LOGINThey said she vanished. They claimed she betrayed them. But when she reappears at a secret auction, claimed by the man who once swore to destroy her, the past ignites like gasoline. In a world where loyalty is currency and truth is buried beneath designer suits and silken lies, love isn’t the question. it’s the weapon.
View MoreDARIAN The city never stopped moving, but today it felt like I was the one left behind.Zaria’s image clung to my memory, haunting my every thought and duty. The sketch of her bare skin burned behind my eyes, no matter how many contracts I signed, no matter how many people talked at me in the boardroom. I nodded at the right times, answered in clipped tones, but I wasn’t there. My mind was still back at the penthouse, standing frozen in that doorway, staring at the one woman I couldn’t seem to cage or control.She lingered like smoke.And I hated it.I hated that my body still reacted to her, that my thoughts betrayed me with memories of her lips, her skin, her laugh, the kind of details a man should’ve buried long ago.“She’s dangerous”, I reminded myself. “Don’t forget why you’re doing this”But then another voice whispered back: “If she’s so dangerous, why does your heart race like this?”I pushed the thought away, slamming a folder shut harder than necessary. My assistant jumped
DARIAN The moment she walked back into the penthouse earlier, just before dawn faded away, I knew she was lying.Her excuse—“I just needed some air”—was flimsy at best. She had slipped out, under disguise, thinking I wouldn’t notice. And I might have believed her if it weren’t for the way her eyes had darted when I asked her directly where she’d gone.Something about Zaria didn’t add up.Still, I let it go. For now. Pressing too hard would only push her further away, and I couldn’t afford that. Not when I needed her close enough to uncover what she was hiding.So I left for work. Or at least, I pretended to.The driver had just pulled the car out of the garage when I reached for the folder on the seat beside me and froze. It was empty. The file I needed most, the one with the contracts I had to review before the board meeting, wasn’t there.“Turn back,” I ordered curtly.“Yes, sir.”The driver shifted gears, and the car eased back toward the penthouse. I leaned back against the sea
ZARIA The sound of the front door shutting as he slide past me was my first sign of freedom.Darian had left for work, his footsteps fading into silence, leaving the penthouse drenched in a hush that felt strangely heavy. I exhaled slowly, relief mingling with exhaustion, and retreated into the bathroom.The shower was hot and soothing, the steam curling around me like a blanket. I tilted my head back beneath the water, trying to wash away the tension from this morning, the chase, the fear, and the way Darian had looked at me as if he could see straight through my lies.But instead of fear, another memory invaded me.Darian’s hands on my waist, our once upon a time. His lips against mine, heated and unrelenting, a man who wanted all of me. Nights when the air between us had been thick with more moans than arguments, when even the sound of his voice had been enough to make me melt.I pressed my palms against the tile, shutting my eyes tight. Those nights belonged to another life…one b
ZARIA The city was still sleeping when I slipped out of the penthouse.The elevators hummed softly, the lobby guard dozed against the counter, and the streets outside were washed pale with the first hints of dawn. I kept my cap pulled low and the hood of my sweatshirt higher still, praying no one would recognize me beneath the disguise. If Darian ever found out I’d left, if the paparazzi caught sight of me, it would be over.But I had no choice. My son needed me.Every step away from the glass tower felt like a gamble with fate. The car I’d arranged was waiting by the curb, an old, nondescript sedan that blended into the sleepy morning traffic. The driver didn’t ask questions. Good. Questions were a threat.By the time we reached the safehouse, my pulse had calmed just enough to breathe normally. The building wasn’t much, just a small, tucked-away apartment that Felix had secured for Leo’s care. But to me, it was more sacred than any mansion or penthouse could ever be.I climbed the
ZARIA Darkness wrapped itself around me, it felt heavy and humming.I floated somewhere between sleep and pain, and honestly neither felt like safety.I couldn’t open my eyes, couldn’t speak.But I felt everything.The ache in my stomach. The icy cold of the IV drip in my arm. The burn in my throa
DARIAN I woke up to the sound of birds and static.The bed beside me was empty, and still warm. Her scent lingered on the sheets, vanilla and citrus, soft and sharp all at once. My arm reached out instinctively, but I touched nothing but air.Then the television buzzed to life. I had forgotten I’d
ZARIAI woke up to the sharp sting in my arm and a pounding headache that made it hard to breathe. My limbs were heavy, and my mouth tasted like metal. It took me a moment to realize I couldn’t see. Panic spiked in my chest as I reached up, only to feel a thick cloth tied tightly around my eyes. I
ZARIAI hated the smell of tear gas, it crawled up my throat, settled on my tongue, and mixed with sweat, smoke, and screams. That day, it was everywhere, clinging to the protest like a parasite.The sun blazed overhead as I stood beside my mother. Her voice was loud and clear into the microphone.






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