Chapter 131: The Fall of Morelli

Aiden’s POVI watched him stare at his father’s lifeless body, and honestly, I felt nothing.Most people would call it a cruel sight, but after what this family put Chandria through, a clean death was more than they deserved.I didn’t care about his grief. I didn’t care about his loss. I only cared about the debt that hadn’t been fully paid yet.“Are you just going to stand there? Face me, you coward!”I raised my arm, pointing the barrel of the gun directly at his forehead.My finger hovered over the trigger, the cold metal a familiar weight in my hand.I didn’t pull it—not yet.I wanted to see him break first.I watched his face. The fear was there, raw and unmistakable, but then it began to shift. It was a sickening cocktail of emotions—sadness and grief washing over him before being swallowed whole by a burning, white-hot rage.He looked up at me, his eyes bloodshot and wild.“You monster!” he screamed.He lunged at me with a desperate, animalistic energy. I expected the attack, b

Chapter 132: The Girl Who Wasn't Carla

Chandria’s POVThe heaviness in my eyelids felt like lead. I was drifting in that thick, mindless space of deep sleep when a touch pulled me toward the surface. It was a hand, light and steady, caressing the line of my cheek.I groaned, my head throbbing with a dull, rhythmic ache as I forced my eyes to open. The first thing I saw was Daniel. He was leaning over me, his face inches from mine. He was handsome—strikingly so—but as I blinked the sleep away, something felt different.“Daniel?” My voice came out like sandpaper, dry and cracking.“I’m here,” he whispered. His voice was soothing, but his eyes were searching mine with an intensity that made my stomach flip. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to leave you.”I tried to nod, but as I looked past his shoulder, the confusion hit me like a physical blow.We weren’t in the room I remembered. This place was massive—grandiose, with high ceilings and furniture that looked like it belonged in a magazine. It smelled of expensive wax and somethi

Chapter 133: The Pendant’s Secret

Chandria’s POVAfter I had broken down in front of Daniel, sobbing until my throat felt raw and my chest felt empty, something shifted.The wall he had kept between us, that skeptical, distant look in his eyes like he was constantly trying to solve a puzzle he didn’t want to be holding, had finally crumbled.Daniel was patient.It was a quiet, heavy kind of patience that made my heart ache. He didn’t rush me. He held my hand firmly, his thumb occasionally grazing my knuckles in a way that felt grounded and real. When I struggled with the buttons of my dress, his hands were there, steady and sure, helping me get ready.“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice still a little raspy from crying.He looked down at me, and for the first time, his smile didn’t feel like a mask. It was soft, almost relieved. “Here,” he said simply.As we stepped out of the room, he didn’t let go of my hand.He led the way, our footsteps echoing against the polished floors.I tried to focus on the warmth of his

Chapter 134: Do You Really Love Me?

Chandria’s POV“Delicious,” I said, setting my fork down.I could feel a goofy, uncontrollable smile stretching across my face.“I’m glad you like it,” Daniel said.He smiled at me, and my heart did a strange, familiar flutter. I couldn’t help but notice just how handsome he was when he smiled like that. The soft lighting of the room caught the sharp line of his jaw and softened the corners of his eyes. I found myself staring, completely captivated. I didn’t want to look away. I just wanted to live in this moment, to freeze it and memorize the exact way the light hit his face, keeping the reality of us alive between us.Then, he blinked. The sudden movement broke the spell, and a slight flush crept up my neck as he realized I had been openly gaping at him.“Hey, are you all right?” he asked, tilting his head slightly, a faint, amused smirk playing on his lips.I swallowed hard, trying to play it cool, but honesty slipped out before I could stop it. “I was just noticing how handsome yo

Chapter 135: Leave Me Behind

Aiden’s POVMy boots slammed against the concrete floor, the sound echoing like rapid gunfire down the narrow, dimly lit hallway.Beside me, Jason was practically sprinting, his breath coming in ragged, desperate gasps.We needed to get out of this fucking place.Any second, the walls around us were going to erupt into a fireball. If the charges blew while we were still trapped inside, we’d be vaporized. My mind fractured, spinning violently toward the one person who mattered.Chandria.I couldn’t die here. I still needed to see her, to hold her, to tell her I made it back. I couldn’t fathom a world where I never saw her face again, and that fear tasted like acid in the back of my throat.I glanced sideways at Jason, my chest heaving as we rounded a sharp corner. “Jason!” I yelled over the roaring adrenaline in my ears. “Is this the bomb we were planning to plant? Did something go wrong with the timer?”“It was supposed to be our play!” Jason shouted back, his face pale and slick with

Chapter 136: The Stranger’s Name

Chandria’s POV“So, how was the date?”My mother’s voice was soft when we came back, laced with a hopeful eagerness that always made guilt twinge in my chest.Even now, looking at her, the word mother felt heavy and unnatural on my tongue. I couldn’t remember her. I couldn’t remember the kitchen we were standing in, the childhood photos I’d been shown, or a single moment we had ever shared before the accident. Yet, looking into her eyes, the sheer sincerity there was undeniable. She genuinely loved me. She respected the massive, invisible wall the amnesia had built between us, even if it was breaking her heart.“It was fine, actually,” I replied, forcing a small, reassuring smile.I shifted my gaze to Daniel, who was standing right beside me. He squeezed my hand, his palm warm and grounding against mine. I leaned into him just a little, letting out a quiet breath. “I’m just a little tired now. I hope it’s okay if we head upstairs to take a rest?”I didn’t want to elaborate or explain