LOGINLila’s POV
“WEAR RED,” Adrian told me. “You look obedient in red.”
He said it that morning over breakfast, as if discussing seating arrangements. The word obedient lingered in the air long after he left the dining room.
I stared down at my coffee until the surface stopped trembling.
Three days had passed in a blur of preparation. Invitations confirmed. Floral arrangements approved. Security t
Lila’s POV“IF YOUopen that door, you’d better have a reason,” Jacob said coldly.His voice cut through the silence just as the handle turned fully.For a split second, everything inside me locked.My breath.My thoughts.My body, still pressed between him and the wall, his hand firm at my waist, his other braced near my head like he had every intention of keeping me exactly where I was.The door opened.And it wasn’t Adrian.Marco stepped in.He stopped the moment he crossed the threshold.The shift in the room was immediate.Heavy.Obvious.Unavoidable.His gaze moved from Jacob to me, then back again, sharp and assessing in a way that missed nothing. He didn’t speak right away. He didn’t need to. The tension in the room spoke for itself.I moved first.Instinct.I slipped out
Lila’s POV“DON’T BEgentle with me,” I said, my voice barely steady.The words hung between us, fragile for only a second before something in Jacob’s expression shifted in a way that made my breath catch.His hand was still on my jaw.Firm.Unyielding.Not hurting me, but not careful either.Like he had stopped pretending he needed to be.His eyes searched mine, dark and sharp, as if he were trying to decide whether I understood what I was asking for.“You don’t mean that,” he said quietly.“I do.”The answer came faster this time.Stronger.Because I did.Because the fear that had been building inside me all night had nowhere else to go.Because Adrian’s voice was still in my head, still wrapped around my thoughts, still trying to pull me back into something small and con
Lila’s POV“SAY ITagain,” Adrian murmured against my ear.His voice slid over my skin like something deliberate, something practiced, something meant to sound calm while it tightened around me like a slow, invisible grip.I did not move.I could feel him behind me. Close enough that the heat of his body pressed faintly through the thin space between us. Close enough that if I leaned back even slightly, I would be touching him.I kept my spine straight.“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, forcing each word to come out steady, even though my pulse had started to climb.A soft breath left him, almost like a quiet laugh.“That’s not what you said before,” he replied, his tone thoughtful, as if he were replaying something in his mind. “You were more convincing five seconds ago.”I swal
Lila’s POV“TOMORROW,”Jacob said quietly.The word did not feel like a promise. It felt like a countdown.I stood in front of the tall mirror in my room, fingers pressed against the cool surface as if I needed something solid to keep me from drifting. Behind me, the estate stretched wide and silent, too quiet for a place that was about to host a wedding, a memorial, and a war all at once.Tomorrow.The word settled deep in my chest, heavy and unmoving.I watched Jacob’s reflection instead of my own. He stood near the door, arms crossed loosely over his chest, posture relaxed in a way that only made him look more dangerous. His presence always carried that same contradiction. Calm on the surface. Something far more violent underneath.“Tomorrow,” I repeated, softer, as if saying it differently might change what it meant.“It’
Vivienne’s POV“THE INVITATIONS are already out,” I said.Lila didn’t respond right away.She stood across from me near the far end of the lounge, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if she was holding something in place that threatened to come undone. The light from the tall windows behind her cast a pale glow along her profile, softening the tension in her face but not hiding it.Jacob stood slightly behind her, close enough to reach her in a second, far enough to let her stand on her own. His posture was relaxed in appearance, but I knew better. Every line of his body was alert, coiled, watching me as if I might shift from ally to threat at any moment.Smart man.Too late, though.The game had already moved far beyond caution.“You’re telling me there’s no way to stop it,” Lila said finally.Her voice was steady, but there was str
Jacob’s POV“I LOVEyou,” I said.The words came out before I could measure them.Not planned. Not softened. Not adjusted into something safer.Just the truth, dropped into the space between us while the engine ticked behind me, still hot from the ride, the smell of gasoline and metal wrapping around everything like it always did in this place.Lila didn’t answer right away.She stood a few steps away from me, just inside the garage, her chest rising and falling too fast, her hands still slightly trembling from the ride. Her hair was loose from the wind, strands clinging to her cheeks. Her eyes were wide, not with fear, but with everything she hadn’t said yet.I watched her carefully.Every second stretched.Not because I doubted what I said.But because I knew what it would cost her to say it back.“You don’t get to take that
Lila’s POVTHE ESTATE felt heavier after the challenger went public.Not louder. Not chaotic. Just dense, like the air before a storm that refuses to break.I spent the morning pretending to read emails while my thoughts looped around the same question. How much of this was happening because of me,
Lila’s POVTHE ESTATE learned how to whisper before it learned how to scream.By the third morning after the missing documents, I could feel it in the way doors closed more carefully, in the way conversations stopped the moment I entered a room. Even the light felt filtered, as if the house itself
Lila’s POV“YOU DON’Thave to stay up,” Michael had said hours ago, his voice already heavy with exhaustion.I nodded, lied, and waited until the house fell quiet anyway.Sleep did not come. It ne
Lila’s POVI WOKEwith Jacob’s mouth still on mine.Not the act of it. Not even the heat. It was the restraint that haunted me. The way he had stopped himself when everything in his body had been leaning toward me.







