Se connecterThe screen continued to project the image of Thea wiping sweat from Darius’s feverish forehead. The audio of Darius slurring that he would do anything to protect her echoed through the massive speakers, filling the room with a suffocating silence before the crowd erupted into loud whispers and heavy gasps. Camera flashes exploded across the ballroom like blinding lightning. Photographers jostled for position, aiming their high-powered lenses straight at Elias Vane to catch every single detail of his reaction. For three agonizing seconds, Elias stood completely frozen. The blood ran entirely out of his face, leaving his skin pale and cold. His jaw clutched so tightly that a muscle twitched near his cheekbone. The sight of his wife, the woman he loved more than life itself, touching another man’s face in a private room felt like a physical blade thrust deep into his chest. Then, his instincts kicked in. Elias snapped out of his initial shock. He refused to give the media t
THEA’s POV The air inside the storeroom was hot and heavy. In the dim light filtering through the crack under the door, I hurried over to a plastic cleaning bucket sitting on the bottom shelf. Luckily, it was filled with clean water from the housekeeping staff's morning shift.I grabbed a folded cotton tablecloth from a nearby stack, dipped it into the cool water, and wrung it out with trembling hands.I rushed back and pressed the wet cloth gently against Darius’s forehead. He flinched at the sudden cold, letting out a low, ragged breath. Sweat was still pouring down his neck, and his chest heaved as he fought the high fever."Look at you, Darius," I whispered, my voice a mix of anger and genuine worry as I wiped the sweat from his temples. "What were you thinking? Why do you always have to throw yourself into the middle of danger? You know Sirius had something planned today so coming here shouldn’t have been a choice or better still, watch from home."Darius’s eyelids fluttered ope
THEA’s POV My head was throbbing with a sharp, blinding pain.I blinked my eyes open slowly, my vision blurry and unfocused. The air in the room smelled heavily of dust, old cardboard, and faint cleaning chemicals. I was lying on the cold, hard floor, my dark blue silk dress wrinkled beneath me.I reached up with a trembling hand to touch the side of my head. A soft, tender lump had formed near my hairline.>> What happened? Memory rushed back in a sudden, sharp flood. The red carpet. The flashing cameras. Sarah standing in front of me, making up silly excuses to delay me near the service corridor. I had accused her of helping Sirius, she had panicked and pushed me, and then... someone had hit me from behind.I pushed myself up into a sitting position, resting my back against a stack of metal shelves.I looked around the small space. It wasn't a guest bedroom or a fancy hotel suite. It was a narrow, windowless utility storeroom. Long metal shelves lined the walls, filled with extra
Elias walked away from Darius, his chest tight with anger. He hated the way Darius looked at his wife, and he hated how the man kept showing up in their lives. But he had to put those thoughts aside. Tonight was too important. Before he could take five steps, his father’s assistant hurried up to him, looking anxious. "Mr. Vane, please," the assistant said quickly, gesturing toward the front of the ballroom. "Your father is waiting for you near the main stage. He is introducing you to the chief investors from the capital." Elias took a deep breath, smoothing down his tuxedo jacket. "Lead the way." At the front of the hall, George Vane stood under a massive crystal chandelier, surrounded by elderly men in expensive suits. George was holding a glass of scotch, his face bright with pride as he saw his son approaching. "Ah, here he is!" George announced loudly, placing a heavy hand on Elias’s shoulder. "My son, Elias. The real mind behind our company’s new expansion." The investors
Darius Manchester sat in the plush leather backseat of his sleek black sedan, parked right outside the brightly lit entrance of the Regency Hall.Outside his tinted windows, the night was alive with blinding camera flashes, red carpet noise, and the hum of luxury cars pulling up to the curb. He stared silently at the entrance, his fingers lightly tapping against his knee.His assistant, sitting in the front passenger seat, turned around slowly to look at him. "Sir? Are we not going inside? The event started twenty minutes ago."Darius didn't answer immediately. His dark eyes remained fixed on the glass doors of the hall.He was hesitating, and he hated it.Darius knew what was supposed to happen tonight. He knew Elias and Thea had all the financial ledgers and evidence they needed to destroy Sirius Vane on live television. Once the truth came out tonight, the Vane family crisis would be over.And once the crisis vanished, Thea wouldn't need him anymore.She wouldn't call him for infor
Thea’s POV The entrance of the regency hall was blinding. Hundreds of camera flashes went off all at once, making the cool Saturday night air feel hot. Heavy velvet ropes kept back dozens of reporters, shouting questions over one another.I held tight to Elias’s arm as we walked down the long red carpet. Elias wore a tailored black tuxedo, his tall frame looking completely powerful and composed. I wore a dark blue silk gown that fell smoothly to the floor.As we walked, Elias slowed his steps to match mine. He felt me tense up against the loud noise, and he leaned down slightly, his lips almost touching my ear."You look breath-taking, Thea," Elias whispered softly. His voice was warm and steady against the cold air. "Just relax. Look at me, not at the cameras."I looked up into his dark eyes, and the tight knot in my chest instantly loosened. "I’m fine," I said, giving him a small, genuine smile. "I’m just ready for this night to be over.""It will be over soon," he said. He reached
ELIAS’s POV Elias felt like he was being trapped. His own parents were turning against him. Serena was standing there like a vulture, waiting for him to fall. "Thea is my wife," Elias said. "Whatever happened in that cabin... there is a reason for it. I trust her so you can stop with the delusion
THEA’S POV Elias leaned in until I could feel the ghost of his breath against my lips. He was waiting for me to flinch. "You think you’ve grown claws, Thea," He murmured, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous vibration. "But you’re still in my house. You’re still wearing the ring I bought you. An
THEA’s POV Elias was still leaning over me, his face so close I could see the dark blue flecks in his eyes.I looked at him, and for a split second, I didn't see my husband. I saw a jailer. In my last life, I would have cried. I would have begged him not to say such scary things. But that Thea die
THEA’s POV The morning news was a bloodbath. I sat at the long, marble breakfast table, sipping my coffee and watching the television mounted on the wall. The headline scrolling across the bottom made the bitter caffeine taste like nectar: "STERLING ARCHITECTURE DROPS 40% AS MAJOR INVESTORS PULL







