All Chapters of A Whole New World: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

ESSENCE Lucian stood in front of Alex and me, his jaw tight, the muscles in his neck twitching like he was seconds away from throwing a punch. The last time these two clashed, Lucian nearly broke Alex's jaw. As much as the idea of watching Lucian flatten Alex again was tempting, I couldn’t allow it... not here, not now. Asher was still lying in a hospital bed. Like it or not, Alex was the only person staying close to him. If Lucian hurt him, and he ended up on a hospital bed too, I knew I’d feel obliged to step in and care for Asher, and I wasn’t ready to re-enter that world. Besides, I didn’t need Lucian to protect me anymore. I could handle Alex all by myself. I yanked my hand out of Alex’s grip with more force than I intended, but I didn’t care. “I’m sure you’ve read the divorce papers by now, Alex. Don’t act like an idiot. You and I? We’re done. I moved on.... you should too. Stop showing up where you're not wanted. It’s pathetic.” In the corner of my mind, Brittany’s voic

ESSENCE I crossed my arms. "I guess you haven't seen how bad my stretch marks are." And then, before I could second-guess myself, I stood up and let my nightdress fall to the floor, leaving me in nothing but my bra top and white panties. "There. Go on. See for yourself," I challenged, gesturing toward the soft folds of my belly. "This is me, Lucian. I'm not sexy. I'm not one of those beautiful models you see everyday. I'm just me." Lucian didn’t move at first. But then he stood up slowly and walked toward me, his gaze never leaving mine. He placed his arms around me and held me tight against his chest. His warmth. His breath. It made my heart skip. "Essence," he said, his voice gentle but firm, "we all have scars. On our bodies, in our hearts. Yours don’t make you less. They make you real. They make you you. And that 'you' is very special to me." I swallowed hard, blinking back the sting of tears. I bent to pick up my nightdress, suddenly unsure of myself. But before I could

HAILEY I had just stepped into the house when my phone rang. One glance at the caller ID, and I already knew who it was. I answered anyway, listened in silence, and rolled my eyes. “I’m not going,” I muttered before ending the call. But as I sat down and stared at the time, my heart wouldn’t stop racing. My body felt restless, like something inside me had already made the decision I was trying to fight. Minutes later, I found myself rushing into the shower. I didn’t think—just moved. I got dressed, grabbed my keys, and drove straight to the address downtown. I didn’t even question what I was doing. When I got there, I hesitated only for a second before knocking on the door. It opened almost immediately. Zion stood there, hot and intimidating as always. His eyes met mine, then dropped to check the time. “You’re ten minutes late,” he said coldly. “I was busy,” I replied, keeping my voice even. Without warning, he stepped forward and pinned me to the wall. His breath br

ESSENCE By the time I pulled up in front of my parents' house, the bottle of wine I had stopped by a winery and bought, felt more like a bribe than a gift. My hands tightened on the steering wheel as I stared at the gate, wondering for a moment if I should just turn around and say I got caught in traffic. But no, I had to get this over with. I rang the bell and waited. The moment the door opened and I stepped inside, I froze. My father was smiling at me. Smiling. As if we’d had Sunday brunches every week for the last ten years. "You finally made it," he said, reaching out to take the wine from me like it was some sacred offering. I blinked. Twice. Then my mother appeared beside him, practically glowing. "Look at you, Essence. You’ve gotten so beautiful." Okay, now I knew I was being punked. But the pièce de résistance was Yvonne. The same Yvonne who used to toss my clothes out of the closet and call me dead weight. Now she was hugging me like we had matching bracelets from

ALEX I was pacing again. For what had to be the hundredth time this morning, I made another slow pass across the small space inside the pediatric ward. My feet moved automatically, but my mind was caught somewhere else entirely. I kept seeing her. Essence. The flash of her palm connecting with my cheek. The glint in her eyes when she looked at me with all that rage and no love left. And then...then the image that burned the deepest.... her walking away with him. Lucian. At first, I hadn’t connected the dots. I hadn’t known who the hell he was. I thought he was just someone Essence was using to make me jealous and then return home once the theatrics were over. But I had been wrong. He wasn’t just someone. Lucian Knight. The Lucian Knight. The billionaire CEO, media darling, and apparently, my ex-wife’s new husband. It sounded like a joke. A cruel, twisted prank designed to mock me. But the news, the interviews, the photos... they all screamed the same truth. She w