Pustaka
Cari
Beranda / Romance / The Price Of Us / Chapter 07

Share

Chapter 07

Penulis: Hayley
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-04-01 21:39:38

JACE POV

The next morning, my phone buzzed before the sun had fully settled in the sky.

I groaned, rubbing a hand over my face before reaching for it.

Father.

I stared at the screen, debating whether to ignore it.

Then it buzzed again.

With a sigh, I answered. “What?”

“I want to see you.” His voice was deep, unwavering. A voice that had dictated my life for years.

I exhaled sharply. “We have nothing to talk about.”

“You’re my son. That alone is reason enough.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “If this is about—”

“I won’t repeat myself, Jace Lysander.”

Silence.

I clenched my jaw.

I had spent years putting distance between myself and my parents. Years keeping my life separate from theirs.

But something in my father’s voice told me this wasn’t just another attempt to bend me to his will.

It was something more.

And if there was anything I had learned growing up under my father’s rule—it was to never ignore him.

Anna stirred beside me, her soft murmur pulling me
Lanjutkan membaca buku ini secara gratis
Pindai kode untuk mengunduh Aplikasi
Bab Terkunci
Bab sebelumnya Bab selanjutnya

Bab terbaru

  • The Price Of Us   Chapter 110

    ANNA POV.I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. My hands were trembling violently as I fumbled for my phone, my mind a blurry mess of confusion and fear. Everything felt... wrong. The walls were closing in on me, and the room was suffocating.My hands were slick with sweat as I dialed Jace’s number. My heart hammered in my chest. It rang, once, twice, three times. I pressed the phone to my ear, the sound of his voice breaking through, soothing yet laced with concern.“Anna?” His voice was immediately soft, and warm. “Hey, what's wrong?”I couldn’t speak. The words got stuck in my throat, swallowed by the shaking. My body trembled so violently I could barely keep the phone in my hand. I tried to take a breath, but it felt like my chest was too tight, like I was drowning.“Anna, talk to me,” Jace’s voice came through more urgently. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”I couldn’t form the words. I just... I couldn’t. My breathing was shallow, jagged. The room seemed to spin, and everythin

  • The Price Of Us   Chapter 109

    ANNA POV.I should have turned away. I should’ve left before things got even worse. But there was something about their voices—something about the rawness in Rose’s tone that held me there. I couldn't move, couldn’t tear myself away from the crack in the door, the space where their words spilled out like poison.“I don’t care if Anna finds out,” Rose snapped, her voice cold, unrelenting. “Let her know. I don't give two fucks about it.”The room fell into a heavy silence, and then my father’s voice cut through it, sharp and angry.“You don’t care, Rose? You don’t care if she finds out the truth about her real parents?”Williams’ voice was low, dangerous. “You know damn well what we’ve done. And you know who we’ve had to eliminate to make sure she never found out.”I stiffened. What was he saying?“All these years, we’ve kept her in the dark, made sure she never knew who her real parents were,” my father continued, his voice laced with a bitter kind of pride. “We gave her our name, we

  • The Price Of Us   Chapter 108

    ANNA POVI wasn’t exactly looking for them.But when I stepped out into the courtyard with Nathan on my hip, I saw them—Rose and Vanya—tucked together under the orange tree like old college roommates catching up on inside jokes.Rose laughed at something Vanya said, a soft, feminine giggle I hadn’t heard from her in years, not even when we were teenagers. Vanya had her hand on Rose’s arm, leaning in close, whispering something behind a manicured hand. They looked… cozy. Familiar. Like two girls who had been bonding for months, not a pair who’d only just met last week.My stomach twisted.Rose caught my eye first. She offered a little wave. Vanya turned too, flashing that same polished, disarming smile she’d worn the day she congratulated me with all the grace of a viper in pearls.“Morning, Anna,” Rose called out sweetly, like we hadn’t spent the last years barely tolerating each other.I nodded, tight-lipped. “Didn’t realize you two were such good friends.”Vanya stood up slowly, b

  • The Price Of Us   Chapter 107

    JACE POV The sitting room had never been this quiet. Not even during Luc—Mom’s—famous post-opera nights where only whispers were allowed and everyone sipped wine like it was holy water.Now, silence pressed like velvet over the room as the Valerians stepped in for the first time.Victoria Valerian walked in first, elegance wrapped tight around her like armor. She wore navy—stern, sharp—and carried herself like she expected everyone to adjust to her presence. Her husband, Williams, followed, his hands clasped neatly behind his back, eyes sweeping the frescoes and marble like he was appraising a deal. Rose was the last to enter, uninterested and unimpressed, her phone in one hand and her eyes flicking toward the ceiling.Across from them, Mom stood tall in her pristine cream suit, one hand lightly resting on Dad’s forearm. She was every bit the Lysander matriarch—elegant, proud, composed like a blade sheathed in silk. Dad wore his usual soft expression, but I could tell by the stif

  • The Price Of Us   Chapter 106

    ANNA POVThe sun was barely peeking through the blackout curtains when I opened my eyes.For a moment, I forgot where I was. The sheets didn’t smell like home. The air was too still, too sterile. And then I remembered—the sterile hotel room, the long flight ahead, and yesterday.I turned slowly, careful not to wake Nathan. He was still asleep between us, his tiny mouth parted, cheeks puffed, one foot kicked out from under the blanket like he owned the bed.Jace was already awake, propped up on one elbow, just watching me.“Couldn’t sleep?” I whispered.He shook his head. “You?”“I don’t know. I think I did. But I feel like I dreamed through all of it.”He brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “We’re leaving soon. Just a couple more hours.”I nodded, then pushed myself up to sit. The weight in my chest hadn’t lifted. It had just gone quiet. Like a warning before a storm.“Do you think they’ll actually come?” I asked.Jace sat up too, his eyes following mine. “I think they will.”

  • The Price Of Us   Chapter 105

    JACE POVIt had been three years since we last saw them.Three years since Williams Valerian forced Anna to marry me in a cold, calculated move to salvage the family’s pride. Since he’d shaken my hand and shoved his daughter into my world like she was a deal to be made, not a woman with a soul.Three years since Anna walked away from this house with no intention of ever coming back.And yet here we were. For tradition.I rang the bell. Anna shifted beside me, clutching Nathan a little closer. Her eyes were blank. Too blank.The door opened with a rush of perfume and tension.Victoria stood in the entryway, her expression composed—until she saw us.“Anna,” she said, breath catching.Williams appeared behind her, taller than I remembered, older. His gaze snapped to mine, then to the baby.“Wow,” he said, voice thick. “What a surprise!”Anna replied, cool and steady. “Let’s not pretend it’s more than a visit and not reunion.”They stepped aside, and we entered the home I knew Anna hated

  • The Price Of Us   Chapter 104

    ANNA POVThe next morning, the sun poured golden light through the curtains as I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the pale linen dress I’d picked for the visit to the main Lysander mansion. My stomach fluttered with unease. No matter how much Jace reassured me, the idea of standing in front of his parents again—with tradition hanging in the air like a thundercloud—set my nerves on edge.Nathan babbled from where he sat on the bed, swaying slightly in his little dungarees. Jace knelt beside him, fixing one of his socks and murmuring nonsense that made our son squeal in delight. It was such a normal moment. Sweet. Warm. But it felt borrowed, like it belonged to another world—one far away from the heavy elegance of the Lysander estate.We left shortly after, driving through the narrow, winding streets of Tuscany until the familiar wrought-iron gates of the family villa came into view. I inhaled sharply, fingers curling in my lap. Jace reached across the console, brushing his th

  • The Price Of Us   Chapter 103

    JACE POV.The gates of the estate creaked open with practiced elegance, the kind that said old money in a dozen languages. The gravel crunched under the tires as we pulled up the long drive. I felt Anna's hand twitch slightly in mine and glanced over at her.She was staring out the window, lips pressed together, unreadable.I gave her hand a squeeze. “We're here.”She nodded but didn't speak.The moment the car came to a stop in front of the villa, the front doors swung open—and there she was. Teresa. Wrinkled and wiry, her gray hair tied back in a tight bun, apron spotless even though I knew she'd been fussing around since sunrise.The second Anna stepped out, Teresa let out a soft gasp.“My piccolina,” she whispered. Then she rushed forward, arms out, embracing Anna tightly before she could even say hello.Anna was already moving toward her, arms out. “I told you we were coming.”“And yet my heart didn’t believe it until I saw you,” Teresa said, wrapping her arms gently around her

  • The Price Of Us   Chapter 102

    ANNA POV The entire day, I moved like I was floating.There was this quiet magic in my bones, something only I knew for now. I kept placing my hand gently on my stomach, still stunned that a tiny life was already blooming inside me again.But now, it was time to tell Jace.I wanted it to be special—something soft, something unforgettable.After Nathan’s nap, I dressed him in a white onesie that had the words “Big Brother in Training” printed in soft gold across the front. He babbled while I buttoned him up, clueless but smiling, like he could sense something good was in the air.I set up my phone to capture it all—something told me I’d want to remember this moment forever.By the time Jace walked through the front door, loosening his tie, tired but glowing from his long day, Nathan had already waddled halfway toward him with his unsteady steps and gummy grin.“There’s my boy!” Jace dropped his keys and scooped Nathan into his arms, pressing a loud kiss to his cheek.Then he noticed

Anda juga akan menyukai

Jelajahi dan baca novel bagus secara gratis
Akses gratis ke berbagai novel bagus di aplikasi GoodNovel. Unduh buku yang kamu suka dan baca di mana saja & kapan saja.
Baca buku gratis di Aplikasi
Pindai kode untuk membaca di Aplikasi
DMCA.com Protection Status