登入Tristan’s POV
“You and Elena are broken up?” I splutter as soon as Alexander finishes his story.
Alexander just rolls his eyes. “No need to sound fucking excited about it. Yes, we did break up. She told me to get out of her face, so I left. Now she won’t talk to me or let me fix things.”
I bite my tongue to stop myself from telling him that it’s all his fault, and if there
Tristan’s POV“You and Elena are broken up?” I splutter as soon as Alexander finishes his story.Alexander just rolls his eyes. “No need to sound fucking excited about it. Yes, we did break up. She told me to get out of her face, so I left. Now she won’t talk to me or let me fix things.”I bite my tongue to stop myself from telling him that it’s all his fault, and if there’s one thing I learned, it’s to leave Elena alone and just sit in my own mistakes. Even now, I’m not completely sure if she’s forgiven me yet.“But yeah,” Alexander huffs. “When I bring you to her, you’re gonna find a way to make her talk to me.”“I’m not sure if that’s the right approach,” I say as tactfully as I can. “I know that you and Elena are together now and you
Elena’s POV“Tristan is free now. He’s going to be let out!”Catherine’s voice plays in my head over and over.The announcement came when I was in the study room helping Sophie and Liam with their classes. Because of the ongoing issue and my newly-solidified belief that Russell will stop at nothing, I decided to let them continue studying this way.That’s when Catherine called and gave me the announcement, her voice wobbly with tears.“I don’t know what you did, but I’m eternally grateful,” she sobbed. “If there’s anything I can do—anything at all—just let me know! The children too… our grandkids…”“When will he be out?”“Today. I got a call from the station and he’ll be with us soon.”Today?My mind starts to whir, spewing one thought after the other. So fast that I can’t keep up, especially when the twins hug me and start to cheer.“Uncle Tristan is out?” Sophie exclaims. “That’s amazing! What did you do, Mommy? Did you get him out?”I can’t speak.I didn’t do anything to get him ou
Tristan’s POV“What?” I ask, and like an idiot, I immediately add, “I didn’t do shit. Why would he want to talk to me?”“Don’t know,” the officer says, rolling his eyes. “You do know that you will get in further trouble if you don’t come with me, right?”Further trouble?Then that means that I’m already in trouble.Fuck me.I thought I was careful. I haven’t even brought out the phone since I used it to call Elena. Did they find out about Benjamin? Did his men conclude that the best way to punish me is to hand me out to the warden, the one they surely bribe to get here?I’m not someone who’s easily scared, but perhaps for the first time since I got here, I’m afraid.“Move along,” the officer commands, grabbing me by the shoulders and leading me to down the hallway and further into the offices.For a while, I think about hitting him and running. But where would that take me? It’s not like this is an open field that would lead me to an exit.Instead, I just swallow hard and try to keep
Third Person POVUnfortunately and in a way fortunately, this isn’t the first time it happened to Portia.Russell never had a good temper. He didn’t always lay a hand on her, but when he does, it’s always like this. His hands wrapped around her neck. Pressure on her throat. Her breath stuck in the pipe, begging to flow.Portia knows what to do.Instead of panicking, she looks at Russell straight in the eye and puts her hands on top of his, like they’re dancing. But she knows that she’s performing for her life. They have children. They’re supposed to be this perfect couple.“You will leave a mark if you keep going,” she manages to choke out. “You don’t want them to see that, do you?”“I don’t fucking care,” Russell grits out. “I don’t want my fucking cunt of a wife going behind my back to negotiate with my biggest enemy and see her ex boyfriend at the same time.”“I did it for you,” she points out. “Why else would I go out there? I did it because I love you.”The last three words seem
Third Person POVPortia was never the nervous kind.She’s the kind of person who can face an entire angry crowd and not flinch once.She’s the one who’s handled every single irate client or investor for Russell. The one who calms them down. The one who befriends them.The one who eventually gets them to bring out their money and invest.Prime Meridian wasn’t just Russell’s product—it was also a collection of her words, her patience, and her boldness.Yet this perfect picture of a powerful woman is nothing but a shaking little girl as the chauffeur approaches their home.Russell is home and she knows it. She can feel it in the air, like a flash of lightning. Even just looking at the door and the windows, she knows that he’s waiting for her inside.“Maybe we can go somewhere else,” she tells the chauffeur. “The mall, maybe. We can tell Russell that I’ve been out shopping. He won’t know any better, right? I mean, we can get some things and pass them off as—”“Madam, the Master puts a tra
Elena’s POVIt’s been so long since I laughed. It’s been so long since I even had the reason to laugh.But Portia’s words nearly bring me to the edge. A slow, angry smile spread on my lips. It grows even wider when I see the sheer horror in her eyes, replacing the smugness and erasing it completely.“You want me to withdraw the case against your husband in exchange for Tristan’s freedom?” I ask, saying every word slowly so that she will understand how absurd all of it sounds. “You want me to withdraw my biggest chance to show the world how evil Russell is?”“You think it’s silly, but you never had the chance to do that, did you?” Portia steps closer to me, running her gaze up and down my body like she hasn’t seen me plainly before. “You can laugh. But we can have the trial right fucking now and it won’t change anything—Tristan is still set to go on trial, and you damn know well that he’s going to be charged guilty.”I can’t help it anymore. I laugh in her face. “And you think Russell







