Lahat ng Kabanata ng Stripper by Night, Doctor by Deception : Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

RYANIt was the D-day.The wedding.The beginning of the end… or the end of something that should’ve never begun.Ricardo and I had spent weeks planning for this moment. Every move, every signal, every second of timing had been coordinated to the wire. Today, it all had to go exactly right.I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the cuff of my shirt slowly. My reflection stared back at me, calm… but only on the outside. Inside?A hurricane.This is it, I thought. This is the moment we’ve been crawling toward.My heart was beating too fast, but I forced myself to breathe. One more fake smile. One more kiss. Then this was all over.Behind me, the door burst open with familiar, uninvited flair.“Oh… fuck,” Rafael drawled.I turned around just in time to see him standing in the doorway, suit jacket slung over one shoulder, his shirt half buttoned and that too-easy grin stretched across his face.“You look so fucking good,” he said, stepping in and letting the door swing shut behind him

RYANGod, it was satisfying watching him fall apart.The great Rafael. So certain he was always five steps ahead of everyone.But now?Now he was the one blinking too fast, his chest heaving.Oh, you should’ve seen the look on his face.That fake confused expression. Like he didn’t understand how any of this was happening. Like he wasn’t the one who left trails of blood behind him thinking no one would ever catch up.What a joke.He looked stupid, and for once in his life, he knew it.He looked around the room like the walls were closing in on him. Because they were. The truth was a tidal wave, and he was drowning in it.I didn’t flinch when he staggered forward.Didn’t even move when he whispered, “Ryan… I-I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. Please, I…”“Don’t,” I cut in sharply.But he kept walking.Closer. And closer.Until…His hand shot into his jacket.Ricardo moved first, stepping protectively in front of me… too late. Rafael brought out a gun and aimed it at both of us, his hand tre

RICARDOI was so fucking pissed.That asshole was messing with me. Again.Rafael.That sick, twisted bastard.I should’ve ended him when I had the chance. Right there in the damn hall. One bullet, straight between his smug eyes, and none of this would be happening. But no… I hesitated. I fucking pitied him.And now?Now everything was going sideways.All unraveling.And worst of all… he was putting my baby in danger.I looked over at Ryan, who was still trembling, his face pale, a scrape on his arm from the fall. His eyes were locked on the flames, not blinking.He shouldn’t have had to go through this. None of it.I clenched my jaw so tight I felt my teeth grind.That car was meant to kill both of us. No warning. No second chances. Rafael wasn’t playing games anymore.This was war.I stepped forward, dragging in a sharp breath, trying to calm the storm building in my chest, but it was useless. It was like fire clawing at my ribcage.He tried to blow up my world. He tried to take away

RYAN He held up his watch and tapped it.“Four minutes and forty-two seconds now.”“You’re bluffing,” I hissed. “You wouldn’t…”He raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t I?”I looked at the tablet again.Ricardo hadn’t moved. He was still lying there.Oblivious.Defenseless.“No,” I choked out. “Please… don’t.”“Then marry me,” Rafael said, smiling wider now. “Right here. Right now. Say the words. Sign the paper. And I’ll stop the clock.”I stared at him. I wanted to scream. To punch. To break through every chain on my body and snap that sick smile off his face.But I couldn’t.Not when Ricardo’s life was hanging by a thread.Four minutes.Rafael stepped aside and gestured to the priest. “Let’s not keep Father Gabriel waiting. He has other unholy unions to attend to today.”I could feel my throat closing.Ricardo…What do I do?Do I risk it all… or give Rafael what he wants?Do I save Ricardo… or hold onto the last piece of my dignity?My chest heaved as I tried to breathe. My hands trembled i

RYANI could barely sleep.If you could even call what I did sleeping.My eyes stayed open through most of the night, staring into the shadows of the chamber I’d been thrown in. Every time I closed them, I saw Ricardo’s face… his smile, his laugh, his arms reaching for me.Then I’d see Rafael, smiling. Holding the detonator like a toy.It was torture.I laid on the narrow cot, the thin blanket barely covering my shivering limbs. The metal cuffs were gone now, but only because Rafael wanted me mobile enough for today’s “grand finale.”His words. Not mine.I curled my fingers into fists.Today might be the last day of my life.I knew it.Felt it.Breathed it.And yet, through the fear, through the dread drilling into my bones… a strange calm sat in my chest.Because as far as Ricardo was fine…As long as he was alive…I could take it.I’d take all of it.I pushed off the cot with a sigh, my limbs sore and stiff. I walked to the tiny barred window on the far wall. It was barely wide enou