One week had passed since the incident, and Maria had gotten over the trauma of being placed in a position to poison someone. "You should get my room cleaned after you are done. The other maid did complete trash hours ago." Valentine instructed Maria in the sitting room and walked away. Maria's brows furrowed as she wondered what Valentine had up her sleeves. She just hoped there wasn't any weapon they aimed at her. On realizing what she was thinking, she smiled. There was no way Valentine could murder her in cold blood right in the mansion. The only person to do that was Alejandro or someone else, but it must be under Alejandro's permission.She walked into Valentine's room right after cleaning the sitting room. She cleaned up the whole place even though she didn't think the room was messed up. After she was done, he walked out of the room and proceeded to clean the long passage that looked a little bit dusty due to the people in the mansion walking past it.****"Maria!!!!" Valentin
"Are you freaking kidding me right now? Do you love her?" She questioned, but he didn't answer. "Talk to me. Just tell me you do. I promise to leave and never return.""it's not about me loving her. It's about doing what's right and rebuking what's wrong." He replied nonchalantly. "I see!" She replied, not seeing a reason to continue the conversation anymore. She then walked away and rushed to the pool reserved for just her in the whole mansion. The moment she got to the edge, she jumped into the pool and started swimming, her body moving like a fish in the water. She got out of the water feeling better, and when she looked up, her worst nightmare, Aria, was walking by with Maria gisting and giggling. They were now so free, so free that they walked around with the vibe that aired that they ruled the mansion. Taking a deep breath, she took half of her body out of the water. "Hi, Aria!" She waved, and Aria turned only to see her smiling and waving at her.Aria was stunned.That wasn't
"I'm sorry if I committed any offense, miss. It was never in my intention to do that?" Maria said, already shaking as she was being held by Valentine. "She looks scared. Don't you look scared right now? You look terrified bitch! I won't warn you again. Stay clear out of the way that concerns me and Aria. Since you couldn't even do the tiniest job I assigned to you then stay away. She is mine, and whether you choose to assist me or not, I am going to fulfill my wish in this mansion." She warned her, her eyes looking scarier than it used to be.Maria was terrified and couldn't help but move back a bit. Valentine then kicked her to the floor and tried to make her head hit the floor, but Maria stayed strong.She couldn't be grateful enough for managing to get into her room alive as she sat on the bed, freezing about Valentine from moments ago. She didn't know what she really did or what Aria had done to get in her bad book, but one thing was certain: Valentine hated them. Curling up on t
So if she loved men who handled her softly, why then did she freely give herself away to Jude because Jude never forced anyone from the beginning? Anita had given herself to Jude out of jealousy and with the intention to override Miguel in the company. If it had worked for her, she would never have thought of stopping in the first place. After doing her recording, Miguel walked away and walked out of the company.She walked into her office happy that she was able to be productive that day and without hesitation, she anonymously sent the video to Jude before going to bed. Jude, who had a blissful day in his heart, was about to go to bed when his phone beeped. He took it and looked at the message. He froze. He sat up and watched a video of Anita being fucked by his very own staff.He remembered making a law that none of his staff were allowed to have an affair with the other, and if any thought they wanted each other, one would have to resign for the other party to stay, but these
Chapter 28"If you do anything stupid, it's on you! I will never take a part of the blame!" She muttered and sat on the floor close to her door. Williams was still so pained even after he got to his house. He couldn't believe he had been sharing Anita with his boss. "Watch me, Jude!" He spat and went into his cupboards, searching for something and when he finally saw the right wardrobe, he opened it and brought out his gun. He placed it inside his pocket and left the house. He knew the boss was still present in the office by that time so the moment he got into his own office, he cross-checked his gun and was sure that it had gone to the point that it should. He then got up and stormed out of his office, but the moment he opened the door to the President's office, he felt a bullet slide into his forehead, and that was the end of Williams.Jude's hand was still in the air, and his teeth were still gritting. He fired his bullet again, and this time, it went straight into Williams's hear
"Oh my gosh! I think I'm going crazy already." Maria said and rolled her eyes. They had lots of fun and after they were done, they made their way back into the mansion. "I feel dizzy already. See you tomorrow, Maria," Aria muttered, yawning as she then made her way to her room, leaving Maria to walk into hers.Maria brushed back her long hair as she made her way in. The moment she got to her bed, she spotted a letter. "SEE ME IN MY ROOM. JUAN!"Maria froze. See him? Why does he want her to see him? She thought and quickly went to lock her room door, fearing that it could be some kind of trap from Valentine.She sat on her bed and tossed around, feeling very helpless. She was finding it very hard to think that Juan would actually invite her to his room. After some minutes to an hour of hesitation, she then got up bravely and decided to go visit. She walked out of her room and got into the luxurious floor that had Alejandro, Juan, and Valentine's room in it. Scared she wondered what
Hearing her explain felt somehow to Aria who later smiled. "And you don't think something could be up?""Up?" She asked her."What could be up with him? I don't think anything could be up." She replied but then Aria shook her head."He is human regardless. If he keeps wanting you, it could mean that he's started liking you." Aria tried to talk to her but then Maria burst out laughing."I have been here for years. Trust me, Mr Juan has no heart." She said to her and it got her surprised.Aria wondered what crime they had all committed to make the maids in here think that he had no heart. "I'm struggling to believe that." They got to work and worked their asses off till it was 6 pm.While they were putting away their equipment, they walked past the sitting room where Juan and Valentine were seated, and though it didn't sit well with Maria, she still stayed professional."Why are you staring at her like that?" Valentine asked, staring deeply at Juan, who was struggling to keep his eyes
"Of course, I can't. What do you want from her?" She asked him and he turned and walked away. Valentine's eyes darkened. She felt the need to do something about this cause if she didn't, things would only get worse for her, and she said she wouldn't like it.The next morning, Maria got up and froze the moment she recalled the moment from the night before. Now she was scared to get out of her room. KNOCK KNOCK"Come in!" She said and when her door opened, Aria walked in. "Good morning!""It's 10 am already. I was wondering if everything is okay with you." Aria said to her and she nodded her head in agreement. "That's right. It's quite scary, but I can't step out now 'cause that's scarier." She replied.Aria frowned."What do you mean?" She asked her."I mean, I spoke to Mr Juan quite rudely last night. I couldn't do that anymore. And that's why I'm scared to step out. What if he comes for me?" She asked her. "that's not true. He wouldn't." Aria defended.Maria got a bit confused. "
The storm came in the middle of the night, heavy and relentless, with wind that screamed like ghosts clawing at the windows and thunder that shook the walls of the estate. Aria woke with a jolt, heart thudding against her chest, her hand instinctively reaching for the other side of the bed only to find it empty. The sheets were still warm where Alejandro had been lying moments ago. She sat up slowly, listening. No footsteps. No voices. Just the rumble of rain and the hollow echo of her own worry filling the room.Wrapping a robe around herself, she padded barefoot down the hallway, her eyes scanning every shadow. The storm outside seemed to seep into her bones, a reflection of the unrest brewing within her. The revelation of Luciana, Miguel’s sister, had shaken her more than she’d let on. It wasn’t just about another enemy, it was about history. About the kind of legacy blood carries whether you want it or not. If Luciana was anything like her brother, then they weren’t just facing a
The warmth of the morning sun did little to erase the lingering tension in the estate. Though the threat to Jace had been lifted, and Alejandro had begun mending the cracks between them, there was an air of unfinished business hanging over everyone. The silence in the hallways was not peaceful, it was watchful, heavy with the weight of memories and anticipation of what could come next. Aria felt it in the way the maids moved, whispering behind corners, in the way Alejandro’s guards doubled their shifts without complaint, and in the way Sophia barely left Jace’s side.Inside the master suite, Aria stood alone in front of the mirror, slowly tying her hair back. Her hands trembled slightly. There was a bruise on her wrist, faint but still visible, a reminder of the scuffle at the warehouse. She ran her fingers over it not out of pain, but remembrance. The past few days have changed everything. Love wasn’t a fairytale she’d grown up dreaming about. It was brutal, it was aching, it was the
The journey back to the estate felt endless. Alejandro drove in silence, one hand on the wheel, the other wrapped tightly around the steering wheel as though holding it could keep him from falling apart. Jace sat in the backseat, his head resting against the window, bruised and bandaged. Aria was beside him, her fingers interlaced with his, like she couldn’t risk letting go. Valentina was quiet too, arms crossed, her jaw set, eyes watchful through the rearview mirror. It wasn’t just exhaustion. It was the aftermath of a storm that had left all of them changed.Aria couldn’t stop glancing at Jace. Even with his cuts and injuries, he still looked like the boy who had grinned at her from Alejandro’s rooftop, the man who had fought for her when Alejandro didn’t know how. She kept replaying the moment he opened his eyes and said her name, the rasp in his voice, the relief in it. She had been so close to losing him, and it terrified her how easily life could tilt into tragedy. All that time
Alejandro stood still in the middle of that abandoned building long after the recording ended, his fist clenching around the cracked phone until his knuckles turned white. There was something different about hearing Jace’s voice, something raw. He wasn’t speaking like a man running from guilt. He was speaking like someone fighting for something more sacred than survival. The fear in his tone hadn’t been for himself. It had been for Aria. And that realization twisted something sharp in Alejandro’s chest. He had doubted his brother. Worse, he had turned his back when Jace might have needed him the most. The guilt was thunderous, the silence around him heavier than bricks.Sophia stood by the doorway, watching him. “Do you want to keep searching here?”“No,” he finally said, his voice low and broken. “He’s not here anymore. But we have a direction now. This wasn’t random. They wanted him alive. That means they still need him.”Sophia nodded slowly. “And that gives us time.”Alejandro loo
Morning crept in with a coldness that didn’t belong to the sun, but to the hearts of those who had spent the night wrestling with truth and betrayal. Alejandro stood in front of the mirror in his suite, buttoning his shirt slowly, mechanically, as if the simple act might distract his mind from the raging war within. There was a hollow ache in his chest, a dark void left by the thought that Jace, the man he called brother, might have handed over his secrets to enemies. But it wasn’t just anger that consumed him. It was the sting of disappointment, the disintegration of trust, the slow unraveling of a bond built on blood and loyalty.Downstairs, Aria sat at the breakfast table, untouched toast lying cold on her plate. Her thoughts drifted like smoke thick, suffocating. She didn’t know what was worse: the possibility that Jace was guilty or the fear that Alejandro might be wrong. Everything was turning to ash around her again. When she looked up and saw Valentina approach, there was no n
The night was thick with silence, but Aria’s heart was anything but still. She sat by the large bay window in her room, knees pulled to her chest, watching the stars blur through the film of unshed tears. Alejandro’s words from the garden echoed in her mind like a song she couldn’t stop humming. She wanted to believe him, God knew she did, but believing meant opening herself again to the kind of pain she wasn’t sure she could survive twice. It meant risking everything she had become, everything she had built inside herself since the moment he turned her life upside down. And still, some small, stubborn part of her ached for his touch, for the warmth that only he ever made her feel. That was the cruel truth her body still remembered what her mind was trying to forget.Down the hallway, Alejandro stood in front of his bedroom door, hand raised, knuckles grazing the surface but never knocking. He had said what he needed to say, and she had asked for time. He had to respect that. But pati
Alejandro sat in the darkened study, the amber glow of the fireplace casting flickering shadows across the walls. His hand gripped the edge of the desk, knuckles white, heart thundering like a storm trapped inside a cage. Aria’s face haunted him, her eyes no longer filled with trust, now brimmed with doubt and pain. And it wasn’t just about the secrets. It was about the silence. The silence that had widened the gulf between them until he couldn’t recognize the bridge they once stood on together. He had promised to protect her, yet the world he built to keep her safe had become the very thing tearing her apart. Alejandro could almost hear her voice, the tremble, the crack when she asked him if he ever truly loved her, or if she’d just been another pawn in his empire’s twisted game.Outside the door, Valentina paced like a storm cloud, her heels sharp against the marble floor. She had seen enough of men like Alejandro cold, controlled, calculating. But this time was different. She had s
The forest was eerily quiet as dawn bled through the twisted silhouettes of trees. A thick mist hugged the earth, softening the edges of bloodshed and ash that had stained the night. Alejandro sat by the fire they barely had time to light, his eyes locked on the flames like they might offer absolution. Across from him, Aria wrapped a torn blanket around her shoulders, shivering not from the cold but from the storm inside her chest. Jace was resting nearby, his wound stitched with trembling hands and the pain dulled by makeshift medication. For now, they were alive. But they were cornered.Aria's mind wouldn’t rest. Dario’s words echoed relentlessly: "She doesn't even know what she's carrying." What did it mean? She stared at the data drive again, holding it as if it might explode with answers. Somewhere within its encrypted layers lay a truth powerful enough to drive a cartel mad. A truth they were now willing to kill for.Alejandro noticed her grip tightening and stood, walking to he
The night air was thick with tension, so much that it clung to Aria’s skin like a second layer. The distant crunch of footsteps on gravel made her grip the pistol tighter. Every shadow seemed to pulse with danger, every sound a possible threat. From where she crouched beside the jagged cliff edge, she could make out the dark shapes of their enemies disembarking from the boat, weapons drawn, eyes sweeping the terrain.Beside her, Alejandro’s breathing was calm, calculated. He crouched low, his back against the rocks, a rifle balanced on his knee. Though the moment was dire, there was a stillness in him, like the eye of a storm. His hand brushed Aria’s shoulder gently a silent promise that they would survive this. Not just for themselves, but for everything they had endured together.She turned to look at him, their eyes locking in the darkness. His gaze held fire, but beneath it, she caught something unexpected. Regret.“Alejandro,” she whispered, “if we don’t make it ”“We will,” he c