130 - YES, WE ARE

AIDEN'S POVShe said it.The words were so soft, I almost thought I imagined them.“I’m pregnant with your child.”Time slowed.My hands were still on her waist, her trembling body pressed to mine. Her cheeks were wet with tears, her lashes soaked and fluttering as she stared up at me, waiting… terrified.And just like that, the last bit of breath in my lungs left me.I had faced death. I had stared down the barrel of a gun. I had lived under shadows for years, haunted by a name that wasn’t mine, hunted for a crime I’d committed just to survive. But none of that—not even Alejandro—had ever hit me this hard.I was going to be a father.My child. Cheryl. Us.A thousand thoughts ran through me—regret for not seeing it sooner, guilt for not being there when she found out, shame for the world I’d dragged her into. But louder than any of those voices… was awe.I cupped her face again, gently this time. My thumbs brushed her wet cheeks.“You’re pregnant…” I repeated, just to say it out loud.

Last Updated : 2025-07-14

131 - SOME FORM OF REVENGE

OLIVER'S POVThe night had never felt so quiet.Not even when we buried our parents.Not even when I found out my first company had gone under.This… this silence was cruel. It mocked me.I sat in the lounge chair in the grand living room of the Baker estate, the very house I thought would witness the crowning moment of my life. A wedding. My wedding. A future sealed with vows and silverware and white roses Cheryl said she liked.But instead, I sat here in a half-unbuttoned white suit that was wrinkled and dirty from hours of sitting with my fists clenched. I’d kicked off my shoes. The bow tie was somewhere on the floor. The room still had traces of laughter and commotion from earlier in the day, but now it was just me—and the bitter truth.She was gone.Cheryl.The woman I was supposed to marry.I pressed the bridge of my nose between my fingers and leaned forward, elbows digging into my knees. My head throbbed with a dull ache that had nothing to do with wine or dehydration. It was

Last Updated : 2025-07-14

132 - NEW BEGINNINGS?

CHERYL'S POVI didn’t know how long we stood there, wrapped in each other like we had always belonged that way.It could’ve been minutes or hours—I didn’t care. I was suspended in a dream, one where Aiden’s arms were finally around me, his breath hot against my skin, his heart pounding in time with mine. I could feel the weight of his love in every place our bodies touched. He held me like he was scared I’d vanish.And maybe I was scared too.Scared this wasn’t real.Scared he’d fade if I blinked too long.But the scratch of his stubble against my cheek, the silk of his suit brushing against the delicate lace of my dress, and the solid strength of his hands pressing into my waist—those were proof enough. He was here. With me. And we had made it.“I still don’t believe you’re real,” I whispered, my voice shaking even though I tried to sound calm.He pulled back just enough to look at me, brushing my cheek with his thumb. “You’re here. I’m here. This is real.”My tears spilled over. I la

Last Updated : 2025-07-15

133 - NEW THREAT

Aiden’s POVThe morning sunlight filtered through the tall windows, casting golden slants across the polished floors of the resort suite. Cheryl was still curled beside me, her dark lashes fanned against her cheek, one hand resting lightly over the flatness of her belly.My baby.The thought made my chest ache. With love. With fear. With the kind of responsibility that made a man grow ten years older in one night.Last night still felt like a dream — her running away from her wedding, her choosing me. Us in each other’s arms like we were breathing for the first time. The weight of Alejandro’s death lifting off my shoulders. The past, finally... buried.Or so I thought.I slipped out of bed quietly, careful not to wake her. She needed rest — her body had already been through so much, and now with the pregnancy...Pregnancy.The word still stunned me. I was going to be a father.I padded barefoot across the cool marble floor to the kitchen area. I didn’t want to leave her alone for too

Last Updated : 2025-07-15

134 - NEW BEGINNING

Chapter — Cheryl’s POVHome AgainWe stayed one more day in the private resort. One perfect, undisturbed day where the world didn’t exist — just me and Aiden wrapped up in each other, in whispers and promises, and kisses that never seemed to end.He spent the entire day worshipping me.Literally.Trailing kisses down my neck, slow and languid, teasing my spine with the soft graze of his lips like I was something precious. His fingers mapped every inch of my skin, learning it again like it was sacred scripture. He kissed down my stomach with reverence, whispering sweet things to the baby growing inside me, calling them “little one,” and “our tiny miracle.”I don’t know how a man like him — shadowed by so much guilt, so much past — could still make me feel like I was something golden and whole. But he did.And I soaked in every second of it.He told me about Alejandro, in hushed whispers in the dead of the night after we stayed all night talking and reliving past memories. He told me ev

Last Updated : 2025-07-16

135 - ROSES WITH THORNS

Sabrina’s POVIt wasn’t exactly hard getting used to having more money. I’d always had money — I was born into it, bathed in it, dressed in it. But this time it was different.This time, I had power.Real power.The kind that opened doors and buried secrets. The kind that didn’t just buy dresses or diamonds — it bought people, silence, favors, leverage. My inheritance wasn’t about luxury; it was about legacy. And finally, finally, it was mine.I glanced up from the dashboard of my Mercedes as I parked in front of a small bridal boutique tucked into the prettiest part of the city. Everything about the shop screamed elegance — the pale cream walls, the polished glass windows, the rose bushes that lined the sidewalk like some fairytale walkway.The sign above the door shimmered faintly in gold cursive: Lace & Bloom.I took off my sunglasses slowly, my reflection flashing briefly across the rearview mirror. Crimson lips. Razor-sharp cheekbones. Unbothered eyes.It was time.Sliding out of