All Chapters of Pen & Passion: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

The text came just as I was wrapping up my lunch with Jessy.‘Done with your plans today? If so, meet me at the grocery. We need to shop for the house.’I blinked at the message. Grocery shopping. With Joaquin Greyson. The man who’d once been dubbed publishing’s untouchable prodigy was asking me if I had time to grab milk and bread.I smiled despite myself. ‘I’m free now. Which one?’He sent the location. A high-end grocery just a few blocks from the office. Of course. Leave it to Joaquin to shop somewhere the carts were probably shinier than my previous lifestyle.When I got there, I spotted him instantly. Tall, composed, in a navy button-down with the sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms. He was pushing a cart like it was the most natural thing in the world.“Wow,” I teased as I walked up. “Didn’t think you knew how to do normal-people things. Also… after pushing me away by giving me free time for only a few hours, you’re now asking for attention?”“Yeah, sorry.” His mouth curved f

I should’ve gone back to my room. I should’ve shut the door, crawled into bed, and buried my head under the blanket until sleep came.But instead, I lingered.Something about Javier’s tone on the phone, the sharp edge of his words, the way he brushed past me without so much as a second glance… it left me rattled.And when he disappeared down the hallway toward the common restroom, I found myself waiting, pulse skittering like I was standing on the edge of something I didn’t dare name.The sound of the door opening pulled me from my thoughts. And then I saw him.Javier stepped out, barefoot, towel slung over his shoulder, his torso bare. My breath caught before I could stop it. Not just because of the sharp lines of muscle, the way the dim light caught the sheen of his skin.No—because just above his abdomen, a fresh wound stretched across his side. It wasn’t deep, but it was raw, angry, the kind of wound that spoke of violence.I gasped. “Javier.”His eyes flicked to mine, already nar

The words hung between us like shards of glass. And for the first time, I wondered if I’d just cut us both beyond repair.Joaquin’s chest rose and fell unevenly, his hands braced against the edge of his desk as if he needed it to stay standing. His eyes locked on mine, sharp, pained, fighting wars I couldn’t see.“You don’t need to go to those lengths, Haven.” His voice was low, hoarse, scraping the edges of restraint. “If you want space, then… we’ll stop this. I’ll leave. You can stay in the penthouse. I’ll go back to the mansion.”The quiet finality in his tone snapped something inside me. I laughed, bitter, broken, though it felt more like a sob caught in my throat.“So that’s it?” My arms wrapped around myself as if they could hold me together. “You keep me here like some… some safety net. So you can leave whenever you want, come back whenever it suits you. What am I supposed to be, Joaquin? Convenient? The one you fall back on when it’s easier than facing your own ghosts?”His ex

I walked away from Joaquin’s office and since then, I’ve been getting stares. They saw me crying, of course. And since being involved with the Joaquin Greyson, most people already knew me as his fiancée by now.However, I didn’t care when people reached out and asked how I was. For sure news of me running away and crying in the streets have caught wind by Joaquin and his father.I don’t care anymore… I just want out. I don’t want to see him nor talk to him for now.And of course, the first thing I have to visit first things first… is my best friend.Jessy’s apartment smelled faintly of popcorn and vanilla-scented candles, a warm contrast to the cold storm I’d just walked out of. The moment she opened the door, her eyes went wide, and then she yanked me into a hug without asking a single question.“You look like you’ve been hit by a truck,” she whispered against my hair.“Close enough,” I muttered, my voice hoarse.Behind her, Ethan hovered in the living room, his usual composed demean

The hot water ran down my skin, chasing away the chill of the night, the tremor of what had almost happened on the street. I scrubbed harder than necessary, like I could erase the fear, the helplessness… and the way Javier’s fists had landed with so much rage, so much finality.And still, even with all that violence burning behind my eyelids, the only thing that lingered was this—how he’d looked at me the moment I cried out his name.Like I was the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth.I pressed my forehead against the tile, sighing. Javier had always been like this ever since we were kids. Too much, too wild, too intense… but always there when I needed him most. That part hadn’t changed.By the time I stepped out, steam curling around me, I felt steadier. My hair clung damp against my shoulders as I wrapped the towel tight and padded into the room. One of Javier’s shirts lay folded neatly at the edge of the bed, a dark black cotton that smelled faintly of cedar and smoke.I r