Cassian’s POVMy eyes locked onto her once more, unblinking, as she lay shackled to the bed—watching the fresh brand seared into her flesh like a cruel signature. It pulsed with raw defiance, yet it spoke of surrender.Silence stretched between us, thick and electric, as I traced the jagged edges of the mark with a single finger. She trembled—not from fear, but something far more dangerous. I groaned low in my throat, caught between madness and desire, as her skin quivered beneath my touch like a secret begging to be broken open.“Would’ve loved to put one right here,” I said, tapping my finger against the center of her forehead. “Front and center. Fuck, that would’ve been heaven.” I leaned back, exhaling a dark, hungry breath. “But this one will have to make do… for now.”She lifted her head slowly at that, her eyes locked on mine, burning with quiet defiance. No words left her lips, but the message was clear. She hated me for this.Good.I liked her more when she didn’t bother prete
Reina's POV The first rays of morning sliced through the cracked blinds, golden light pooling on the floor like spilled honey. I blinked against it, my limbs heavy and my mouth dry, body still recovering from the war waged on it hours before.I haven't left my room again after… that. Not once. The pain had bloomed between my thighs with every step, so I gave up walking altogether and simply laid there—staring at the ceiling, aching, thinking.But now it was morning. And the ache was irrelevant.I peeled myself off the bed, stretching my sore limbs, every nerve reminding me of the night I wanted to erase. The sheets slid down my bare skin and for a moment, my breath caught at the way I still smelled like him. I shoved the thought aside, gritting my teeth.It’s time to face reality.I stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Hot water gushed out and steam clouded the mirror almost instantly. I slid in, letting the water burn me clean, as if it could sear away the memory of h
Reina's POVThe smirk didn’t reach his eyes.It sat there like a cracked mask, half-fixed, as if he was deciding whether to wear it or drop it altogether and show me who he really was underneath. And part of me—twisted, broken—wanted to see it. All of it. The monster beneath the charm.I straightened my spine, steeling myself after checking his vitals.“I won’t be gone long, sir,” I said flatly, ignoring the way his gaze dropped to my mouth. “You won’t need any further medical attention while I’m out.”He hummed, low and almost amused. “Is that so? And here I was, thinking I’d grown quite used to your… hands-on care.”My fingers itched to slap that smirk clean off his face. But I kept them still. I didn’t flinch. That’s what he wanted—to shake me, rattle me. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.I turned to leave.“You’re limping.”I froze.Every cell in my body stilled like prey caught mid-step. Slowly, I turned my head, meeting his eyes again.He leaned forward ever so slightly, the
Reina’s POVThe cab smelled faintly of cigarettes and old leather. I sat in the back with my hoodie bundled in my arms, cradling it like armor I couldn’t wear—because Cassian had forbidden it. My skin was bare beneath a white tank top that clung like a second skin, every inch of me still burning with the ache of his touch. His voice echoed in my ears, that filthy growl whispering mine.Why did I feel so disappointed that he didn't kiss me when he said he wanted to?I shook the thought out of my head and leaned forward, giving the cab driver the address I'd memorized from the message the police sent last night. My voice was low. Tired. “It’s on the far end of Valeford Estates.”He nodded, not speaking. Good. I wasn’t in the mood to pretend today.As the cab pulled out of the city, I pulled the hoodie over my head and stared out the window, chewing on my bottom lip. I silently prayed that the man I was about to care for wasn’t like Cassian Morelli. Or worse, wasn’t worse. Someone dark
Reina’s POVThe room smelled like cologne and expensive liquor. Dim lights flickered overhead. Plush red carpeting, thick enough to silence footsteps. Velvet curtains draped the windows. It looked like a twisted version of a luxury suite. Like someone had tried to copy Cassian’s taste and failed in all the wrong ways.“Donna McCain,” he said, voice like velvet and poison. “I’ve been expecting you.”I gulped.He stood by a mini-bar, swirling something dark in a glass. His face was clean-shaven, but his smile? It crawled over his lips like it didn’t belong there. His teeth are too white, his eyes too wet, too hungry.“You’re… prettier than they said,” he murmured, stepping toward me. “Much prettier.”I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. I took in everything—his lazy eyes, his gold rings, the way his gaze slid from my face to my chest like I was already undressed.“Your hand,” he said, circling me now like a vulture. “Looks nasty.”“One of your men did it,” I said flatly as I rubbed it softly.
Reina's POVI stood just beyond the gate, hugging myself against the cool breeze as the guard disappeared back into the shadows.The cab I called hadn’t arrived yet. So I waited.But my mind wasn’t out here.It was back in that room. With him.That scum of a man who they call “Don Marcello.”His eyes had followed me like I was something he’d already bought and was eager to unwrap. Every word from his mouth made my skin crawl. Every touch, every breath, made me want to light a match and set that whole twisted palace on fire.And the girls.Just thinking about them, about their pain and trauma made me more angry at myself. That I couldn't help. That I'm weak and powerless.I made a mental note. As soon as I had a moment alone with my secret phone or access to any secure line—I’d inform the police. Keeping those girls against their will is still part of an illegal activity. So, they needed to raid that place. Find those girls. Save them.Even if I couldn’t save myself just yet… maybe I c
Reina's POV The weight of the silence pressed down as Mr. Harrow adjusted his glasses, pen poised over the stack of documents. “Miss Vale,” he began again, voice professional, steady, “as executor of your father’s estate, I need your decision. The proposal outlined in the will is clear. If you decline the marriage arrangement with Mr. Andrew Coleman, the entire estate—assets, properties, investments—will be transferred to him.”Lucy leaned forward with a smug gleam in her eye. Andrew sat poised, as if seconds away from tasting victory.I kept my face still. Cold. Controlled.“I’m already married,” I said.The room fell into stunned silence.Mr. Harrow’s pen froze. Lucy’s head jerked toward me, her eyes widening. Andrew blinked, expression caught between disbelief and rage.“I’m sorry?” Harrow asked, clearly thrown.“I said, I’m married,” I repeated, voice even. “Legally. Before all these. Out of state. And the last I checked, his name is not Andrew Coleman.”Lucy slammed her hands on
Reina's POV Oh god.How can he be so—dazzling. Is he the sun?I gripped the edge of the door harder than necessary. The metal felt cool under my fingertips, grounding. Because everything else in me was on fire.He smiled—and just like that, the room disappeared. No walls, no floor, no time. Just him. That lazy, boyish curve of his lips that hit somewhere between confidence and danger.“Hi,” he said, his voice smooth like silk dipped in gravel. “I just moved in next door. Saw you come in earlier... figured I’d stop by and introduce myself.”My brain short-circuited.He kept going, oblivious to the meltdown happening behind my carefully neutral face.“I’m new in town,” he added, eyes twinkling just enough to feel like a tease. “Still getting my bearings. Hope you don’t mind if I come to you for help from time to time?”Words. Right. Say something. Anything.Instead, I blinked like a deer. My mouth opened—and something not English fell out.“I’m good! I mean… nurse! No—I mean, I’m rarel
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,
REINA’S POVI wasn’t sure if I blacked out or dissociated after hugging Roman, but the next thing I knew, I was floating.Warm. Solid. Moving.I peeled one eye open, slowly, like lifting an iron curtain.Roman.He was carrying me. Bridal style. Through the main lobby of the police station like he didn’t just find me half-dead in a holding cell that belonged in a Netflix prison documentary.What of officer Rodney… the file. What if Mr Morelli asked how I carried out the tasks? This is not good.“Is that—?” someone whispered.“She was in the women’s cell…”“Holy sh—”Are they wondering if I’m his wife? Because it doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.Roman didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t look at anyone. His jaw was sharp enough to cut glass, his grip so careful it made me feel fragile—which was annoying, because I hated feeling fragile. But also kind of nice. In a broken Barbie-doll-left-in-the-rain kind of way.“The file… Put me down,” I mumbled against his chest.“No.”“Roman…”“No
Reina’s POV My heart thundered against my ribs.I backed into the corner of the cell, pulse racing, but the girls moved in like a pack of wolves scenting fear. The one with crimson nails led the charge, her hips swaying with too much confidence, her smirk curling wider with every inch as my heart beat faster than ever.Uh-oh. Today was supposed to be perfect. I had a clear picture in my head and none included getting cornered by a bunch of wild looking girls.“I asked you a question, pretty girl,” she sneered. “You think you're better than us?”“I didn’t say that,” I said quickly, voice trembling but trying to find footing. “I didn’t mean anything—this is just a mistake. I’m not even supposed to be here.”“Oh, you’re here now,” another girl said as she stepped forward, chewing her gum like she was chewing glass. “And you gave us that look. That ‘you people’ look.”I shook my head, holding my hands up. “No, no—listen, I don’t want any trouble, okay? I just came to see an officer—”“Ai
Reina’s POVI skipped.Not walked. Skipped. Like a schoolgirl with a prize in her hands.The file pressed against my chest like it was made of gold, my boots thudded softly down the corridor, my smile wide, my heart hammering with victorious rhythm. That was too easy, I thought giddily. My fingers curled tighter around the file. Mr. Morelli hadn’t even looked twice when he handed it over. Didn’t question my competency. Didn’t doubt me for a second.I shoved open my bedroom door and darted inside, already fishing my burner phone out from under the vanity table.Finally, finally they would take me seriously. The police would listen. Officer Rodney would congratulate me. Maybe even apologize for treating me like some worthless street rat with a grudge and a supposed criminal record.I dialed.No answer.I dialed again.Still nothing.A third time.Click.“Yeah?” came the voice—fast, strained, breathless. The background was chaos. Phones ringing. Shouting. Dozens of voices overlapping.“
Cassian’s POVShe stood at the doorway, barely composed from what had nearly happened minutes before. Hair tousled. Lips pink and bitten. Her chest rising and falling under that damn blouse she thought would be the bait.“I’d like to accompany you,” she said, clearing her throat, lifting her chin like she hadn’t nearly lost herself grinding on my body. “You’ve stretched your bones more than you should have. If anything happens, I want to be there to handle it.”Of course she did.Of course that’s why she dressed like that this morning. A sweet seduction, pretending it was just a coincidence. Oversized hoodies all these while, and now this?I almost laughed.If only she knew she didn’t even need to try. She could wear one of those awful worn-out sweatshirts and I’d still be hard under the table. Still want to press her against a wall and make her forget whose side she was on.She didn’t have to play the sexy spy to get my attention. She had it the moment I set my eyes on her picture. T
REINA’S POVHow can I forget what happens if I disobey when he taught me that yesterday?“You’re dressed like that to provoke me?” His gaze slid down my legs, to the soft silk blouse tucked into the short. “Or do you think being pretty earns you control?”I stayed quiet. Every instinct told me to push back. But I needed him to crack first.“You disobeyed,” he said. “And now you’ll learn.”He grabbed one of the resistance bands and tossed it toward my feet. “On the floor. On your knees.”“I’m not here to be punished. I’m here to help you move again.”“You’ll help me when I say you can. Right now—” He wheeled closer, his face barely a breath from mine. “—you’re going to remember your place.”My heart thundered, but I sank to my knees on the mat. Not because I wanted to surrender. Because I needed him to believe I would.And because I knew how ruthless his punishments are.He looped the resistance band around my wrists, tight enough to make my skin prickle.“Hold that position,” he said,