Chapter 187: The Patient

Ava~~~Now I’m on fire.Now I’m alive.My lips move against his quickly, and Leonel is forced to do the same. I don’t have time for any slow, sultry bullshit.Well, it’s not like Leonel’s complaining. A low growl rolls out of him, and I feel his large palm on the back of my neck, pulling me closer.The restlessness in my chest changes. It’s no longer about Jaxon’s death, it’s about my desperate need for him.“Fuck it.” He growls, and his hand leaves my neck, tightening around my waist.Surprise and desire bubble out of me in a small gasp.“I thought you were injured,” I mutter against his lips.“I don’t know, suddenly I’m feeling much better,” he mutters back, and before I can ask him if anything hurts, he pulls me back to him.He licks my bottom lip, coaxing me to open for him again, and I do. Heat pools on my underwear as his tongue slides against mine. I press my legs together, frustration winding in my chest. I need more.“I would have straddled you if I wasn’t wearing this fuck

Last Updated : 2026-01-02

Chapter 188: The Breaking

Ava ~~~ He left. The bastard left me. That isn’t what hurts. At least that's not what hurts the most; it’s the fact that I was going to get him. The silly plan I made with Nicco about following the river comes to mind, and I feel so stupid, so so stupid, that I let myself be drawn in by both men; by the writer and my dad. I round the corner where the nurse wheeled him, my bare feet pounding against the cold tiles, until she and Adrian enter a room, shutting the door as they go. Irritation spikes through me. I don’t want to wait for the nurse to assess him before I get to him, I want to cause my damage now. My breathes come out in rapid pants, and I have to bring my hand to my chest to calm myself. In. Out. In. Out. “Mrs Sinclair?” I hear someone say tentatively. I snap my eyes open and spin around to find a nurse staring at me. I know what I must look like to her; barefoot and in a wedding dress, the reality of my marriage scandal already spreading on the news.

Last Updated : 2026-01-03

Chapter 189: The confrontation

Ava ~~~ Adrian is sitting on the bed, looking out a small window. The urge to kill him strengthens. His voice is gravelly as he speaks, “Nurse? I told you I don’t need anything right now. My nose will heal. I have to be getting back to my son-“ the words die on his lips as he finally looks at me. My heart jolts the second we lock eyes, and the anger is knocked out of me, leaving me feeling gut-punched. Something flashes in his green eyes. Green eyes so much like mine. I thought I was going to pounce on him and rip him to shreds, but now I just feel small and exposed. This room is tiny; a single gurney bed and a window in the wall. Everything - from the wall to the floor - is excessively white. In fact, the largest thing in here is Adrian. I try to remember if he was this bulky when I was a child. As you get older aren’t your parents supposed to seem smaller? No. My father got massive, full of muscle that should scare me for what he could do to me. But I’m not scared. A b

Last Updated : 2026-01-03

Chapter 190: The Drugging

Leonel ~~~ I’m plunged into darkness. Every time I think my eyes will crack open to catch the light; maybe a hospital room or a window, the darkness consumes me again. I’m fighting to open my eyes, because I know when I do I’ll wake up. What sort of drug did they give me that makes me know I’m asleep? Isn’t this supposed to be more peaceful? I thrash, though I’m not sure if it’s doing anything in real life. It certainly isn’t doing anything here, where everything is dreamless and dark. “Is she okay?” Someone calls into the void, and my senses heighten. I want to scream for them to shake me till I can see the sun. “She should be waking up today.” Another wavering voice says, “Being in an induced coma for a week is too long.” I think my heart stops beating. A week? Have I been unconscious for a week? It has felt like minutes. Someone huffs, “Leonel is going to kill you, Nurse Kelsie.” “That’s if he-“ I snap my eyes open. Someone jumps back from my bed, while

Last Updated : 2026-01-05

Chapter 191: The Nurse

Ava ~~~ Speechless. I blink at Evie, who continues to look at me as if she just told me my mother died. I can't understand what she means. I refuse to understand. “What… what do you mean?” I stammer. The heart monitor attached to my arm starts to increase in pitch and speed. “Maybe she isn't stable enough for this,” Adrian says, and he has the guts to sound worried. Actually worried. Like he loves me. But Adrian doesn't love me. Oliver aside, only one man has ever given me a proper piece of his heart. So what does Evie mean when she says that man isn't here for me when I wake up in the hospital? I feel a small squeeze on my left hand, and look down to see Evie’s small palm wrapped in mine. When had that happened? I don't know. “His shoulder got well enough for him to go home,” she says softly, “and the first thing he asked was to see you.” “He almost broke Adrian’s face when he found out it was seeing your dad that provoked you to break down.” Kelsie adds. Evie’s grip ti

Last Updated : 2026-01-08

Chapter 192: The Letter

My dearest Ava,I think about the day we met a lot. Do you?If you don’t, let me paint the picture to jog your memory:It was a Friday night, and there was an art gallery being hosted by my company, Axion Tech. I arrived on time (as always), and you arrived late (as always).Or maybe you came early. Maybe you came the earliest, but I remember seeing you late, and the second I laid eyes on that red hair and those green eyes, everything changed.Before I noticed you, I noticed nothing. The world was just another gathering of boring rich people doing boring rich things. It pains me to know that my whole life before you, that was all I was: boring, and rich, and desperate to escape people like my father and Madison, who were trying to hurt me, or already had.You changed my life simply by looking at me at the back of that art show. I lie to myself often that everything I did when you slapped me: kissing you, becoming your fiancé, moving you into my house, my space, was all necessary to fi

Last Updated : 2026-01-09