LOGINCeline POVTime moves slowly, painfully, like every minute is being pulled out of my body. I stood in front of my mirror in my room, fixing a simple black dress that still looked elegant, hugging my body. My eyes were a little red from a sleepless night, but deep inside them, something new was shining. Hope."This marriage will not be easy."The door knocked again. This time it was Michael.He walked in quietly, his eyes scanning my face like he could read every thought breaking inside me. "Ready?"I nodded, even though my hands were shaking as I held a small bag. "Is he already there?""He arrived ten minutes ago." Michael paused, then lowered his voice. "The place is heavy, Celine. Your father’s men are everywhere, and Enzo did not come alone. There is tension. You can feel it in the air."I swallowed hard. I imagined Enzo walking into that hall, his sharp eyes, his body carrying the scars of past fights, and that small smile he only ever gave me in the middle of all this chaos."Le
Celine POVI didn’t sleep.How can a heart rest when it’s torn between two men?Between a father afraid of losing everything… and a man I loved without asking anyone for permission?I sat on the edge of the bed, hugging my knees to my chest, staring into nothing like I was searching for an answer that refused to exist. Michael’s words kept echoing inside me, soft… but cruel."Fight for this love."As if love was a war.As if I were a soldier.As if my heart was the battlefield.A soft knock on the door cut through my thoughts.I lifted my head slowly. "Come in."The door opened. But it wasn’t Michael this time…It was my father.My breath caught.He walked in with steady steps, his face as cold as always, but… something was different. Something I had never seen before. Or maybe something I never wanted to see."You’re up early."His voice wasn’t as harsh as I expected.I stood slowly. "I didn’t sleep."He nodded, like it didn’t surprise him. Then he stepped closer, but not too close…
Celine povThe door closed behind me… and it felt like the whole world closed with it. It was not just a door. It was a line between me and him… between my heart, and what I chose to do with it. I walked behind my father in silence through the palace, my steps slow, like the ground no longer knew me. Everything here was familiar… yet I felt like a stranger, like I came back to a place that no longer belonged to me.“Sit.”His voice was sharp. No warmth of a father… only the weight of a man used to being obeyed. I sat and looked up at him. He did not sit right away. He stayed standing in front of me, staring for a long time, like he was trying to see something beyond my face. Then he said calmly, “Why him?”I blinked slowly. “What?”He stepped closer. “Out of all men… out of all choices… why did you choose Enzo?”I did not answer right away. Not because I did not know… but because the answer was simpler than he expected… and harder than he wanted to hear. I took a slow breath, then sai
Celine POVNo one moved.Even the armed men behind my father and Michael stayed still, waiting for one word that would send blood back into the streets... or finally stop it.I was still holding Enzo's hand.I could feel the heat of his palm, his steady grip, that kind of strength that never needs to shout to be real.My father stared at me for a long moment, then said in a low voice more dangerous than anger itself."Do you understand what you're asking me to do?"I lifted my chin."Yes.""You're asking me to trust the man who tried to bring down my empire."I looked at Enzo, then back at him."And I'm asking you to trust your daughter."Something shook across his face.It was small. Barely there. But it happened.Michael let out a slow breath, then stepped forward."Let's end this here." His voice was cold and practical, but I knew him well enough to hear the exhaustion hiding underneath it. "The city is bleeding. The police are already moving. Tonight's losses crossed the line."My
Celine POVThe air outside felt different… not cleaner, but heavy with fear that had not yet finished forming. The sounds of explosions were still echoing in my ears. My muscles stayed tight, like I had never left the battlefield, only stepped into a more dangerous one.The battlefield of decisions.The lift lowered slowly while we were still holding on. Enzo never let go of my hand even for a second, like the whole world could take me away if he loosened his grip. When our feet finally touched the ground, the first thing I saw was white light spilling from black cars standing in deadly silence.I did not need to ask.Michael was there.And Montgomery… my father.I stopped for a second, not because I was afraid, but because something inside me was not used to this sight. The two men who ruled this world standing in the same place, not firing a single bullet, only waiting for me.Enzo stood beside me, his shoulder touching mine, like he was silently telling everyone he would not let me
Celine POVThe ground shook hard under my feet, so hard my teeth clashed together. Dust burst off the door as it blew open, and the hallway filled with thick gray smoke and the sharp, bitter smell of gunpowder."Now!" Enzo shouted, grabbing my hand and pulling me after him as he charged out.We were not running toward freedom. We were running straight into hell. The hallway had turned into a small war zone. About twenty men stumbled in the smoke, coughing, trying to find their balance. But the shock did not last long. The second they saw our shadows moving through the haze, bullets started raining down on us like a storm."Celine, your left!" Enzo yelled as he fired two shots straight into a guard’s chest just as the man tried to raise his rifle.I dropped low. A bullet burned past my head. Too close. I rolled behind a large metal container and fired back. The recoil kicked in my hand like a living pulse. My shot hit one man in the shoulder. He staggered. I finished him with a second







