All Chapters of HER ITALIAN BODYGUARD : Chapter 11 - Chapter 18

CHAPTER ELEVENTHE CHARITY GALAIt’s strange, really, how quickly your world can fall apart. One moment, you’re standing on solid ground, the perfect life you’ve spent years molding resting in your hands. And the next? It all crumbles.All it takes is one fucking tiny crack. One moment of weakness, one betrayal, and the illusion shatters like glass underfoot.The charity gala is still going according to plan. The chandeliers glitter above us like nothing’s wrong. I’ve already delivered my speech with the kind of poise that wins headlines and admiration. Now, I stand off to the side, draining one champagne flute after another, my gaze locked on the stage where Mark and his father speak to the crowd, charismatic smiles perfectly rehearsed.Just a few feet back, Evelyn hovers, so poised, professional, and just distant enough to keep up appearances. Dressed in an emerald green pantsuit that matches the color scheme I picked. If I didn’t know the truth, she might’ve fooled me too.“You mig

CHAPTER THIRTEENNEW SECURITY DETAILSomebody tried to kill me.That single truth has consumed every corner of my mind for the past two days. My thoughts spiral in endless loops, chasing shadows, reliving the moment over and over again. From the searing fear, the disbelief, the bone-deep chill that hasn't left since. I haven’t called Diane yet. She would probably insist on being my personal bodyguard for the rest of her life.Mark, on the other hand, has turned into a full-blown security hawk. He’s paranoid; obsessively so. Every bite of food, every sip of water is screened under his watchful eye. He’s taken time off work and practically glued himself to my side. At any other time, I might have found his hovering annoying. Now, I’m just too numb to care. I feel like a ghost in my own skin, trapped in a waking nightmare with no end in sight.And as if surviving an assassination attempt wasn’t traumatic enough, now I have to deal with the circus outside. Somehow, the news leaked this mo

CHAPTER FIFTEENCHOOSING MEHe’s holding her by the hair as she hunches over, vomiting onto the garden path when I find them. I know it’s the pregnancy vomit. Disgust flickers through me—but not just at the sight. That should have been me. Instead, I had a bomb that was meant for me. I tear my eyes away and force myself to focus.“We’re needed at the station,” I say flatly. “They’ve found new evidence.”Neither of them responds. I don’t wait. I turn and walk away, refusing to stand in their shadow for even a second longer.There’s no way in hell I’m getting into a car with either of them. I take one of the family sedans and drive myself to the station, the silence inside the car oddly soothing. My phone is buzzing with missed calls. Its Diane again, no doubt demanding updates but I ignore it. My mind is racing.I have a gut feeling Mark will show up with Evelyn. Let them arrive together. Let the world see them walk in side by side while I arrive alone. If that’s the picture they want

CHAPTER SEVENTEENSOMETHING RECKLESSI’ve tried to get Mark off my mind. God knows I’ve tried. But the more the drinks keep coming, the tighter the ache grips my chest like a fist refusing to let go. The pain doesn’t dull. Instead, it sharpens, wrapping around my throat like a noose. I hate that he broke my heart. I hate that he ruined my ego. I hate that he made me feel like I wasn’t enough. That I’m still sitting here thinking about him while he’s probably fast asleep in our bed like none of this even matters.I stare down at the glass in my hand, watching the amber liquid swirl like it holds the answers. Maybe if I drink fast enough, hard enough, I’ll forget everything; him, the lies or how he couldn’t believe me until the detectives showed him proof.I’d left my phone back at the hotel, powered off and buried under a pile of throw pillows for this exact reason. I didn’t trust myself to bring it out tonight. Not when I knew the alcohol would make my loneliness louder. Not when I fe