Adrian POVThe aftermath was a blur of raw emotion. I lay there, on the bed, my body aching, my mind reeling. I didn't know what had come over me. The images of Sarah and Justin, the whispers of their past, had ignited a firestorm of rage within me. The thought of her with another man, of her giving him what I craved, drove me to madness. I heard her pleas, her cries, but they were muffled by the roaring in my ears. I was determined to punish her, to make her understand that she was mine, to control, to possess. She is mine to love, to hate, to torture. The thought echoed in my mind, a twisted justification for my actions.Seeing her smooth, white skin, and feeling her body beneath mine, ignited a desire within me, a perverse satisfaction that I hated myself for feeling. Despite my anger, despite the revulsion I felt for my actions, I couldn't deny the pleasure I derived from dominating her, from hearing her moans, even though they were cries of pain. After the brutal encounter, I lef
Adrian POVThe mansion loomed before me, a stark reminder of the previous night’s events. I parked the car and walked towards the imposing front door, my footsteps echoing in the silence. Inside, the house felt empty, devoid of Sarah’s presence. A wave of unease washed over me. I rushed upstairs to her room, my heart pounding in my chest. I knocked on her door, calling her name, but there was no response. A knot of anxiety tightened in my stomach. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.The room was eerily silent, the air thick with unspoken tension. The sight that greeted me was disturbing. Her dress from the gala lay discarded on the floor, a crumpled heap of velvet. Her undergarments, torn and ripped, were scattered nearby, stark reminders of my anger, my violence. The bed sheets were rumpled and stained, a dark, crimson blotch marring the pristine white. My blood ran cold as I stared at the stain. She couldn’t be… The thought echoed in my mind, a confusing mix of guilt and disb
Adrian POVI returned to the car, the image of Sarah sitting on the couch, so vulnerable and yet so defiant, still fresh in my mind. I waited, my fingers drumming impatiently on the steering wheel. After about five minutes, she emerged from the house, the blond man, Dean, trailing behind her. They stood at the doorway, their conversation inaudible from my vantage point. Sarah waved goodbye, a small, almost hesitant gesture. But then, the blond man pulled her into a lingering hug,a hug that lasted a beat too longand kissed her cheek, whispering something that made her blush. A surge of possessive anger, hot and irrational, coursed through me. I clenched my fists, my knuckles white, and stabbed at the horn, the sharp blast cutting through the quiet.Sarah pulled away from the hug, her eyes meeting mine across the distance. She walked towards the car, her expression unreadable. As she got in, I was about to unleash a barrage of questions about the blond man, about their relationship, w
Sarah POV"You need to be my personal whore until the resort project is completed." Adrian’s words echoed in my mind, a constant, sickening reminder of his callous demand. Three days had passed since he uttered those vile words, three days of forced confinement, three days of simmering rage and growing despair. I was trapped, a prisoner in my own gilded cage. He had instructed his security detail to ensure I didn't leave the mansion, and, adding insult to injury, had even hired a personal bodyguard to shadow my every move whenever he was away.How could anyone be so shameless, so utterly disgusting? I thought bitterly, pacing the confines of my room. The humiliation of that night, the brutal violation of my body and my spirit, was a wound that refused to heal. And now, this. This blatant attempt to control every aspect of my life, to reduce me to nothing more than a possession, a plaything. It was unbearable.My anxiety was escalating with each passing hour. My absence from Amario Ent
Sarah POV"I knew you would come around eventually," he said, a smirk playing on his lips. His voice dripped with smug satisfaction, the tone of a victor basking in his triumph. "After all," he continued, his eyes gleaming with a cruel light, "you had no other options."He gestured towards a chair in front of his desk, his movements languid, confident. He walked back to his seat, the picture of relaxed power, and placed several sheets of paper in front of him."Since you’ve agreed to my terms," he began, his voice smooth and businesslike, "I need you to sign this agreement. I don’t want any…misunderstandings later. Accusations of rape or coercion. You understand. I have a reputation to uphold." The words were spoken casually, but the underlying threat was clear.My heart sank as I scanned the document, the legal jargon blurring before my eyes. The clauses were stark, explicit, and utterly humiliating:------------------------------------------------------------------Agreement Between
Sarah POVHis question hung in the air, sharp and unexpected, cutting through the tense silence. It was a question that dredged up a multitude of painful memories, a question I didn’t want to answer. Why was he asking this now? I thought, a wave of bitterness washing over me.He didn’t ask before he assaulted me before he violated me. Why ask now, when the damage was already done?"What’s the point of asking this now?" I retorted, my voice laced with sarcasm. "You didn’t ask before you assaulted me, so why ask now?""Just answer the question," he demanded, his tone hardening. "Was it your first time with me? Were you a virgin before that night?" His eyes bored into me, searching, accusing. He seemed intent on reopening old wounds, on twisting the knife deeper."Yes," I admitted reluctantly, the word heavy with shame and regret. "Yes, I was a virgin before that night."The admission seemed to change something in him. The anger in his eyes softened, replaced by a strange, almost unsettl
Sarah POVWith trembling hands, I slowly unbuttoned my dress, the delicate fabric whispering against my skin. The weight of the garment felt heavy, a physical manifestation of the burden I was carrying. I slid the dress off my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor in a soft heap. Beneath the fabric, I was left in only my undergarments, feeling exposed and vulnerable under Adrian’s intense gaze.His eyes roamed over my body, lingering on every curve, every imperfection. A smirk played on his lips as he noticed the faded hickeys on my neck and breasts, the marks of his earlier brutality. The sight of them, so visible, so shameful, made my stomach churn."Lie down beside me now," he said, his voice low and commanding, his eyes still fixed on me, never wavering.I hesitated for a moment, my mind racing.Was this it?Was this the beginning of my descent into his personal hell?With a sigh of resignation, I complied, moving to the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped slightly under my wei
Adrian POVI woke the next morning to the soft weight of my wife nestled in my arms. A contented smile, one I couldn’t quite suppress, crept across my lips as I gazed down at Sarah. She was still asleep, her features relaxed and serene, the tension that usually etched her face smoothed away in slumber. She looked…vulnerable. Peaceful. My fingers, almost of their own accord, gently traced the delicate contours of her smooth skin, from the curve of her cheek to the gentle slope of her neck. I marvelled at the exquisite sculpting of her face, the delicate curve of her lashes, the soft swell of her lips.It had become painfully obvious that Sarah, driven by her desperation to save her company, would agree to almost anything. Last night, she had finally acquiesced to my demands, the words “I am ready to be your whore” echoing in my mind, a testament to her desperation, and, if I was honest with myself, a source of a strange, unsettling satisfaction. Her admission of virginity, though it co
Sarah’s POVTwo months.That’s how long it had been since I last saw Alessandro.Since he walked out of our home, our life, without a proper explanation leaving me clutching my heart and wondering what went wrong.Since then, I’d buried myself in work, in routines, in the safety of the walls I built around myself.Adrian had been there, yes. Always helpful, always present, always offering a shoulder I hadn’t asked for but somehow leaned on more and more.But despite the growing closeness with Adrian, despite the way he had quietly inserted himself into my daily life, there was still a part of me that stayed stuck in the past.In Alessandro.Which was why, when the long-planned collaboration between our companies finally came up a joint project we’d negotiated months ago, back when we were still us I couldn’t help the tight twist of anticipation in my chest.I was going to see him again.Face to face.And maybe, just maybe, there would be something beyond business. Some small signal th
Sarah's POVI don't know when it became normal Adrian being here, taking up the spaces Alessandro used to leave behind.Initially, it had been uncomfortable. Unwelcome, even.I reminded myself that I didn't need assistance, that I could manage everything, that allowing Adrian in would just make things complicated. But eventually, he wore me down.Not with pressure, not with guilt. With kindness.A new coffee mug sat on the counter as I walked into the kitchen at six in the morning, my eyes heavy and my hair messy from yet another night without sleep.When I forgot to change the diapers, he silently delivered a package.When Gabriel got irritable at 2 a.m., and I hadn't even noticed Adrian was still around, I found him slowly walking with my child in his arms, singing softly under his breath.He never made me owe him. Never asked for anything.It was… easy.And I resented the fact that I required easy at the moment.Tonight, after Gabriel had curled up into his cot, I went back downst
Alessandro’s POVThe silence had been deafening.I’d thought to call her. To reach out. A thousand texts drafted and deleted, but I couldn’t bring myself to send them. What could I possibly say? It had been days since I walked out of the door, since I left Sarah standing in the flickering candlelight, her face ashen with confusion and heartbreak."I believe we should take a break."Those words were like a curse now. They haunted me in every waking moment. In every passing second, I replayed that night in my mind: Sarah, looking at me as if I’d just shattered the world we had built. My world.Our world.But I hadn’t been honest with her. Not about the reason. Not about what I was really facing.The night I left was the night Mira showed up at my door. Her presence had been a surprise, unexpected, but when she explained what had happened between us in the past, everything clicked. Her charges were nothing short of dynamite, threatening to disclose something that may destroy everything I
Sarah’s POVThe days began to blur again, not in the same dull ache that followed Alessandro’s departure, but in the quiet, strange rhythm of something new, unfamiliar. Or perhaps something I’d tried to avoid naming.Adrian was around more often now. Not in a way that felt suffocating, not overt or insistent. Just there. Like a lamp quietly turned on in the corner of a dim room, steady, unremarkable at first, but always present, always warming some small patch of your shadow.He had started picking up on our routines, filling in the silences Alessandro had left behind. Gabriel laughed more when he was around. That squealing, hiccup-laced giggle spilt from his tiny chest when Adrian made ridiculous faces or sang off-key versions of nursery rhymes.I watched them one afternoon. Adrian gently bounced him on one knee while Gabriel reached for his nose with sticky hands.“You’re a menace,” Adrian chuckled, catching his hands midair and kissing his forehead. “Tiny, adorable menace.”I smile
Adrian’s POVIt was all starting to fall into place.I could see it every hesitant smile Sarah offered, every time her shoulders relaxed just a little when I walked into the room. The way Gabriel cooed when he saw me, his tiny arms stretching out like he knew exactly where he wanted to be. He was still calling Alessandro “Da-da,” but even that was fading. Soon, that name would mean nothing to him. Soon, he’d forget the man who walked away.And then, it would be me. Just me.I hadn’t needed to lift a finger to break them apart. Alessandro did that all on his own. All I had to do was wait watch him get sloppy, arrogant, careless. And Mira? She was the perfect tool. A beautiful, broken mess with just enough resentment left in her to be useful.He thought he could run with her, escape the mess, and start fresh.But I had plans of my own.Tonight, I was meeting Mira again. Same hotel, same room. She liked the sense of secrecy—liked the way I fed her ego, told her she was “powerful,” “dange
Sarah's POVThree days had already passed since Alessandro requested space, and every hour seemed like an eternity.I made an effort to keep myself occupied. I plunged myself in work as the sole thing keeping me grounded in reality—emails, meetings, tasks that I used to outsource once occupied my focus. None of them filled the void in my chest. None of them filled the hollowness in my chest.Because when nighttime came, when the world outside hushed and vanished, when the babe finally slept in his crib, Alessandro's words rang louder than anything else:"I believe that we should take a pause."He hadn't given an explanation. He didn't have to, not after what I'd witnessed that night—him, dashing out of the building, with Mira. No explanation, no defense, just silence and that bomb he'd dropped in three in the morning, as I sat waiting on the couch for the candles to burn down.I'd not heard from him since.He hadn't even inquired after Gabriel.And that… that's the bit that used to ke
Sarah’s POVI didn’t sleep.Not even close.I sat curled up on the couch for hours, the meal Marta had purchased crumpled beside me like an abandoned dream.Every sound outside—the wind striking the windows, a distant siren, the quiet buzz of passing cars—made my heart race with eagerness.I kept thinking I’d imagined it. Mira. The way he left. The way my name never seemed to matter in that moment.I had tried not to check the time.But by 2:57 a.m., it was impossible not to notice the cold space beside me on the couch.I hadn’t moved from that spot. Didn’t bother to change. Then I heard the sound.The front door creaked open with the quiet care of someone attempting not to be heard. Footsteps followed, slow and deliberate, as if he were entering a chamber full of ghosts.I stood up before I even thought about it.And there he was.Alessandro.He looked exhausted eyes hollow, jaw tight, the jacket he’d rushed out in now draped over one shoulder. The top two buttons of his shirt were
Sarah’s POV I sat in the office long after Chloe had gone, staring at the open closet, the dress I’d pulled out earlier still hanging limply from the hook.I hated that she got to me. I hated that her words had slithered into my thoughts, muddying everything Alessandro and I had built.But I hated even more how uncertain I felt. How easily the doubt crept in, no matter how hard I tried to shove it away.Still, Alessandro’s message echoed louder than Chloe’s venom.“No expectations. Just you, me, and a little honesty.”Honesty. That was what I wanted more than anything else. If there was truth left between us, I wanted to see it in his eyes, not through whispered accusations or cryptic proofs.I got up to return home, I quickly packed up my things and called the driver. The driver pulled up outside our building just as the streetlights began to glow amber in the dusk. My fingers fidgeted in my lap. I imagined him lighting the candles, smoothing his hair, maybe even practising what he
Sarah POVI gazed at my reflection in the mirror, wrapped in my robe, with Alessandro's text shining like a ray of hope in my hand."I understand we've had a rough patch. But if you can spare one night, I'd like to attempt to fix things.No expectations. Just you, me, and a little honesty. I’ll be waiting.”My heart ached. The sincerity in those words hit something raw inside me. I missed him, missed us. Missed the warmth of our mornings, the soft laughter that once filled our home. But pain changes things. Doubt makes strangers of the people you love most.Just then, there was a knock.“Come in,” I called, not looking up.I recognised the perfume before the door fully opened. Chanel No. 5. Chloe's signature. Of course.She stepped inside like a queen visiting a kingdom she meant to burn down.Silk robe fastened with precision, wine glass clutched like a villain in a sad drama. She always loved to put on a show."Going out tonight?" she inquired, her eyes sparkling as they darted to th