When Loves Becomes a Liability

Fernando’s POVI shut the study door harder than necessary. The sound echoed off the walls, sharp and final, but it didn’t do a damn thing to quiet the noise in my head caused by Michael.I dragged a hand through my hair and crossed the room, stopping in front of the liquor cabinet like it had personally offended me. I poured without measuring and the glass clinked against the counter, the amber liquid moving dangerously close to the rim.I gulped down half of it in one go.I welcomed the burn because it was easier to deal with than the knot in my chest, the one that had been tightening since I watched my son cry while shielding the man I had just publicly broken.I slammed the glass down.“I shouldn’t have told him the truth,” I muttered.The words hung in the air, heavy and accusatory.Behind me, the door opened quietly but I didn’t turn.Marlo, Emilio, and Mortis entered the room like they knew better than to announce themselves. The study felt smaller with them in it, the walls

Last Updated : 2026-01-08

Lines Drawn

Michael’s POVI shouldn’t have come into his study.The moment my foot crossed the threshold, I knew I shouldn’t.Fernando stood behind his desk. He hadn’t sat down, he hadn’t even leaned back like he usually did when he wanted to project calm authority. He was braced forward, one hand flat against the polished wood, the other curled tightly at his side. His shoulders were squared, his posture rigid, every inch of him radiating restrained aggression.He looked like a man bracing for impact, and apparently, that impact was me.“So that’s it?” I asked, breaking the silence before it could suffocate me. My voice came out sharper than I had intended, edged with disbelief and anger I was no longer bothering to hide. “You just say no, and that’s supposed to be the end of it?”Fernando didn’t even look at me. His gaze was fixed somewhere over my shoulder, distant and dismissive, like I wasn’t worth the effort of direct confrontation.“Yes,” he said flatly. “That’s exactly how this works.”T

Last Updated : 2026-01-09

Chains Made of Blood

Fernando’s POVI hadn’t expected the word divorce to hurt like a bullet.It tore through me slowly, ripping something vital on its way in, lodging deep where I couldn’t pull it out without bleeding to death.For a second, I forgot how to breathe.Michael stood across from me, his shoulders squared, his jaw locked, eyes blazing with that familiar fire that had drawn me to him in the first place and all I could hear was his voice echoing inside my skull.“You want a divorce,” I repeated slowly.I needed to hear it again, needed to make sure I hadn’t imagined it.Michael didn’t hesitate.“Yes” he replied.Ashley sucked in a sharp breath like she’d been slapped. Nick went rigid beside her, instinctively stepping half a pace closer to Michael without even realizing it. Marlo and Mortis exchanged a brief glance, already reading the shift in my posture, the tightening of my shoulders, and the way my calm had gone razor-thin.“No,” I said.The word landed flat and absolute.Michael frowned,

Last Updated : 2026-01-10

Dare Me

Michael’s POVLate morning sunlight spilled through the tall dining room windows, painting the long table in gold. It should have felt calm or normal, but it felt like a battlefield.My fork scraped against the plate harder than necessary, the sound sharp enough that Ashley shot me a look but barely noticed. Fernando sat across the table, his posture perfect, his expression unreadable, calmly cutting into his food as if I hadn’t told him I wanted a divorce less than twenty-four hours ago.I wanted to hit him.The thought was raw, violent, and constant. It pulsed in my veins with every breath I took. I wanted to stand up, walk around the table, grab him by that pristine collar, and slam him into the wall just to see if that infuriating calm would finally crack, but I didn’t because Henry sat between us.So I swallowed the rage like broken glass and forced my hands to stay flat on the table.Fernando reached for his coffee.The scrape of ceramic against wood nearly snapped my control

Last Updated : 2026-01-10

The Bait

Fernando’s POV“He’s daring you,” Ashley said quietly, breaking the silence.Michael let out a humorless breath. “That has always been his style.”Marlo frowned, stepping closer. “Santiago has never been afraid of confrontation. But this is too open" He shook his head. Nick nodded slowly. “He’s baiting you into reacting.”I didn’t look at them because I was watching Michael and I knew he wanted to go.I stepped forward, my voice cutting through the air. “He’s trying to lure you.”Michael finally looked up at me. “I know.”“Then don’t look at that phone like it’s calling your name, because you're not going” I snapped.Ashley turned toward me. “Fernando—”“He wants chaos,” I continued, not breaking eye contact with Michael. “He wants to provoke a reaction because that’s how he operates.”Michael tilted his head slightly.“Santiago wouldn’t send this unless he was confident because he thinks he’s in control. That means he’s nearby and he wants to be seen” he said.Ashley stared at

Last Updated : 2026-01-12

Sitting at the pool

Michael’s POVThe sun sat too comfortably in the sky for what was brewing inside me.The swimming pool shimmered lazily, light bouncing off its surface in fractured patterns, and the air smelled faintly of chlorine and freshly cut grass.Henry laughed and the sound cut straight through the storm in my chest.I sat on one of the lounge chairs, elbows braced on my knees, watching him splash at the shallow end with Anabelle hovering nearby like a hawk pretending to be a lifeguard. Ashley sat beside me, her sunglasses pushed up into her hair, her posture relaxed in a way I knew was deliberate. She was pretending, giving anyone watching the impression that this was normal. That we were just friends enjoying the afternoon.Nick would have laughed at that thought.I dragged a hand down my face slowly, feeling the tension under my skin. My jaw still ached from how hard I had clenched it since breakfast, since the message and Fernando’s refusal.Ashley leaned slightly closer to me, her voice