LOGINLucian’s POVI was lying on the bed, motionless. I could see everything and hear everything, but I couldn’t move a single part of my body. In front of my very eyes, that man took Lyra away. I tried to scream, I tried to jump up and help her, but I was paralyzed.How could such a terrible thing happen on our wedding day?It should have been the happiest day of my life, but instead, it turned into the worst nightmare imaginable. I lay there in that frozen state all through the night, trapped in my own skin, until the morning light began to peek through the window.As the sun rose, I started to hear sounds from outside. I heard my mother’s voice, Lyra’s mother, and the loud honking of car horns. I was still stuck, unable to move, and I could feel blood occasionally dripping from my nose and onto the sheets.After a while, the voices got louder. It seemed like they were standing right outside our bedroom door."Lilian, stop right there! Don't just barge in. Your mother is a married woman
Lyra’s POVZane carried me back to the bed and laid me down. I just lay there, my limbs feeling like lead. I was too worn out from our earlier struggle, and my head was still spinning from whatever he had put in that water.There was something so surreal about this that my mind couldn't fully process it. I felt like I was watching a movie of someone else’s life. This couldn't be me again after what I faced in my past.We lay on our sides, facing each other. I could feel his hands on my arm—slightly rough, callused, and terrifyingly warm against my frozen flesh. He could have subdued me with ease, but he didn't need to. I wasn't fighting him yet; I was floating in a hazy, drugged fog.He leaned in, kissing my neck and lingering near my ear. I shivered. I knew I should feel violated—and I did—but the drug was playing tricks on me, making his gentleness feel disarming. I closed my eyes, trying to pretend this was just a nightmare.His hand traveled up my side, his palm resting against my
Lyra’s POVHe didn't answer or say anything at first. Instead, he just looked amused, though there was a terrifying, dark gleam flickering in his eyes.“Nothing about being an adult concerns this,” he smirked.I shook my head frantically. “There is… there's everything to do with it…” My voice cracked, thick with unshed tears. “I am a married woman and—”In an instant, his hand was wrapped tightly around my throat. He leaned down toward me, his face inches from mine. “This should be the very last time you ever say that again,” he said, his voice harsh and vibrating with anger. “Do you understand me?”I nodded, far too scared to do anything else.He released my throat. “Good,” he said, his tone softening into something even more chilling. “Now let go of the blanket. I want to see you naked again.”Again? That meant he had been watching me while I was unconscious.The thought made my stomach churn. I tried to plaster myself even closer to the wall, still refusing to let go of the fabric
Lyra’s POVHe is so skilled at touching me that I am barely in my senses. He raises himself up slightly, looking down at me, and I feel a flush of embarrassment.“Lyra, he is your husband. There's no need to feel this way,” I tell myself, repeating the words like a mantra.He smiles as he begins to remove his boxers. But just as he is about to pull them down, everything changes in the blink of an eye.I don’t even know what happened. One second, Lucian is on top of me; the next, he has collapsed beside me. Blood trickles from his nose. He’s unconscious. Then, a large figure looms over me. We are in our own room—the room Lucian locked minutes ago.I open my mouth to scream, but before a sound can escape, a heavy hand clamps over my mouth and nose. I feel a sharp prick on the side of my neck, and my world goes completely dark.I wake up with a pounding headache and a gnawing ache in my stomach—the kind that comes from intense hunger. I can’t see a thing.For a moment, I can’t remember
Lyra’s POV Thankfully, my mom finally came and took me inside—to our part of the house, to the newly decorated room.The moment the door opened, my breath caught.The whole room glowed softly under candles placed around the walls.Rose petals spread across the large bed like someone had painted the sheets with flowers.My mother guided me to the bed and helped me sit.“Rest. I’ll leave you,” she whispered gently.Then she left.The silence that followed tightened my chest.That was when reality hit me properly—what was coming next.What this night meant.What being alone with him… meant.A strange heat crawled under my skin.I was shy—terrified, actually.The idea of being intimate with someone younger than me made my stomach twist.And after the way Lucian had been acting outside…the way he looked at me as if trying to calm a fire inside him…I knew there was no escaping tonight.I stared down at my hands.“Is my body… shaking?” I whispered to myself.The door suddenly swung open a
Lyra's POV The house changed after the kiss.It changed overnight.Lucian didn’t leave my side.Not even for a minute.My mother suddenly became soft-spoken around me, overly gentle, overly careful—as if one wrong word would break the fragile peace forming between us.Shintla walked around the house glowing, smiling at nothing, humming songs she had probably forgotten she even knew.Lilian…Lilian practically floated.“Mom, I told you love is real,” she whispered to me at breakfast, cheeks swollen from grinning.“And now you and Lucian will have a wedding. I’ll be the flower girl. And after that, I’m getting a sister.”“Lilian…”I nearly spilled my tea.But she ran off before I could correct her.*******The wedding wasn’t planned.It burst into existence.One morning, Shintla approached me with a careful smile.“Lyra… can we talk?”I nodded, wiping my hands on my dress.She reached for my hand gently, her eyes warm with something that made my throat tighten.“You know… I’ve always p
Lucian looked up slowly, his jaw tightening. His eyes darkened like a storm cloud gathering force, the silence around him almost suffocating.He didn’t blink.Didn’t breathe.Just stared.“I know why she came,” he muttered, voice low and bitter, his gaze cold as stone. “You gave her money, told her
She entered a room—dim, sterile, the kind of office meant to be impersonal but still stank of secrets. The camera paused briefly. The grainy footage jittered, then steadied, showing the inside.Then we saw her.“Mila,” I breathed, almost choking on the name.“Mila,” my parents echoed beside me.“Li
Lyra’s POVThe silence in the room was sharp—too sharp.My breath came in short, furious bursts as the woman before me—pale-skinned, lips trembling, eyes already glistening with tears—uttered the one name that shattered every wall holding Lucian together.“Yes… Lilian. Lucian’s daughter,” she said,
NYX'S POV"Ahem," the barrister cleared his throat.facing the courtroom. "I'm Mila's personal nurse. I've been caring for her since before she married Mr. Lucian. He knows that."Her voice trembled slightly, but she forced herself to stay composed. "That morning, Mila called me, asking me to come







