LOGINDANTEHe folded his arms. “My daughter cried her eyes out this morning.”Each word hit like a punch. “I—”“She walked in looking like she’d been shattered.”My chest tightened painfully. “I never—”“You men always have excuses.”“I didn’t cheat.”“You expect me to believe that picture?”“I swear to you—”He took a step closer. “If you hurt her—”“I didn’t,” I cut him off, my voice cracking with desperation. “I swear on everything I have.”He stared at me for a long moment, then looked away. “She’s not here.”“What?”“She left for work.”I nodded quickly. “Thank you.”He didn’t answer.“I’m sorry,” I apologized and I meant it. “I’ll fix it.”Without waiting for permission, I ran back toward my car. Please, please still be there.I drove straight to the hospital but her office was empty. The nurse at reception pointed toward another hallway.“She isn’t in her office today.”I followed the directions until I saw Maya stepping out of her own office.Relief surged through me. “Where’s June
DANTEThe bed was empty when I woke up and for a second, I didn’t think anything of it. I stretched my arms above my head, muscles loosening after what felt like the first decent sleep I had had in weeks. The smell of June still lingered on the sheets beside me… her shampoo, soft lavender mixed with vanilla and I smiled without opening my eyes. “Baby?” My voice came out rough with sleep but I got nothing but silence in return. I reached across the mattress anyway, expecting warm skin beneath my fingertips and my hand landed on cold sheets.My eyes opened immediately to see that the other side of the bed had already been made absent by time and that the blanket had lost all traces of warmth.A strange knot settled in my chest. “June?”I pushed myself upright and rubbed my face before walking into the bathroom but it was empty and the lights were off.I frowned thinking to myself that she was probably downstairs. I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and walked through the hallway and went
JUNE“So impatient,” I whispered.“I’ve waited long enough.”Before I could answer, his lips found mine, at first the kiss was slow and unhurried like neither of us wanted the moment to end. I melted against him without thinking as the days apart, sleepless nights, fear, worry and every other emotion we had carried since we had been separated seemed to disappear into that single kiss.He rested his forehead against mine for a brief moment before kissing me again and I couldn’t remember who leaned in first the second time, maybe it was both of us.He smiled against my lips. “I missed you.”“I know.”“No.” He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “I really missed you.”My heart squeezed. “I missed you too.”He took my hand and slowly led me toward his bedroom.Moonlight spilled across the polished floor, the room quiet except for our footsteps.He paused beside the bed and a teasing smile appeared.“Remember this bed?”Heat rushed to my face. “I don’t.”“Liar.”“I have no idea what yo
JUNEThe second hand on my watch refused to move fast enough, I checked my phone for what had to be the twentieth time in five minutes, nothing, I glanced through the living room window instead, still nothing.I told myself to stop pacing but I lasted all of ten seconds before I started again.The past few days had left me exhausted in ways sleep couldn’t fix. Every time I thought about the press conference, Rick, Angelo… and then Dante’s company being dragged into another crisis, my chest tightened all over again.My phone vibrated and I immediately picked it up to see that it was Dante calling, I answered before the second ring.“I’m outside.” His voice washed over me like warm water.“I’ll be right there.” I ended the call and hurried toward the front door.“June,” Dad called from his study.“I’m just—”“I know.” He smiled knowingly. “Go.”I laughed and hurried outside anyway, halfway down the front steps, my heel caught the edge. “Oh—”Strong arms caught me before I could embarras
DANTEFLASHBACKI was in a dark room again, it smelled of damp rotting wood, mold and blood and I couldn’t tell which memory came first anymore.Days blended together or weeks, maybe months, I had lost count. There were no windows and no light, only darkness so thick I couldn’t see my own hands.My stomach cramped violently and at first, it was hunger growling but after enough time, it simply hurt.The pain became normal and it disappeared only when I fainted or slept, if I was lucky enough to sleep.Once again, my father had locked me up here because he said I deserved it, because Angelo cried, because my grades were better, because the teachers picked me for the regional competition, because Angelo wanted that spot and smelly because I existed.That was enough reason. Every parent wanted children who behaved, studied, listened and worked hard but not my father. Finally, the silence broke, a key turned and the door creaked open. Light stabbed into my eyes and I flinched, when I loo
DANTEMy phone shattered against the wall, the plastic exploded and the glass sprayed across the hotel suite, skidding over polished marble before settling beneath the television.Silence followed, the kind that made every muscle in my body tighten. That two-timing son of a bitch met her, he got close enough to breathe the same air and he had the audacity to look at her.My hands curled into fists until my knuckles burned white.Across the room, Rafael slowly reached into his pocket as his own phone vibrated, he looked at the screen then looked at me and without saying a word, he stretched his arm out and placed the phone into my waiting hand.It was Enzo. I answered immediately. “What?”“Damn,” he laughed. “You sound like you’re about to murder somebody.”“I am.”“You should calm down.” His voice remained annoyingly calm. “You didn’t have to act like a tiger, she’s fine, he didn’t touch her.”“You should’ve put a bullet in his head when you had the chance,” I growled. “And risk get
JUNEWe finished dinner slowly after that, talking about everything and nothing. He told me ridiculous stories about Enzo that made me laugh so hard I nearly choked on wine. I told him Maya would absolutely blackmail me if she found out I had had sex in a car before my actual date even started. He
JUNEI pushed the front door open slowly and stepped inside the house that had once felt like the safest place in the world. Now it felt unfamiliar and cold, like I was walking through a stranger’s life.The silence pressed against my ears as I dropped my bag beside the couch and stood there starin
JUNEFate had to be mocking me. There was no other explanation for this kind of cruelty.My father had warned me from the very beginning, and somehow that made everything hurt worse.I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my fingers ached while tears blurred the road ahead of me.I could still hea
JUNEThe first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Rick.He was asleep on his stomach, one arm stretched across my side of the bed like even in sleep he expected to find me there. Morning light spilled through the curtains, soft gold sliding over his bare shoulders, over the silver strands beginn







