Semua Bab I Was the Deal He Sacrificed: Bab 1 - Bab 8

Noa’s POVI was kidnapped by my mafia husband’s rivals—and he didn’t rush to save me. Wait for me, he said. He was too busy looking after his dead nephew’s wife, Harper. So I waited. Days turned into weeks, then months. Nearly a year passed before I finally got tired of waiting… and escaped on my own.The second I stepped into the Ward mansion, I knew something was wrong.Streamers hung from every window. Champagne glasses clinked. Laughter drifted on the spring breeze. It was a party. A one-month celebration. For a baby girl named Lila.I watched, frozen, as Elias, my husband, and Harper, his nephew’s wife, swept into the courtyard, hand in hand. The crowd erupted in cheers, clapping like trained seals. In Harper’s arms, dressed in a froth of pink lace, was a newborn. It must be Lila.Harper wore white—a soft, dreamy thing that made her look like an angel. Elias matched her, an all-white suit clinging to his tall frame, his hand protectively on her back.Elias lifted his champagne g

Noa’s POVI scooped them up in my arms and carried them back to the guest house and ordered the butler to call a doctor.The doctor arrived quickly, "The girl's condition is poor but manageable. The boy’s… it’s worse. He’s malnourished and showing signs of emotional trauma. I suggest spending time with him. He needs stability. Love."I nodded.Later, as Tessa dozed off with Milo curled against her, the doctor gone, I sat there in the dim light, piecing together the nightmare they’d lived through.From Tessa’s whispered confessions, I learned the whole truth.The day Harper moved into the master bedroom was the day my children lost their safe world. They were banished from their rooms. Locked away in the basement. Fed scraps, beaten with slippers, threatened into silence.All the while Harper played the doting stepmother in public—and Elias, blind idiot that he was, worshiped her like a saint.When the twins tried to tell him, he hadn’t believed them. Why would he? Harper was pure. Swee

Elias’s POVToday was supposed to be my wedding day with Harper.I’d taken care of her ever since my nephew died, protecting her and keeping her safe.Harper said it was her dream—to have a Ward baby. To honor my promises of protecting her, I gave her the child she wanted.But I didn’t think I did anything wrong.In my mind, all I was doing was granting her wish and fulfilling an obligation.After Lila was born, Harper started talking about marriage.She didn’t want her daughter labeled a bastard.And I agreed. Once again, it was just for honoring the promise of taking care of her.Today, everything was going smoothly. The church was packed. The music soft and golden. Harper looked radiant in the white gown I picked for her, practically floating down the aisle like a dream.It was all exactly how she wanted. Perfect.We stood at the altar, facing each other, exchanging vows and rings.I slid the band onto her finger. She smiled, glowing.And just as the priest opened his mouth to prono

Noa’s POVBy the time Elias’s wedding wrapped up, I was already long gone.Jose—my brother—had personally escorted me and the twins back home. We were officially back to the Bennet family.I’d grown up by the sea, raised in a loud, brilliant house in Los Angeles. My time in New York was never meant to be permanent. I only stayed because of Elias. I built a life for him, settled for him.But I’d always belonged here. Near the ocean and my family.Ever since I made up my mind to leave that selfish, arrogant bastard, I’d been planning how to do it right.Because Elias?He was the kind of man who would never let me go. Even knowing it was wrong to keep me under the same roof as Harper, even knowing how much it destroyed me, he still would’ve held on.So I had to disappear cleanly and permanently.Oddly enough, it was those thugs at the mall who gave me the idea. Elias didn’t hesitate to leave me behind that day. He didn’t even blink. I could’ve died in that alley, and he would’ve walked