All Chapters of Runaway To My Alpha Brother-In-Law: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

[--Esmarie Cruz--]I woke up with a pounding ache in my head, and the throbbing felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my skull. God, I was never drinking again. Not if it made me feel like this—like my head was about to explode from the pressure. It wasn’t just a dull ache; it was a relentless, stabbing sensation behind my eyes, making every inch of movement feel like a monumental effort. My mouth was dry as sandpaper, my tongue thick like it was made of cotton, and there was this awful taste lingering, reminding me of the stupidity of last night’s decisions. But I’m a mother of two; I didn’t have the luxury of just lying there feeling sorry for myself, no matter how much I wanted to. My kids were out there, somewhere in the house, waiting for me.I groaned, willing myself to get up, but my body had other plans. I swung my legs off the bed and tried to stand up, only to immediately lose my balance and fall to the floor with a heavy thud. The jolt sent a sharp wave of pain thro

[--Kaiser Volkov--]I arrived at eleven-thirty, not because I couldn’t get there on time, but because I didn’t want to get there early. There’s a certain satisfaction in showing up late, letting the anticipation build in the room without you, making sure they wait. I pulled up on my bike, the engine cutting through the eerie stillness of the night as I coasted to a stop outside the bar. It was strange—there was no usual chatter spilling out, no music thrumming through the walls. I swung my leg over the bike, took off my helmet, and balanced it on the seat before pulling the keys from the ignition. With a final glance around the unusually quiet street, I walked inside.As the door creaked open, an unsettling silence greeted me. The bar, usually buzzing with life and energy at this hour, was practically dead. What the hell? It wasn’t even midnight, and the place looked like a ghost town. My eyes scanned the room, trying to piece together what was going on, and that’s when I saw him—Elia

[--Esmarie cruz--]That night, I couldn't sleep. No matter how hard I tried, my body refused to relax, as if every muscle was on high alert, anticipating something bad. The room was quiet, save for the gentle rhythm of the twins’ breathing, but it did nothing to calm me. I could feel a strange heaviness settling over me, something that crawled beneath my skin and made it impossible to shut my eyes for more than a few seconds at a time. My mind kept racing, playing back everything I’d seen, everything I’d felt. The man at the gate, the skull mask, the eerie silence after Kaiser had assured me there was no one there. Was I losing it? Was it just paranoia? Or had something—or someone—really been out there, watching us, waiting for the right moment to strike?I know I’m not in the right state, fuck after the hell I’ve faced over the past nine years. I’m a bit... twitchy... maybe.The thought made my stomach churn. I glanced over at the twins, their tiny bodies nestled safely in their crib

[--Esmarie cruz--]The low, rhythmic hum of music filled the dimly lit room, swirling through the air like an intoxicating mist. It was slow, the kind of melody that gently beckoned you to sway, even if you didn’t want to. But I did, I wanted to move. He knew that—he always did. He was the one who played it, after all. The volume was just low enough so that we wouldn’t wake the twins but loud enough to pull me under its hypnotic spell.Kaiser leaned back, relaxed, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as his fingers ghosted over the speaker, adjusting the volume just right. Then, he turned to me with a mischievous glint in his eyes, one that always spelled trouble.“Dance, my little spider,” he murmured, voice deep and teasing.I cringed inwardly at the nickname. I still hate it—little spider—a pet name he won’t drop. But tonight, I was too distracted to protest. The sultry beat of the song had already begun to seep into my veins, making me want to move.Before I could stop

[--Kaiser Volkov--]I called Martha from my truck, the engine idling quietly in the early morning light. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting a warm golden hue over the town, but all I could think about was the weight of the decisions I had made the night before. The phone rang only once before she answered, her voice bright and familiar, cutting through the haze of my thoughts.“Hey, Kaiser. You’re calling me this early, so I can only guess that you did something wrong,” she said, her tone teasing but with an underlying current of concern.I hesitated, a lump forming in my throat as I contemplated how to respond. “Can I come over?” I asked, hoping she could hear the urgency in my voice.“Yes, of course! Come to the bakery. I just started on a pie. Shepherd’s pie—your favorite,” Martha replied, her cheerfulness radiating through the line.Her mention of the pie stirred a flicker of warmth within me, but it was quickly overshadowed by a sense of dread. “Did you know I’d do somet