Reina’s POVI didn’t go far. Just leaned against the wall beside the door, pressing a fist to my lips in an attempt to stifle the scream building up in my throat.Minutes passed and I heard him groan in pleasure, like he had just released his entire cum into her mouth.Bastard. After a while, the door creaked open.She came out first, looking like an overfed peacock.She didn’t walk away right after.No. Of course not. She walked straight to me with a victorious smirk on her lips.Isn’t she the one who stood next to him that fateful day like she owned him— the one who introduced herself as his fiancée? Now, she stood in front of me, licking her lips like she’d just tasted something sacred. Her eyes found mine with wicked amusement. She wasn’t even trying to hide it.Are they back together?Does it even matter?No. It didn’t. I told myself that over and over like a broken prayer.But that didn’t stop the urge rising inside me—to slap the smugness clean off her face. She was still br
Reina’s POVIt has been three days.Three long, suffocating days.I couldn’t move two meters in this godforsaken mansion without someone shadowing me. A maid folding towels in the corner, looking at me quietly. A guard pretending to dust the vase. Leon sitting outside the door like a remorseful dog, pretending he wasn’t watching every flicker of my movement.I wasn’t stupid.Mr Morelli had them on me like skin.But I had a mission. And it was waiting.He might believe I was some broken, fragile thing tucked under his thumb, but he’d forgotten the most dangerous animals were the ones that pretended to submit.I had almost healed. I could stretch my body without feeling too much aches. The bruised marks were slowly fading and my swollen eyes didn’t look so hideous anymore.I stared out the floor-to-ceiling window, fingers twitching at my sides. No word from the police station yet. A miracle.But miracles don’t last.They would call. Sooner or later, someone would ask questions. About wh
Andrew’s POV“I’m heading out,” I muttered, grabbing my keys off the marble counter.My mother didn’t look up from her tea. “Downtown again?”“Yeah. Gotta unwind.”She hummed like she didn’t believe me. “Clubs are a waste of time, Andy. You’re not going to find anything you really want in those places.”I hesitated in the doorway, fingers tightening around the keys. “Do we even know where Reina’s staying right now?”That got her attention.She looked up slowly, lips pressed together in a thin line. “Come to think of it… no. Not exactly. She’s been moving quietly.”I frowned. “We need to fix that.”She tapped her nail against the table again, a rhythm that always meant she was scheming. “I’ll have someone tail her. She’s getting more bratty than ever—might be planning another run after we handle her husband. She was always impulsive, even as a little girl.”I gave her a look. “You’d think her dad would’ve kept a better leash on her.”Her smile soured. “He was too soft. That was his pro
Andrew’s POVThe past wasn’t all bad. Some might say it was twisted. But I call them the good old days.I remembered them with a grin tugging at my lips as I leaned back in my car seat, fingers absently tracing the scar just above my wrist. The memory had yellowed with age, but it still played vividly in my mind—the summer Reina turned fifteen. I was eighteen, technically too old to be noticing anything at all. But God, I noticed.She’d started adding up in all the right places—hips that swayed without knowing, a mouth always full of backtalk, and a fire in her eyes that made my blood rush hot. The little tank tops and shorts. The way she’d walk around like she didn’t know what she was doing to him.Her father had wanted to adopt me. The whole happy family package, once my mom married into their moneyed world. But my biological father—rest his violent, belligerent soul—had said no. No legal ties.Back then, I had been bitter about it. I wanted to have free access to Reina.Now, I was
Cassian’s POVThe wood-paneled walls of my office felt like they were closing in, but I didn’t move. I sat there, the velvet grip of my cane pressed white-knuckled in my palm. The scent of expensive bourbon and blood hung in the air.The light from a single desk lamp painted half of my face in gold. The other half? Darkness. Just like my thoughts.An image of how she looked when they brought her in earlier this evening flashed through my mind. Reina. Swollen-eyed. Bruised. Barely conscious.This was supposed to be a harmless prank. How did she come back like a ruined doll?I slammed my cane against Ethan’s back, the crack echoing through the marble-floored office.Ethan knelt, jaw clenched tight as he bit down his groan.My voice was calm—but laced with venom. “Remind me, Ethan. How exactly does a nurse—a nobody—get caught in the middle of a city-wide distraction you orchestrated? You let her get caught up in that whirlwind?”“I—I didn’t think she’d be at the precinct, boss,” Ethan s
Roman’s heart plummeted to his stomach.He stared at the empty hospital bed as if blinking might reverse time, rewind the moment and bring Reina back into the room—groggy, sarcastic, mumbling something sharp-tongued about his timing.But the bed was still empty.And the silence was deafening.He spun on his heel and stormed out of the room, adrenaline pounding like a war drum. Spotting a pair of nurses chatting by the station, he made a beeline toward them.“Where is she?” he demanded, voice clipped.One of the nurses—short, brunette, too calm—looked up, confused. “Sorry?”“The patient that I brought to the ER a few hours ago. Reina Vale. Where the hell is she?”The nurses exchanged a quick glance. “She’s been discharged,” the other said.Roman's eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, discharged? She was sedated!”“Yes, well… according to the system, her legal guardian signed her out. She checked out about thirty minutes ago.”He took a step closer, his badge practically vibrating with ten
Reina lay still, wondering why he offered to help her when he's apparently with someone else? Why would he do that?Roman turned slightly, trying to ease Vanessa off him. “Vanessa—this isn’t the time.”Vanessa’s brows lifted in amusement as she turned her attention to Reina, reclining weakly in the bed.“Oh,” she said sweetly. “You must be her.”The way she said it made Reina's stomach twist.Her mind kept playing questions over and over again. She wondered if Roman mentioned her to his girlfriend over Netflix and chill. Does he see her as the ugly clueless neighbor?“I’m Vanessa,” she continued, sliding her arm around Roman’s waist. “His fiancée. And you are?”Reina blinked, letting the drugs take over at last—but not before a sly, sleep-laced smile curved her lips.“Apparently... the wife.”Then everything went black.****Roman's POVThe first time I saw her, she had drools on the side of her lips and annoyance in her eyes. Reina. She opened the door with one sock on, hair wild, an
Reina’s POVRoman helped me back to the hospital bed like I was made of glass. Every step sent a ripple of pain through my ribs, but it wasn’t the bruises that had my hands shaking—it was his words.We get married. For real.Once I was lying down again, he pulled the blanket over me, then dragged a chair to my bedside and sat, eyes never leaving mine.“Okay,” he said quietly. “Start from the beginning. First, why were you in a holding cell with a bunch of misfits? What the hell was that about just now? And why does that guy look like the villain from every bad high school movie?”I laughed once. It sounded like a broken wind chime. “Because he is the villain in my story.”Roman raised an eyebrow, patient, waiting. His fingers tapped lightly against his knee.I closed my eyes and began.I shouldn't tell him about the contract with the police or with Mr Morelli. I just have to find a way to blend the story so he doesn't suspect a thing.After all, he's a cop.“About the thing with the p
Reina’s POVFocus Reina.“Can you lift your shirt a little?” the doctor asked gently. “I just need to see if there are any signs of internal bleeding.”Roman tensed beside me.“Mr Roman,” I said, narrowing my eyes, “If you turn into an overprotective caveman the second someone touches me, I swear I will file a noise complaint and report your muffins to the HOA.”He didn’t blink. Just muttered, “I’d like to see him try touching you wrong.”The doctor raised a brow. “You two together?”I choked on my own spit.Roman coughed. “No.”We both spoke at the same time.I added, “God, no.”Roman added, “Not yet.”There was a beat.The doctor smirked. “Okay, well, there’s a lot of tension here. I’m going to pretend I didn’t walk into a CW drama and continue my job.”Roman cleared his throat and backed away a step, rubbing the back of his neck. I stared at the ceiling, trying not to blush so hard my bruises turned magenta.He was not exactly my type.Except for the part where he was tall, broody,