LOGIN*Avina*He was shouting now, his breath hot and smelling of coffee and rage. I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting the strike, the familiar heat of his hand against my cheek but then a blur of dark movement hit the room, and suddenly, the weight on my hair was gone.Xavier was jerked away from me by an external force so violent it sounded like a whip cracking. I gasped, my eyes flying open.Ronan was there. He didn't look like the man who had held me in the penthouse. He looked like a god of war. His hand was wrapped around Xavier’s throat, his fingers digging into the soft tissue with enough force to turn Xavier’s face a terrifying shade of blue. He slammed Xavier back into the corner of the room, the sound of his head hitting the wall making me flinch."If you ever," Ronan growled, his voice a low, vibrating hum that made the floorboards tremble, "find yourself within a mile of her again, I won't use the law to break you. I will have you slowly, painfully dismantled while you’re stil
*Avina*The fluorescent light above the interrogation table continued its erratic, buzzing hum, sounding like a fly trapped in a jar. It was the only sound in the room until Xavier leaned back, the metal chair legs shrieking against the linoleum. He looked so out of place here—perfectly tailored, smelling of expensive citrus and arrogance—while I felt like I was falling apart at the seams."I told you, didn't I?" he started, his voice a smooth, oily purr that made my skin crawl. "I told you that you’d regret walking away from me like that, Avina. I warned you that the world outside my protection was a cold, unforgiving place. And look at you now. Less than a month after the divorce and you’re sitting in a cage, waiting to be sentenced for slaughtering your only friend."I leaned back, mimicking his posture even though my hands were shaking under the table. I forced a dry, jagged scoff to leave my throat. "I’ve been holding up just fine without you, Xavier. Better than fine, actually.
*Avina*She had been a year behind me in high school. Back then, she had been one of Daphne’s most loyal, sycophantic followers—the kind of girl who would do Daphne’s homework just for a chance to sit at the same lunch table. In my past life, she was the one who had processed my paperwork for all the absurd charges, her face twisted in the same smug sneer she was wearing now."Well, well," Sarah said, pulling out a chair and letting it scrape harshly against the floor. "Look who finally traded the designer silk for a pair of stainless steel bracelets. It’s been a long time, Avina.""Sarah," I said, my voice flatter than I felt. "I see the badge hasn't changed your personality. Does Daphne still tell you what to wear in the morning, or have you finally learned to pick out your own socks?"Sarah’s eyes flared, but the sneer remained fixed on her face. "Careful now. You’re in no position to be witty. You’re looking at first-degree murder, Avina. And this time, there’s no daddy or husband
*Avina*~Hours ago during the arrest~The copper scent of Chloe’s blood was so thick I could taste it on the back of my tongue. It was cloying, metallic, and heavy—the smell of a life extinguished far too soon. I stood there, paralyzed, my eyes fixed on the jagged crimson ruins of whatever remained of her, when the world outside the room suddenly exploded."Police! Don't move! Hands where I can see them!"Heavy boots thudded against the floorboards, a rhythmic, violent sound that vibrated through my very bones. Before I could even draw a breath to scream, a swarm of dark figures descended upon me. Rough, calloused hands grabbed my arms, wrenching them behind my back with a force that made my shoulders pop. The cold, biting snap of steel handcuffs followed, bounding around my wrists with a cold finality. "I didn't do this!" I gasped, my voice coming out as a thin, reedy thread. "I just got here! She was already—""Save it for the station," a voice growled near my ear. I was shoved
*Ronan*The silence in my study was heavy, the kind of silence that usually preceded a massacre. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows of my office, watching the rain smear the lights of the city into blurry, distorted streaks. Every minute she was out there alone, my chest felt like it was being crushed by an invisible vise.The double mahogany doors groaned as they were pushed open. I didn't turn around. The heavy, rhythmic breathing of two men who had failed me was enough to tell the story."Sir," Archer’s voice was strained. "She’s... we lost her."I felt the glass of the whiskey tumbler in my hand groan under the pressure of my grip. I turned slowly. Archer and Frank stood there, shoulders hunched, looking like they were waiting for the executioner’s axe. They should have been."You lost her," I repeated. My voice a low, dangerous whisper "In the middle of the city. With every resource I’ve given you, you still…lost her?”"She was pretty determined to lose us , sir," Frank st
*Avina*I felt a cold, sickening realization dawning on me. My stomach flipped, the lunch I’d barely touched turning to lead."Me," I whispered. "I was the revenge."Ronan didn't look away. "When you showed up at my club that night... I knew exactly who you were. I knew you were the Drene Princess he’d discarded in favor of his other daughter. I saw the opportunity to take his you, to make you mine, and to throw it in his face. Until things became complicated. It was supposed to be a game, Avina. A way to settle a debt."A small disbelieving scoff slipped past my lips. No wonder everything concerning him had felt easy to access. Way too easy. My heart shrank. It felt like a small, withered thing in my chest. I thought about those few nights he’d held me. All the times he’d told me I was safe. I had approached him for my own revenge, yes. I had used him as a tool to get back at Xavier. But hearing it from him—hearing that I was just a 'chip' in his long-standing feud—felt like a knif
*Avina* I have experienced a lot of shocks but ever since I was practically reborn, only on two occasions has anyone managed to stun me into total silence. First was when Xavier made that outrageous demand for me to do damage control for him. The second one was now, I was still dressed in a rum
*Avina*When consciousness finally returned to me, it did so slowly, like something reluctant to surface. At first there was only warmth beneath my body and the faint, sterile smell of antiseptic filling the air every time I breathed in. My thoughts moved sluggishly, thick and distant, as if they h
*Ronan*The room had fallen quiet hours ago.Even the machines the doctor insisted on leaving behind had settled into a soft, steady rhythm, the faint beeping barely louder than the whisper of the air conditioner.And throughout those hours, I haven't moved from the chair beside the bed. I had long
*Avina*I watched through the cold glass, my breath hitching every time Chloe moved. She looked so different without her "best friend" mask on. She looked bored, tossing her phone onto the cushions and leaning back with a sigh of relief.“Well, what do you think?”Daphne threw her a look of impatie







