LOGINEMILY I had imagined this moment a hundred different ways, and yet none of those rehearsed versions prepared me for the reality of standing face-to-face with Maltida, breathing the same air, watching her smile as if she were untouchable. The room itself was a quiet declaration of wealth, soft gold lighting, polished marble floors, and the faint scent of something expensive and floral lingering in the air. Everything about her world screamed power, and yet all I could see were the cracks beneath the surface, the desperation she worked so hard to hide.I kept my expression composed, my posture relaxed but calculated, every inch of me transformed into Ivory, the woman she expected to meet. “Mrs. Maltida,” I said smoothly, offering a polite smile as I extended my hand.She took it, her grip firm but curious, her sharp eyes scanning my face as though trying to place me in a world she thought she already knew. “Ivory,” she repeated, testing the name on her tongue. “I’ve heard quite a bit
EMILYThe silence after they left was unbearable.I stood in the middle of the apartment, staring at the door long after it had closed behind Miriam and Venida. My arms felt empty, achingly so, as if they still expected the weight of my son to be there.I let out a slow breath, pressing my palm against my chest as if I could steady the storm raging inside me.“This is it,” I whispered to myself.There was no turning back now.If I wanted my son to live freely… if I wanted any kind of future for him… then I had to end this.And the first step was simple.Emily had to disappear.Two days later, I sat in front of a mirror I barely recognized.The small apartment belonged to Ella. It was tucked away in a quiet part of the city. The curtains were drawn, the lights dim, and the air smelled faintly of powder and something floral. I had bumped into her yesterday and honestly the rest was history. I haven't even had the time to ask her why she was no longer working for Alessandro. Ella stood
EMILY The call came when I was least expecting it.I was standing just outside the ICU, my arms wrapped tightly around myself, staring through the glass at Alessandro’s unmoving body. The steady beeping of the machines inside the room felt louder than it should have.My phone rang.The sharp sound cut through the silence, making me flinch. For a second, I hesitated. Then I forced myself to answer.“Hello?”“Mrs. Emily,” the officer’s voice came through, firm but controlled. “We’ve identified the people behind the attack.”My grip tightened on the phone. “Who?”There was a brief pause, like he already knew what my reaction would be.“Joselyn’s family.”For a moment, everything inside me stilled.Then something dark and bitter curled in my chest.“Have they been arrested?” I asked, my voice quieter now, colder.“Yes. They’ve been taken into custody.”A breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding slipped out of me.Relief came first but then it didn't last because reality followed ri
EMILY I still couldn't bring myself to tjink about Julian's betrayal. I lay there, propped against the stiff hospital pillows, my body still trembling from the aftermath of labor, my son cradled carefully in my arms. He was so small. So warm. So impossibly real.I stared at him, tracing the curve of his cheek with my finger, my heart tightening in ways I didn’t yet understand. For a moment everything else disappeared. The pain. The fear. The chaos that had brought me here.Then I saw a movement.Barely there. Just a shadow shifting by the window.My breath caught instantly.I froze, my fingers tightening protectively around my baby as my eyes locked onto the glass. The curtain fluttered slightly, though I hadn’t felt any breeze.“Doctor…” My voice came out hoarse, strained. “Doctor.”He turned to me immediately, brows knitting together. “What is it?”“There..” I nodded toward the window, my pulse beginning to race. “Someone was there. I saw someone.”He followed my gaze, walking ove
EMILY Alessandro’s footsteps had barely faded down the corridor before everything inside me collapsed.I didn’t even remember how I got back to my room. One minute I was standing there, trying to hold myself together, and the next I was shutting the door behind me, pressing my back against it as though something was chasing me.My chest tightened, my throat burned, and tears blurred my vision.“I can’t do this…” I whispered to myself, my voice trembling.I didn’t know if it was the baby, the stress, or just everything finally catching up with me. My emotions felt too big for my body, too heavy for my heart.I dragged myself to the chair and sank into it, trying to breathe through the overwhelming wave rising inside me. That was when I felt something beneath me.I frowned, shifting slightly, and reached down.A phone.I picked it up slowly, confusion knitting my brows together. It wasn’t mine.“…Julian’s?”My fingers tightened around it as realization dawned. He must have forgotten it
EMILY I felt as if all the strength had drained out of me, leaving me pale and shaken to the core. Julian didn’t give me time to gather myself. He took hold of my arm and guided me firmly across the street, steering me into a café before I could protest. Not that I would have. My thoughts were too scattered, my emotions too raw. I let him lead me to a small table tucked away at the back, far from prying eyes.I dropped into the chair heavily, my pulse still racing. The words burst out of me before I could stop them.“What were you thinking, going to see Alessandro!”His response came just as quickly, edged with irritation.“I should be asking you the same thing.”Anger flared, sharp and immediate. “I was passing by,” I shot back. “I only stopped to say hello to Janice.”He arched a brow, his tone turning dry. “Oh, really? Best friends now, are we?”“Yes, we are friends,” I insisted, leaning forward, refusing to be intimidated. Then my voice lowered, urgent. “I couldn’t help but hear
ALESSANDRO I refused to take a room behind that filthy saloon.The others might have preferred a roof over their heads, but I couldn’t breathe in that town. The air itself felt wrong. So we made camp just outside it instead, close enough to watch, far enough not to be swallowed by it.But the nigh
ALESSANDRO The ground shook beneath the pounding of hundreds of hooves, the thunder of them rolling across the hot desert toward the south . Dust rose in thick clouds, stinging my eyes and coating my tongue. Almost as one, the cavalcade curved and slowed, then came to a rolling halt.“The Rio.”I
JULIAN I had known we would be followed. I had been certain of it. It wasn’t logic, it was sheer, hardened instinct.And I had been right.I crouched on a rock ledge above the narrow trail that wound toward the rim of the plateau. The path was treacherous even in daylight—slow, rough, and easy eno
EMILYHe had lied after all.I clung to the hot anger that swept through me. Anger was better and safer than the hurt and disappointment that had filled me after our night of sheer pleasure. My fingers dug into his shoulders as we cantered between two towering buttes, leaving the town farther and f







