Mag-log inChapter 99: Ray and Lily**Ray’s POV**The room still smelled faintly of Lily’s perfume…the expensive floral kind that always lingered long after she was gone. But right now, the sweetness only made my stomach twist with dread.She was pacing the floor of my bedroom like a restless predator, while I sat slumped at the edge of my bed, palms pressed together in a pleading motion.“I didn’t mean for it to blow up like that,” I muttered for the tenth time. My voice was hoarse, exhausted. “I thought the guy filming would cut it short before anyone noticed. I didn’t think…”“Of course, you didn’t think.” Her voice snapped like a whip, cold and sharp. “That’s your problem, Ray. You never think. You just act like some lovesick puppy and then dump the consequences in my lap.”I swallowed hard, shame boiling through me. I’d faced down hostile boardroom sharks before, but none of them made me feel this small. Only Lily.“I’m sorry,” I whispered again.Her gaze shot to me like daggers. “Sorry? Yo
Chapter 98: Piper vs Damon**Piper’s POV**Damn! That was… mortifying. My lungs felt like they’d forgotten how to breathe properly. My cheeks were burning so hot I could fry an egg on them. The moment Lucas’s lips had touched Hannah’s, the atmosphere in the apartment shifted into something I had no business third-wheeling.I didn’t even know where I was running to, but I bolted out anyway. Just as I cornered the stairs, clutching the railing like it was a lifeline, I realized I had no plan. No direction. I just couldn’t be in that room, not with those two who had just fucked last night.Oh God. My poor, innocent apartment.I love that couch. Please, dear heavens, don’t let them deflower my precious apartment.I slowed my steps, my sneakers squeaking against the floor as I looked up.Lucas’s charming, annoyingly perfect secretary. Standing right outside the building like some kind of well-tailored gargoyle.The sight of me must have shocked him, because his brows shot up like he’d just
Chapter 97: The Kisses**Hannah’s POV**The knock rattled the air again. Piper and I sat frozen for what felt like an eternity, silence pressing down like a weight, until she finally straightened her shoulders with a sigh that carried equal parts annoyance and bravery.“Fine. I’ll get it,” she muttered, tossing her throw blanket aside.She padded toward the door, her slippers scuffing softly against the floor, while I sat rigid on the couch, holding my breath so hard my chest ached. My heart was thudding violently, every beat pounding against my ribs like it wanted to betray me….to scream out that I was here, waiting, terrified of what I might face.The handle twisted. The door creaked open.And then Piper’s sharp gasp sliced through the quiet.“Lucas?”My head jerked up, my body reacting before my mind could.He was there.Lucas filled the doorway, tall, composed, his presence consuming the cramped hallway beyond. His suit jacket was still on, shoulders squared, hair immaculate, ever
Chapter 96: Persistent Knock**Hannah’s POV**How sly of Lily.I sat there on Piper’s couch, my phone heavy in my palm, rereading her message for the fifth time. My lips twisted in disbelief.She doesn’t know her real parents?How ridiculous.The audacity of her to play the orphan card now, after everything. She thinks she can twist the narrative, make herself the victim once again, just because people are finally seeing her for who she is.Should I tell her?Should I finally tell her that I knew the truth, that her father was none other than Mr. Gabriel, our family’s driver?The secret burned at the back of my throat like acid. I wanted to scream it, to throw the truth in her face, to watch her choke on it, but the weight of Gavin’s words lingered. He hadn’t wanted me dragged deeper into the circus, and if I threw this truth into the fire, Lily might just drag me down with her.So I swallowed it.The door creaked open and Piper returned, humming, looking like the happiest girl in the
Chapter 95: The Message**Lily’s POV**I locked my bedroom door and threw myself onto the edge of my bed, my whole body trembling. My mind was a carousel of panic, shame, and rage, spinning too fast for me to breathe.The humiliation I’d faced in the last twenty-four hours was enough to kill a weaker woman. Enough to strip me bare in front of the entire world.My heart thudded in my chest, too loud, too fast. I pressed a hand over it, but it didn’t slow.How could this have happened?One mistake, one slip of control, and now everything was crumbling.Ray.Damn him.The only thing he knows how to do is fuck. That’s all. That’s all he’s good for, spreading my legs open and whispering lies about our future, swearing he would protect me, that he’d keep our little secrets till I am ready. And yet, when the moment came to stand tall, when everything depended on his silence, he blabbed. He revealed us. He tore the curtain off the stage and left me naked before the world.How could he be so d
Chapter 94: The Black Family Isn't Good For Piper**Hannah’s POV**The call ended with that scream ripping out of me, and I dropped the phone onto the couch like it had burned me. My chest was rising and falling too quickly. My palms were damp. Lucas Bristo had just called me his “future wife.”What the actual hell.My brain was still scrambling for balance when I caught Piper’s and Gavin’s faces staring at me. Oh no. The room was too quiet, I knew I had interrupted something serious between them.Piper’s cheeks were flushed the same shade they turned when she tried new lipstick shades at Sephora, and Gavin’s posture was rigid, his hands clasped neatly over his knees like he was deliberately holding himself back from saying something. My interruption with a scream had definitely cut into something between them.Great. Another thing for me to feel guilty about.“Uh…” I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. “Sorry for… screaming in your ears.”Piper shot me the sharpest glare, her blus







