LOGIN~Aliyah's Pov~Dominic stepped out of the bathroom, water still clinging to his skin, droplets sliding slowly down from his damp hair to his chin. A faint trail followed the line of his jaw before falling onto his shirt, darkening the fabric in small patches.He barely noticed, his eyes found me immediately and the moment they did, everything in his expression changed. The calm… disappeared, replaced by something sharper, urgent and concerned.“Aliyah…what’s wrong?” he asked quickly, closing the distance between us in long strides.Before I could even gather my thoughts, his hands were on mine, warm and firm, grounding, but it wasn’t enough to steady the storm raging inside me.I didn’t answer him.I couldn’t.Instead, with trembling fingers, I shoved my phone toward him, my grip unsteady as I forced him to look at the screen.“It’s Ronald,” I said, my voice breaking despite my effort to stay composed. “He kidnapped Clara… she’s in danger, Dominic.”The words came out rushed, panicked
~Clara's Pov~“What idea?” I asked cautiously, my voice slower now, more careful, as a quiet unease crept into my chest.He didn’t answer immediately, not even a word. Instead, he stepped closer.Too close.Close enough that the space between us disappeared entirely, close enough that I could feel the shift in the air, the weight of his presence pressing in on me. My breath caught slightly as I instinctively stiffened, my body reacting before my mind could fully catch up.And then I saw it, the intent in his eyes.Clear, unsettling and deliberate.“An idea that will make your dear friend come back to me,” he said softly, his tone almost calm—too calm for what he was implying.My stomach dropped.A cold, sinking feeling that twisted sharply, tightening with every passing second.“What…” I started, confusion and alarm blending together as I tried to process what he meant.But before I could finish…his hand shot out fast and sudden, grabbing my wrist hard.“Ronald, what the hell…let go o
~Aliyah's Pov~The room felt… quiet.But not in the way I had grown used to over the past weeks. Not the kind of silence that pressed in from all sides, heavy and suffocating, filled with tension and unspoken fear.This was different.Softer.Almost unfamiliar.It lingered gently in the air, untouched, undisturbed, like the world had finally paused long enough for me to notice it.And yet… my body didn’t seem to understand what to do with it.It didn’t know how to relax.Didn’t know how to let go.Because even though nothing was chasing me anymore, even though there was no immediate danger breathing down my neck, something inside me still felt wound tight, like it was waiting for the next thing to go wrong.We had barely settled in.New country.New space.New beginning.Each thought came slowly, one after the other, like I was trying to convince myself they were real.That this was real.That we had actually made it here.The idea alone should have made me feel lighter.Free.Like a
~Clara's Pov~Relief hit me so fast, so suddenly, that I almost sagged into the seat, letting my body slump with the weight of it. The tightness in my chest, the panic, the tension, the constant knot of fear, released in an instant, leaving me trembling slightly, my muscles loosening as if I had been holding my breath for hours without realizing it.I opened the message.Aliyah> We just landed.My breath left me in a rush, sharp and uneven, a gasp that I barely caught before it escaped. It was the kind of breath that carried the shock of hope finally arriving, the sudden realization that the nightmare, or at least the threat that had been pressing down on us, had passed, for now.“Oh, thank God…” I whispered, letting the words trail off into the quiet room, a small, disbelieving smile breaking through the tension on my face. My shoulders sagged just a fraction more, a tiny release, a sign that the weight I had been carrying was finally easing, even if only slightly.They made it.The
~Aliyah's Pov~The airport felt too loud.Too open.Too exposed.The constant hum of voices, footsteps echoing against polished floors, distant announcements crackling overhead, it all blended into a restless noise that pressed against my senses, making it impossible to relax.Even though we were just sitting there, side by side, quiet, waiting… it didn’t feel normal.It didn’t feel safe. If anything, it felt like we were on display. Like at any moment, every single eye in the terminal could turn, could lock onto us and see.Recognize me.Recognize us.My fingers tightened around the handle of my bag, the grip instinctive, almost desperate, as I glanced around again. My gaze moved from one face to another, searching, scanning, unable to settle.Nothing seemed out of place.And yet…everything felt wrong.My heart was beating faster than it should, the rhythm uneven, heavy against my chest as if it was trying to warn me of something I couldn’t yet see.“I have a bad feeling…” I murmured
~Clara's Pov~I stared at him.Really stared at him.Not just a passing glance, not just a reaction, but a long, searching look, like I was trying to peel back whatever mask he had on and see what was actually underneath.Because for a second… I wasn’t sure I heard him right.“What exactly do you mean?” I asked slowly, each word measured, my brows knitting together as confusion and irritation twisted together in my chest, tightening with every second.Ronald didn’t look fazed, not even the slight bit. If anything… he looked certain and too calm for what he had just implied.“My men are already at the airport,” he said, his voice steady, almost casual, like he was stating something obvious, something that didn’t need further explanation. “Every exit is covered.”My stomach dropped slightly.A cold, sinking feeling that spread through me before I could stop it.What?“That means,” he continued, his tone almost clinical now, detached and precise, “if they try to leave, they’ll be stopped
~Ronald's Pov~My fingers tightened around the phone, slowly, almost unconsciously, as I opened the file. For a brief, fragile second… nothing made sense.The image was there, clear, undeniable, yet my mind refused to process it. Like it was shielding me, delaying the impact of something it already
~Ronald's Pov~What does she mean she belongs to Dominic?The question circled relentlessly in my mind, refusing to settle, refusing to make sense.Damn it!I couldn’t concentrate.The file in front of me blurred, the words losing meaning no matter how hard I tried to focus. My eyes moved across th
~Aliyah's Pov~The moment the car stopped, I barely had time to breathe before Ronald yanked the door open.“Get out.”His voice was sharp and impatient.It cut through the space between us without hesitation, leaving no room for delay, no room for argument.For a split second, I didn’t move.Not b
~Aliyah's Pov~I woke up to movement.At first, it was soft—barely there, like something shifting at the edge of my awareness. A quiet disturbance in the stillness that lingered between sleep and waking.Then it became clearer and more defined. The faint sound of drawers closing. Fabric brushing so







