Mag-log inThe quiet of the hospital room was heavy, broken only by the rhythmic, hollow beep of the monitors. Julian pushed the door open, his footsteps hurried but muffled. He went straight to Lena’s side, leaning down to press a soft kiss against her temple.“Hey, baby,” he whispered against her skin. His thumb brushed over her cheek, his touch warm. “Did I keep you waiting too long?”“No, of course not,” Lena breathed, her voice small. She kept her eyes fixed on the bed. “Nothing interesting has happened.”Julian pulled back just enough to look at her, his eyes tracking the dark circles under her eyes and the tight line of her mouth. “Did you catch some sleep?”Lena shook her head, a breathy, exhausted sigh leaving her. “I tried, but I couldn’t.”“Aww…” Julian’s lips parted, his expression twisting with a spike of worry. He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes tender but searching, before nodding toward the bed. “Did Junior wake up at all?”“For a bit. Then he went right back to sleep.
Leo was struggling—and failing miserably—to keep the two brothers from going at each other’s throats.Antonio and Julian were locked in a vice grip, fists bunched in the collars of each other's shirts. Their faces were barely inches apart, hissing vicious curses in Italian directly into each other’s faces.“What is even wrong with the both of you?” Leo’s frustration finally spilled over. He hovered near them, palms out, completely at a loss for how to wedge himself between them.“I see you have no respect for your elder brother. All that running away from home has messed with your mind, no?” Antonio threw the words right into Julian’s face.“And I see you can still hold your head up after deceiving your younger brother. How shameless,” Julian shot back, his jaw tight.“My younger brother?” Antonio let out a dark, mocking laugh. “You ceased to be my younger brother the moment you ran from home.”“Then you’re not my older brother!”“Julian, that’s enough,” Leo snapped. He grabbed Julian
After hours of agonizing waiting, Junior was finally wheeled out of the operating room. The surgery was a complete success.Hours after that, once the post-op fog had cleared and both Julian and Leo were certain the boy was safe in his room, the adrenaline finally began to fade, replaced by the thirst for revenge. Now, they were driving down the highway, heading toward the isolated warehouse where Jack was being held captive.The silence inside the car was thick, broken only by the steady hum of the tires against the asphalt.“I thought you’d be coming with him,” Julian said, breaking the quiet without taking his eyes off the road.“Him? As in your brother?” Leo asked, cutting a sharp glance sideways, a brow raised.“I don’t consider him my brother as of right now," Julian bit out, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "If I set my eyes on him right now—”“You’ll do absolutely nothing,” Leo ground out, his voice dripping with authority. “Fi
“Lena?”“Mm?” Lena stirred on the waiting room couch she had been lying on. Her eyes were heavy, only half-parted as she blinked up at the silhouette of Julian standing over her.“Hey,” he whispered. His voice was a soothing, low murmur as he stroked the back of his knuckles gently over her cold cheek. “You shouldn’t fold yourself into such a small space. Your body is going to ache when you wake up.”Lena sat upright, rubbing her palms over her tired eyes to force herself awake. The harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital hallway made her wince. “Julian? What’s going on? Is the surgeon out yet?”“No. Not yet,” Julian said softly, the regret clear in his eyes. “But I’m sure he’ll be out soon. These procedures just take time.”Lena’s face fell. A shaky, deflated breath escaped her as she sagged back against the cushions, looking smaller than ever.Julian crouched down into a squat in front of her, forcing her to look at him. “Don’t look so discouraged, Len. You have a whole team of top
Antonio was lounging in the armchair of his father’s office, staring blankly at the desk, when the door finally clicked open.Luoni walked in, his expression impassive. He didn't even startle to see his son waiting for him. He merely paused, giving Antonio a cold, calculating look, before continuing toward his desk.“Did you already hear from Leo?” Luoni asked, tossing his coat onto a side chair. “Pedro called me. He said there is an emergency with Julian’s little boy.”“Ah…” Antonio’s voice was dangerously quiet. “Julian.”“Yes, Julian.” Luoni sat down, pulling a folder toward himself. When Antonio didn't reply, the older man looked up, his patience already thinning. “What is wrong with you?”“I don’t know,” Antonio said, tilting his head up. His face was a mask of cold fury. “Why don’t you tell me?”Luoni froze, his hands hovering over the paperwork. “Excuse me?”“I often wondered why Julian ran away from home," Antonio mused, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I use
Antonio drew his head back, caught off guard by the question. He blinked once. Twice. His throat tightened, and he swallowed hard against a sudden dryness.“What?” His voice was barely above a whisper, the sound lost in the space between them.“Your wife-to-be,” Leo said, his tone dangerously level. “She’s not really sick, is she?”“Of course she’s sick,” Antonio snapped, his brows pulling into a deep, defensive frown.A sharp, disbelieving laugh ripped from Leo’s throat—a distorted, ugly sound. It vanished as quickly as it came, his expression turning cold.“Are you going to keep up with the lies, Antonio?” he bit out, stepping closer.“What lies?” Antonio’s face morphed into genuine confusion, panic beginning to flicker in his chest. “I don't understand what you're talking about. If you would just explain—”“When she accosted us at the restaurant, she looked too healthy for someone with only a year left to live. So I looked into her.” Leo’s voice dropped to a murmur. “She’s not sick
Lena woke up with tears and a splitting headache.For hours, she’d cried and cried and cried until she decided that crying would not save her marriage. So she decided that perhaps having a conversation with Julian would change his mind. Perhaps if she begged enough, perhaps if she offered him more
Years ago, before the marriage, before the arrangement, before she tucked herself into Julian’s quiet house and learned to want less, Lena used to party.It was how she processed things: a loud room, a dark dance floor, a glass in her hand. It wasn’t elegant and she knew it. But it worked. Tonight
“Hello, this is the assistant of Pedro King. I saw that you had put up an article stating that Mr. Julian Black was out with his wife. As his associates, we are unaware of any such information. Might I know if you have any other details about the woman in question?”“Pedro King?” The reporter asked
Tick.Tick.Tick.The clock continued to tick. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours. And yet Lena’s husband was not home.Three years.That was how long Lena had been married.Three years of convenience. Three years of an arrangement that had never pretended to be more than what it wa







