rain. I was numb. Cold. Lost. $500,000. That’s what it would take to save her. Five hundred thousand dollars for the surgery and the post-operative care. I couldn’t even wrap my head around it. It was more than my life’s earnings. More than I’d ever seen in one place. And I had no one. No backup. No plan B
I didn’t sleep that night. How could I? I kept staring at the check as if it might vanish if I blinked. The zeros looked like a cruel joke. Unreachable. Unreal. But they weren’t. They were real. Tangible. Enough to save my mother’s life. And yet, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The thought of marrying a man I had never met, a man so far from my world, so powerful, so unknown it should’ve terrified me. And it did. But not more than the sight of my mother’s pale face and shallow breathing in that hospital room. So, when the clock struck 11:59 p.m., I found myself exactly where I swore I wouldn’t be. Standing outside Blackwood Towers. I hesitated at the entrance, the towering glass structure looming above me like a fortress. The city lights reflected off its sleek walls. Cold and intimidating. I would’ve preferred a more normal meeting maybe in a house or something but I didn’t know the location of the Blackwood estate. Hell… nobody did. The security guard had been expecting me. H
The first thing I noticed was the silence. It wasn’t the peaceful kind. No. This one was suffocating, heavy, eerie like the walls themselves were holding their breath. The Blackwood estate was unlike anything I had ever seen. More like a fortress than a home. A sprawling mansion built from polished gray stone, lined with steel gates, surveillance cameras, and perfectly trimmed hedges that looked like they had never known chaos. Just like him. The driver dropped me off at the entrance and left without a word. I stood there for a moment, suitcase in hand, feeling like an outsider about to trespass into a world I didn’t belong in. The massive double doors opened, and a woman in a dark uniform appeared. “Mrs. Blackwood,” she said, bowing slightly. “Welcome.” Mrs. Blackwood. The words made my chest tighten. I wasn’t a wife. Not in the way anyone imagined. Not in the way I once dreamed of. No love. No vows. No warmth. Just a signature on paper and a ticking clock counting down my
Two days in the Blackwood mansion felt like two weeks in a snow globe. Perfect from the outside, cold and suffocating on the inside. I wandered aimlessly from hallway to hallway, trying to find meaning in the silence. But I couldn’t shake the weight in my chest, the guilt pressing harder with every breath. It had been three weeks since I signed my life away. Three whole weeks since I’d seen my mother. No matter how lavish my surroundings were, I still felt like a daughter who had abandoned her. I had to see her. “Please… just for a few hours,” I told the driver. His eyes flickered with hesitation probably wondering why someone like me, Mrs. Blackwood, wanted to visit a rundown government hospital in the slums instead of sipping champagne in a penthouse spa. Still, he nodded and opened the car door, mumbling something under his breath as he drove me to the shacks. The hospital hadn’t changed. But being Mrs. Blackwood had changed my perspective. Now, I saw every cracked wa
The sound of his voice still echoed in my ears as I stood frozen by the stairs. “Get dressed. We’re leaving.” No further explanation. No gentleness. Just a command. The kind that didn’t expect resistance. I stood in front of the vanity mirror, fingers trembling slightly as I fastened the last clasp on the delicate gold necklace. My reflection didn’t look like me. Not the girl who walked through rain-soaked streets. Not the woman who sat beside a hospital bed hoping for a miracle. No, the woman staring back at me had been sculpted by elegance curated like a mannequin for a man’s world. The gown was satin emerald green, hugging my body like it was stitched to my skin. It flowed at the hips and shimmered under the soft white light of the mirror. The slit rode high on my thigh. Scandalous yet elegant. My dark hair had been curled into soft waves cascading down my back, adorned with golden pins that sparkled like stars. Even my makeup had been done by a professional the staff summ
I blinked, snapping back to reality as I stared at the same receptionist who had once led me into this very building when I came to sign the contract. Now she was leaning slightly over the front desk, her expression politely blank, her voice lined with confusion. “What?” I asked again, this time more sharply. I’d called his line earlier, sure. But I’d assumed he was just busy. Not… unavailable. “Did he say why?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay even. She squinted at the open file on her desk, her bright blue eyes narrowed slightly beneath long lashes. Dressed in a fitted black skirt and matching jacket, her high ponytail was perfectly slicked back—not a single hair out of place. She looked really pretty and professional. “No, ma’am,” she said, looking up again. “He didn’t inform us. We tried contacting him too, but his line isn’t going through.” I folded my arms and tried to act unbothered. “Right. I see…” There was a pause. Then she said, “You’d probably know what’s goin
It would seem my twin was far more crazy than I ever imagined because every single one of her diary entries was laced with obsession. Page after page, she wrote about a man with blue eyes that she’d been stalking. It was night now, and I’d already retreated to bed after a quiet, draining dinner of half-warm noodle soup in the living room. Mom still hadn’t come downstairs. So I did what I always did, left her food at her door without a word. I carried the empty lunch plate back to the kitchen. At least she ate everything. The ceramic gleamed beneath the kitchen light, like it had been licked clean. Somehow, that made me feel better. A little. I felt kinda bad for going over to Alex’s house and… stealing. Well… scratch that. I didn’t steal anything. Not really. Besides, those were things I needed to see, needed to know. Regardless. What I did know now was that Drew was definitely back from Manchester. My accusations to Joseph had started off as pure bluff— But the look that fl
It made more sense in my head, at least. “What? Where do you… where do you even get such claims from?” Joseph pressed, eyes narrowing as I stared at him. “You needed him to look for me. You knew he’d find me after you lost Beatrice. After she ran away from you.” “She didn’t run away.” “She left you. Because of your—” “My what?” he snapped. “You know nothing. You absolutely know nothing.” “Hey!” A voice called from behind. I turned to the door. Seriously. They don’t knock in this company? Of course—it was Celeste. She walked in with that stupid suit then settled into a seat at the back. “I’m so sorry if I interrupted you, Daddy… Sister. But the meeting is still ongoing, and we can’t proceed without your presence. If you’ll excuse us, Sister. Daddy, please.” Joseph’s eyes shifted to her, then back to me looking almost apologetic. “Oh, it’s fine,” I muttered. “Actually, it’s fine. I’ll be going now.” “Wait—” “No, really. It’s fine.” I stood, casting one last
“I need to see you.” I whispered into the phone, my voice barely carrying over the soft tap of rain against the window. It had been raining since morning. I stood by the window, watching fat droplets slide down the glass like tears. Mom hadn’t left her room all day after our little…. Misunderstanding. I hadn’t bothered to knock either. I left her breakfast by the door hours ago, untouched. No thanks. Nothing. And honestly? I didn’t have the strength to beg for connection anymore. I needed to see Joseph. I knew he couldn’t come here. Not with Mom in the house—she’d probably hurl something at his head if she so much as heard his voice. But this wasn’t about them. It was about Beatrice. If she had really been out there, roaming free… then he needed to know. Because if Joseph didn’t get a grip on his daughter soon, she was going to do something unspeakable. And I wasn’t going to sit back and wait for it to happen. “Okay, um…Is everything alright?” “No, it’s not,” I rep
It was a Saturday and a rainy one at that. The kind that made the world feel quieter, like nature was trying to hush everything for a while. I had just finished my morning jog. Yeah, I’m one of those people now trying to stay active, trying not to be that couch potato waiting around for the next person to come kidnap me in my sleep. Not anymore. The rain began just as I bent over to dust off my sneakers, my breath slow and steady, a thin sheen of sweat clinging to my skin. I peeled the towel from around my neck and dabbed it over my face, sighing as the first drops splattered against the porch railing beside me. “Good thing I didn’t get wet,” I muttered, though oddly enough, part of me had wanted to. Wanted to feel the rain on my body like a restart. But I knew better. That wouldn’t be a good sight for the neighbors. Not that I knew them. Inside, the house was heavy with silence. Mum was here now. I’d finally discharged her from the Blackwood Hospital. She hadn’t said a single wo
“How did you know I lived here? Surely Joseph didn’t tell you… or was it Celeste?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest, watching him from the doorway. Alex arched a brow at me, the corners of his lips twitching with mild amusement. “I really hate when you ruin things by mentioning your sister’s name,” he said casually. “And yes, I found out because I followed you yesterday. Saw you outside your porch… with some very…. friendly MALE friend of yours.” He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world like stalking someone was a totally normal behavior and how was that even possible? The stalking i mean because i literally saw him drive past us yesterday unless… I scoffed, shaking my head as I pushed the door open a little wider but made no move to invite him in. “We didn’t exactly end things on a good note yesterday,” he continued, his tone easy, almost playful. “Thought I’d come over and be a gentleman.” At that, a laugh escaped my lips before I could stop mys
“Surprised you still remember me,” he chuckled, stealing a quick glance at me before fixing his eyes back on the road. His hands stayed steady on the wheel as he veered past a rumbling commercial truck, the engine growling in the distance. Honestly, I hadn’t expected to see him again. And truth be told, I wasn’t exactly waiting for it either. Not that I disliked him or anything… but the memory of him felt like something better left behind me. “You look… different from the last time I saw you,” I said, my voice trailing off as I shifted my attention to the window. A long crack spidered across the glass, clumsily patched up with black tape. Very professional. “You look different too, sweetheart,” he tossed back casually. “Where’s the blondie?” Realizing he meant Candice, I winced inwardly. I hadn’t really kept her updated lately. It made me feel like a terrible friend. “She’s good. I’m sure,” I said, forcing a casual shrug. What I really wanted to ask was what he really me
I was on cloud nine, and Alex was the one taking me there. Right in front of the damn golf course.His mouth crashed into mine like he was starving—urgent, hungry, reckless. Our bodies moved in sync, lips dragging, tongues clashing. My purse had fallen somewhere by the lounge chair, its screen lit up and beeping but I was… occupied.His kiss held the same intensity he’d used to swipe his tongue between my thighs that night—and the second the memory struck me, so did the heat between my legs.God.His hands slipped under my gown, like he knew exactly where to go. His fingers grazed my thighs, slow and deliberate, climbing higher until—He froze.Then groaned into my mouth.I wasn’t wearing underwear.The sound that tore from him sent a jolt straight through my stomach. He didn’t say anything, just gripped me tighter and lifted me like I weighed nothing. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, and I gasped, my breath faltering as his mouth found that tender spot behind my ear. M
“If you strike with ease, it’ll land just where you want it… See?” Alex’s voice was low, almost bored. He swung his club smoothly, sending the golf ball sailing across the trimmed green. It landed near the flag without much effort. Of course it did. Because nothing ever missed when Alexander Blackwood was the one swinging. He stood shoulder to shoulder with a sharply dressed man whose name had flown over my head the moment we were introduced. He had a sharp accent, a polite smile, and a name that my Bronx tongue had fumbled within seconds. So I called him what I could in my head. ASIAN DUDE. Now, you might be wondering what the hell I was doing on a golf course at 5:30 in the afternoon, playing trophy wife to a man who barely looked in my direction unless it was for business. The answer was simple. Appearance. Turns out, the so-called “Asian dude in the suit” was no ordinary man. He was Alex’s late father’s personal lawyer. And judging by the stiff way Alex’s jaw ha