LOGINLiora " I have already signed the tie-severing forms." I stated, unconcealed joy lacing my words. It might have been in the middle of a disaster, I might have been unaware of what the future held, but the fact that I had finally regained my freedom from the Quinns' clutches was worth celebrating.. " From now on, we have nothing to do with each other..." I added, and a gleam of satisfaction glazed my eyes when I saw their bitter faces. The joke was surely on them. Moments ago, they couldn't wait to get rid of me, but when the table rurned and Soren came for me, alongside their jealousy and bitterness, they couldn't wait to reap the benefits of the undefined union, even going as far as bringing up kinship ties that never existed or acknowledged from the very beginning. Well, I couldn't give them another chance to ruin me. Eighteen years were already enough.. For eighteen years, I had been in their control. No more. A subtle smile crept to my cheeks when I recalled how I ha
Liora.. " Miss Liora here is carrying my child. " He declared, his eyes finding their way back to me, and I looked away, my nerves fraying, my knuckles going all white from being tightly clenched. I had never wished to magically disappear more than I currently did. Countless eyes were on me. Curiosity and disbelief sharpening their gazes, and yet, his burned the most. Tavian's. Slowly, I lifted my head, chewing on my inner cheeks to borrow composure.. It was happening. My worst nightmare was live, and I could only force a smile and face everything. Tavian's eyes were dark as he looked at me, sharpened by disbelief and ...anger, maybe? He even had the guts to look betrayed, like I was the one who had broken his heart, went back on my promises... how funny! Then he started shaking his head, his face paper-pale. " Uncle Soren...what..what is the meaning of this?" He asked, his fingers clenched into fists at his side. "Do I need yo explain myself to you?"
Liora. "Who dares call the Knight heir a bastard?" My adoptive father didn't get to finish, though. The door to the private room was yanked open, and a figure saubtered in, followed by a string of bodyguards. His powerful and imposing aura registered even before his face could. Thick tension materialised in the room with each step that he took. Deep silence stretched in every corner of the room, save for the soft clicks of his leather boots against the tiles. Knight heir! That word had my heart slamming so hard against my chest I gasped. ' Please don't be Soren!' I found myself muttering under my breath, wishing he wasn't who my instincts said he was. But as he gracefully walked closer, my heart sank deeper into its cage as that familiar face came to my view. Those eyes that had gazed down over me, that night.... Those lips that I had kissed recklessly for hours, That night. .. Everything was vaguely clear, and yet, the snippets that grabbed my mind had
Liora. " You will marry a widower. " He stated, his tone laced with finality, like I didn't get to make a choice, like everything was set in a stone.. " You have always wanted to end things with this family, right?" Mrs Quinn asked, a perfect sneer etched on her face. In response, I found myself nodding, something that I wouldn't have done in the past.. Either I'd finally grown bold, or I was just tired... But it was the truth. Ever since I learned that the Quinns adopted me for my rare blood type, the only thing that had kept me going was the thought of one day cutting ties with them and regaining my freedom. But becoming some old widower's wife? That was not within my plans. In the past, I had envisioned a warm penthouse, porch lights staying on all night, two sets of shoes at the entrance, mine and Tavian's, and laughter at the kitchen island as we took our breakfasts, before going to work. After his betrayal, in the two months that I had been preparing their eng
Liora. Patient name, Liora Quinns. Diagnosis, pregnant. I stared at those words until they blurred into nothingness. I repeated the word pregnant in my lips, over and over, until it stopped making sense. And at some point, I foumd myself laughing, a hollow and emotionless laughter, weak and pathetic, just like I was. My life was already ruined, you know? Messy in all possible ways, and now ....pregnancy? And once again, I was forced to confront that blurry night. That reckless night that I swore to never think about, the night of distant pleasure and mistake with Soren night, Tavian's uncle. I had sworn to never think about it, to forget that it happened, and yet, here I was, two pink lines staring back at me, as if, mocking the very joke that I had become. Growing up, my childhood wasn't very remarkable. I grew up in the orphanage, from the age of zero to five years, like I was told. The cold mights, the barey enough meals, and let's not talk about the lack
Liora. After our last confrontation, the following weeks passed in a blur. You know? The same routine, interning at the elite company that the Quinns paid for me to attend, playing the perfect daughter, donating blood for Seris, organising their upcoming grand engagement party, and most importantly, smiling through it all, and acting unaffected. And yeah, it was hell, I will admit. He had once promised me a forever, a home. ' After your graduation, I will marry you, Liora. I will give you a home.' He had whispered, his voice louder over the Christmas movie we were watching. And in response, I had snuggled deeper into his arms, allowing myself to dream, to imagine a future that belonged to the two of us, Tavian and Liora. Then the graduation happened, I had expected a ring, but it never came. I received an excuse instead. ' How about you finish interning first? When you land your first job, I will propose... It will be a double celebration.' He had whispered. And som







