เข้าสู่ระบบRoman's POVThe call came back faster than I expected.“No one’s talking,” my contact said. “Nothing’s moving. No whispers, no loose ends. Whoever you’re worried about… they’re not making a play.”I leaned back in my chair, frowning. “You’re sure?”“As sure as I can be without breaking into confession booths. It’s quiet.”I hung up and stared at the phone in my hand. Quiet. That should’ve been a relief but it wasn’t.Mark hadn’t shown up tonight because there was a problem.He’d shown up to be the problem. . . . .To remind me of the dirt I’d buried for him. To twist the knife just enough to make sure I remembered whose fingerprints were on the handle.I cleaned up his mess. His kill. His greed. And yet here he was, standing in my kitchen like he owned the air I breathed.My jaw ached from how hard I was clenching it.I grabbed my keys and phone, the decision hitting me before I’d even thought it through. If he wanted to get in my head, fine I’d make sure he saw exactly how little sp
Roman's POV.The kitchen smelled like garlic and butter.Ariana had been hovering beside me, passing me plates and making soft jokes that curled the corners of my mouth without me realizing.For the first time in days, I wasn’t thinking about the mess outside these walls.Then—three knocks.Not rushed. Not hesitant.Measured. Exact.I froze.Ariana looked at me. “Want me to—?”“No.” My voice was sharper than I meant it to be. “I’ll get it.”She stayed put while I wiped my hands and walked to the door. My steps felt heavier with each one. I already knew.When I opened it, there he was.Mark.Perfect suit, perfect tie, perfect mask of composure. His cologne—expensive, suffocating—hit first. His eyes, however, were the same as they’d always been: calculating, predatory, the kind that could strip you down to the bone without lifting a finger.> “Roman,” he said, with the kind of smoothness people mistake for charm. “We should talk.”“What do you want?” I didn’t step aside.> “Privately.”
Ariana's POVI didn’t even remember when I’d fallen asleep.One moment, I was curled up on the couch, Roman’s voice low in my ears… and the next, I was waking up to the faint hum of silence.Only, it wasn’t really silent.There was a sound—a soft, rhythmic sizzling. And an incredible smell.I blinked my eyes open, squinting at the dim light filtering through the curtains.This… wasn’t my bed.The sheets were cooler than they should’ve been, but they smelled like him—clean, masculine, and maddeningly warm. I sat up slowly, my hair a mess, my limbs heavy from sleep. My bare toes touched the wooden floor, and the faint aroma of something rich and savory drifted through the air again, pulling me out like a string around my finger.Following it, I padded down the hall, the scent growing stronger. Garlic. Butter. Something that made my stomach instantly growl.I turned the corner and froze.Roman was at the stove, sleeves rolled to his elbows, one hand gripping the pan handle, the other tos
Roman’s POVHer fingers brushed my jaw tender, like she didn’t know whether to hold me or let me fall apart and I did. In her hands.Something inside me broke wide open. All the fury, the guilt, the betrayal it bled through the cracks. I wasn't just angry anymore.I was shattered, But she didn’t move and She didn’t flinch.She just stood there, looking at me like I was still worth saving.My breath came out rough, shaky. I grabbed her wrist not hard, but firm just to make sure she wouldn’t pull away. My eyes locked onto hers, and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I only knew I was drowning in everything I had tried to bury.“Ariana…” Her name broke in my throat.She blinked up at me, soft lips parted like she was about to whisper something something that would’ve destroyed me more.So I kissed her.I kissed her like it was the only way to survive.It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t calm. It was chaos and desperation colliding. My mouth crashed into hers as I pinned her back against th
Roman’s POVI should’ve left.Should’ve turned my back and walked out like I always do when things start to crack open inside me. But her voice God, her voice kept echoing in my head.“I just wanted you to love me enough to ask me why.”That line tore something inside me wide open. Because the truth? I did love her.I loved her in the kind of way that made it hard to breathe. The kind of way that left scars behind. The kind of way that made everything hurt even when I was numb.And yet I still stepped back.Like a fucking coward.Her eyes were red, her mouth trembling. She looked like she was about to fall apart again, and still I said nothing. Still I let her think I didn’t care.Because if I did… if I let it show… I’d break in front of her.And I couldn’t.Not when I’d built this entire damn war to protect her. Her voice cracked like lightning. Sharp. Hot. Truthful.That was it.The second she threw Clara at me accused me of keeping that blood off my hands something in me snapped.I
Roman's POV.Sunlight leaked in through the curtains. Soft. Warm. Peaceful.It didn’t belong here.Not in this apartment.Not in this moment.Not when everything inside me still felt like broken glass.I stood by the kitchen counter, nursing a black coffee I didn’t even want. I just needed something bitter in my mouth that wasn’t her name.She hadn’t come out of the guest room.I didn’t knock.I didn’t need to.She came out eventually barefoot, hair messy, eyes swollen. That oversized hoodie swallowed her small frame. Mine. She still wore mine.She paused when she saw me, like she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to breathe in the same room.I didn’t say anything. Just looked at her.“Roman…” Her voice was soft. Apologetic.I gestured toward the chair across from me. “Sit.”She did. Slowly. Carefully. Like I might snap if she moved too fast.Good. Let her be nervous. Let her feel everything I was holding back.“I’ve been thinking,” I said, tone calm, but cold enough to make her flinch.







