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Chapter 55: I Know
publish date:
2026-09-09 21:29:14
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SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES Chapter 57: Where is My Wife?
ZANE’S POVI stayed in the hot tub after Lila walked away with the towel wrapped around her. The water stayed warm against my chest. Steam rose in thin lines and drifted toward the open lagoon. I finished the last of the juice and set the glass on the floating tray. A few minutes passed. Then a few more. The baby made her need the bathroom more often, I knew that, but the walk to the villa bathroom was short. She should have been back by now. I sat up straighter and looked toward the open doors. No movement. No sound of her steps on the deck boards. The quiet started to press. I climbed out, water streaming off me, and grabbed a towel. I dried off quickly, pulled on the shirt and pants I had left on the bench, and walked across the deck into the villa. “Lila?”No answer came from the hallway or the bedroom. I checked the living area first, then the open kitchen space. Empty. I moved toward the bathroom wing and called her name again, louder this time. Still nothing. A male staff mem
SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES Chapter 56: Open Water
LILA’S POVI watched Zane fall asleep with his back to me, the sheets pulled only to his waist and one arm tucked under the pillow. The villa stayed quiet except for the soft slap of water against the stilts below and the occasional distant cry of a bird over the lagoon. The moonlight cut thin silver lines across the floor through the open curtains. He had not mentioned Marcus again after we left the balcony. Not one word about the call, the hate in his brother’s eyes, or the years of blame. His breathing eventually evened out, yet the set of his shoulders stayed tight even in sleep, a quiet tension that never fully left. I shifted closer and rested a hand on the slight curve of my stomach. I knew the silence did not mean the subject had left him. It sat in the room like another person, heavy and unspoken. I decided then that the next day would not start the same way. I would pull him out of it even if he never asked me to.Morning light came in soft and gold, warming the white lin
SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES Chapter 55: I Know
ZANE’S POV“I know,” I replied to Freya after everything she said about Marcus. Freya’s voice rose sharp on the other end of the line. “What do you mean you know? How the fuck do you know Marcus is alive? Have you seen him? Zane, what is going on?”I kept my eyes on the dark lagoon beyond the balcony rail. “I have to go. I will call you later. Do not let this bother you. Everything is fine.”“Everything is not fine,” she interrupted me. “You cannot just say that and hang up. Talk to me.”“I will call you,” I replied. “I promise. Just please keep this between us for now.” I ended the call before she could push further. The phone felt heavy in my hand. I stayed at the rail a moment longer and let the earlier confrontation replay without trying to stop it. Marcus had stood in the sand under the last of the evening light, same face as mine, same build, same eyes that used to mirror every expression I made when we were boys. When I called his name he did not look at me like a brother wh
SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES Chapter 54: The Wait
LILA’S POVI stayed in the low chair exactly as Zane told me to. The last of the evening light drained out of the sky and the lagoon turned dark blue under a thin scatter of stars. Soft waves brushed the sand in a steady rhythm. A few other guests still sat farther down the path, their voices low, but most had already started walking back toward the main buildings. I kept my eyes on the direction he had gone. Twenty minutes passed. Then more. My hands rested on my stomach without me thinking about it. The baby shifted once, a small roll that made me sit up straighter.He had not gone to answer any call. I knew that the second he stood up. He had gone after the man in the plain shirt and cap. The one who had matched our every move. The longer I sat there the tighter my chest got. What if the man had not been alone? What if Zane had run into trouble on the darker stretch of beach past the palms? I stood up causing the chair to scrape lightly against the sand. I started walking the s
SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES Chapter 53: A Stalker From The Past
ZANE’S POV “I love you too, Zane,” she replied as she stared at me with glassy eyes. I set my empty glass down on the tray and stared back at her across the low table. The last of the fish and rice was gone. Outside the villa the sky had shifted into soft evening colors, pale gold melting into rose and then into a deeper blue at the edges. The lagoon reflected every change. The water that had been bright turquoise earlier now held longer shadows and a quieter surface. “We should go out for a bit,” I said. “Something quiet and nice while the light is still good. Just a walk along the beach path and a place to sit.”She wiped her hands on a napkin and stood, stretching once. “That sounds perfect. Let me grab a light shawl.”She disappeared into the bedroom for a moment and came back with a thin white wrap over her shoulders. We left the villa together and followed the wooden walkway that connected to the main beach path. The boards felt cooler under our feet now that the sun had drop
SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES Chapter 52: Villa Arrival
LILA’S POVI stepped off the small boat and onto the wooden walkway. The boards felt warm under my bare feet, slightly rough from years of salt air and sun. Clear turquoise water stretched out on every side, so transparent in places that I could see the pale sand below and the quick silver flashes of fish darting between the stilts. The private villa sat elevated above the lagoon like something that belonged more to the sea than to land. Its dark wood frame and thatched roof looked almost weightless against the bright sky. Soft white curtains moved in the steady breeze. Glass panels ran through sections of the floor, and wide open decks wrapped around the entire structure so that the ocean felt like part of the rooms themselves. I walked inside and turned in a slow circle. The high ceiling rose above me, open and airy. A massive bed faced the water, its white linens already turned down and waiting. Beyond the living area an infinite edge dropped straight into the sea with no visibl
SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES Chapter 8: Shards
LILA’S POV The last guest left and the front door shut with a heavy click that echoed through the house like a judge’s gravel. Silence fell hard but my legs still shook, my thighs felt sticky and cold and the place between them throbbed with every heartbeat. I stood in the dining room holding a s
SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES Chapter 5: The Bombshell
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SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES Chapter 2: The Fallout
LILA’S POVThe Blizzard’s arena faded behind me, but Zane Callahan’s green eyes burned like acid. My boots pounded the icy Chicago pavement, every step feeding my anger. He’d humiliated me, storming out like I was some rookie gossip—monger. Overreacting? That was putting it lightly. He’d exploded,
SHADES OF ICE AND ASHES Chapter 1: The Interview
LILA’S POVThe Chicago wind clawed at my skin, slicing through my thin coat as I sprinted across the slick concrete toward the Blizzard’s practice arena. My boots skidded, nearly sending me sprawling, but I caught myself, heart hammering like a puck slammed into the boards. I was late. Again. Five
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