LOGINShare
Chapter 25
publish date:
2026-08-13 08:02:50The kitchen clock ticked past five, but the sky outside was still dark indigo. Damien’s arms stayed locked around me long after the last strawberry was gone, his heartbeat steady against my cheek. The shirt he’d worn hung open, warm and smelling of him, but my mind was already racing. The gala. Derek’s quiet claim. The way the three of us had touched each other in public like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I pressed a soft kiss to his chest.
Latest chapter
Toxic Vows, Filthy Pleasures Chapter 64
Ava POVThree days passed in a blur of candlelight and cold stone.Every morning, I went to the Sanctorum. Every morning, Margot peeled back another layer of the men I loved, showing me their weaknesses like specimens under glass. Damien's jealousy. Lucas's guilt. Marcus's need for control. By the third day, I felt hollow. Like she'd scooped out everything inside me and left only the shell.I barely saw the men. They were kept in separate rooms, brought food at different times, allowed only brief moments in the sitting room under guard. When we did cross paths, the air was thick with everything unsaid. Marcus would reach for me, but I'd pull away. Lucas would try to catch my eye, but I'd look at the floor. Damien just watched, his face a mask of guilt and longing.On the third night, he came to my room.I was sitting on the bed, staring at the wall, when the door opened. No knock
Toxic Vows, Filthy Pleasures Chapter 63
Ava POVI didn't sleep.The room they'd given me was small and cold, with a single window that looked out at the mountains. No bars, but the drop was too far to survive. Margot's idea of mercy. I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, counting the hours until sunrise.When the knock came, I was already dressed.Irina led me through the silent corridors, past the sleeping guards, past the rooms where Marcus, Damien, and Lucas were locked away. I didn't look at their doors. I couldn't. If I looked, I'd think about what Margot had promised to do to them if I refused.The Sanctorum was exactly as I remembered it. Circular walls, flickering candles, weapons hanging like decorations. Margot sat in her carved chair, a cup of tea steaming on the table beside her. She looked up when I entered, and her smile was almost warm."Right on time. I do appreciate punctuality."I stopped a few feet away, my arms crossed. "Let's get this over with.""Eager." She gestured to a chair opposite hers. "Sit.
Toxic Vows, Filthy Pleasures Chapter 62
Ava POVThey came for us at dawn.The door swung open, and Irina stood in the threshold, flanked by four armed guards. Her face was as cold and unreadable as ever, but there was something different in her eyes this morning. Satisfaction. Like a cat that had spent the night dreaming of the mouse it was about to eat."Madam Kessler requests your presence," she said. "All of you."Marcus was on his feet in an instant. "Requests?""Demands." Irina's thin smile flickered. "But I was trying to be polite."We were marched through the estate, past the grand hall, past the ballroom where the gala had been held just nights ago. The decorations were gone now, stripped away to reveal the cold stone underneath. The house felt emptier somehow, like Margot had peeled back a layer of skin to show the bones beneath.They took us to the Sanctorum.I'd heard the staff whisper about it—a private chamber deep in the west wing, where Margot conducted her most important business. The word meant "sacred plac
Toxic Vows, Filthy Pleasures Chapter 61
Ava POVThey threw us into a room in the east wing and locked the door. No windows. No furniture except a single cot pushed against the wall. The walls were bare stone, cold and damp. It smelled like dust and old fear.I sat on the floor, my back against the wall, my knees pulled to my chest. The image of Lucas's chest—the serpent, the rose, the raw red skin—was burned into my mind. I couldn't stop seeing it. Couldn't stop asking myself how I'd missed it.The door opened. Guards shoved Lucas inside. He stumbled, one hand pressed to his wounded shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers. The guards left without a word, the lock clicking behind them.For a long moment, no one moved.Then Marcus was on him.He slammed Lucas against the wall, his forearm pressed across Lucas's throat. "What did you do?" His voice was a growl, raw with fury. "What the hell did you do?"Lucas didn't fight back. His face was pale, slick with sweat. Blood dripped from his shoulder, staining his torn shirt. B
Toxic Vows, Filthy Pleasures Chapter 60
Ava POVThe truck doors slammed open.Irina stood in the pale dawn light, her gray suit immaculate, her face as cold as the morning air. Behind her, a dozen guards fanned out, their weapons raised. The driver—Stefan, or whatever his real name was—had already disappeared."Did you really think it would be that easy?" Irina asked again, her voice dripping with contempt.Marcus moved first. He shoved me behind a stack of crates and fired through the open doors. The shot hit a guard in the shoulder, spinning him backward. Chaos erupted."Go!" Marcus shouted. "Through the trees!"Lucas grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the truck. We hit the ground running, bullets whipping past us. Damien stumbled behind us, still weak from his injuries, but he kept moving. Marcus covered our retreat, firing into the line of guards.The trees were close. So close. If we could reach the tree line, we might have a chance. The forest was dense, the terrain rough. We could lose them in the underbrush."This
Toxic Vows, Filthy Pleasures Chapter 59
Ava POVThe plan came together in pieces.A supply truck arrived every three days, bringing food and wine and fresh flowers for the estate. It left through the east gate, the same gate we'd seen from our windows. The guards checked it on the way in, but on the way out, they barely glanced at it. Routine. Boring. That was our opening.Lucas had noticed it first. "The driver doesn't stop at the checkpoint. He just waves and drives through. The guards know him.""So we hide in the back," I said."Not we." Marcus was pacing, his arms crossed. "Me and Damien. You stay with Lucas.""I'm not staying behind.""Ava—""I said I'm not staying behind." I met his eyes. "We all go. Together. Or none of us go."The tension from the night before still hung between us. Marcus had apologized, in his way—a rough, awkward confession about being terrified of losing me. I'd forgiven him, but the dynamic had shifted. I wasn't going to be ordered around anymore. Not by him. Not by anyone.Damien, still pale
You May Also Like
When His Eyes Opened
Simple Silence25.1M viewsFive Years of Marriage to Mr. Bradford
Koi Fish750.4K viewsSpoiled by Mr. Russell
Luminous Night1.0M viewsThe Unwanted Wife and Her Secret Twins
Artemis Z.Y.783.0K viewsThe Billionaires' Substitute Bride
Kathrinii29 viewsDaddy shouldn't know how you taste
Yakirah178 viewsMy Golden Moon
Zai157 viewsWILD WEDDING HOOK UP
Sassenach W41 views
