Lahat ng Kabanata ng His Bride By Force: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

KILLIAN The screen went black, and Sera was frozen in place, shocked. The phone fell from her hand, and I caught it before it could hit the ground."The phoenix has always been predictable," I said flatly. "Always playing chess with people who don't know they're on the board."I finally looked at her. She was stiff, and her arms were wrapped tightly around her body."Hey." I stepped closer. "Are you okay?"That was a stupid question.She blinked slowly as though she was coming out of a trance. "I don't remember any of it," she murmured. "I didn't know.""I know.""I was just a kid—""You were a kid." My tone hardened. "It isn't your fault."She looked at me then, fear flashing in her eyes."Matteo's not angry because I took some empire he thought was his. He's angry because he thinks you belonged to him,” I pointed out.The words hung between us.That was it, wasn't it?The raw truth. All this time, I thought he was after me and the empire. But this wasn't just business.It was p

SERA I don't remember getting into the car. One second, we were standing over Vincent's bleeding, beaten-down form, and the next, I was in Killian's Porsche, speeding down the streets of the city as though the devil was at our heels. His hand was on the gearshift, his grip tight. I cleared my throat. "You say I drive like I’m on opioids, I can definitely say the same about you right now.” His eyes didn't leave the road. "If I don't get you home in the next five minutes, I'm going to pull over and ruin the seats." Oh. My thighs clenched. "I thought you liked these seats," I said casually, trying not to sound like my pulse was doing Olympic-level gymnastics. "I like you more." His voice dropped lower. "And right now, I'm seconds away from bending you over the hood." Well, damn. I turned to the window and muttered, "We really need to get you into therapy." "I did. The therapist nearly begged me to stop talking about you." I snorted, but my breath hitched when his h

ETHAN The fluorescent lights in the hallway buzzed overhead, annoyingly loud against the pounding in my head. Rainwater dripped from the ends of my sleeves, soaking through the cuffs of my shirt. My coat was ruined. My patience? Nonexistent. I'd been pacing outside Rafael's hospital room for exactly twenty-two minutes. It wasn’t because I was waiting for permission. But because if I walked in looking the way I felt, I'd scare him. My jaw was clenched so tightly I was certain that my molars would crack. My hands itched to curl into fists again, even though the last time had left blood spattered across tile and Luke screaming for mercy through broken teeth. Not enough. It was still not enough. He'd laid his hands on Rafael. And I'd seen red. I'd nearly made a fatal mistake tonight. I was supposed to be the rational one. The consigliere. The brain, the fixer, the man with clean hands and an insane amount of control. But that control had snapped the moment I saw Rafael's blo

SERA My lashes fluttered open slowly. Everything was too bright and too sterile, and the pillow beneath my head smelled faintly like bleach and antiseptics.Wait.This wasn't my apartment.I bolted upright, gasping. "Shit! My pasta's gonna burn!"The sound of a chair scraping made me jolt. I turned my head and blinked at the man sitting beside me.Killian.He was... just sitting right there, frozen. His stormy blue eyes were filled with so much worry and…confusion? Did I perhaps drool in my sleep? Tension rolled off him in slow waves. But I didn't let myself linger on any of that.What I noticed was that his hair was a little longer than I remembered. He had faint stubble, like he hadn't shaved in days. His beautiful blue eyes looked... tired, and there were dark circles under his eyes. But gosh, has he always been this sexy?"You," I murmured, smiling as I reached out to brush his cheek with my fingers. "You look exhausted. And unfairly handsome. What's new?"He didn't move or e

SERA I'd been shot, stabbed, electrocuted, betrayed, and once held in a tank of freezing water for nearly two days straight. But nothing, absolutely nothing, was more uncomfortable than walking into a ballroom full of people who either wanted you dead... or desperately wanted to sleep with your husband. Tonight, most of them probably qualified as both.Killian's hand was warm on the small of my back, guiding me through the grand entrance of the Cross Estate's ballroom like we were royalty. Or maybe prey on display. It was hard to tell with this family.The chandeliers above us were stupidly massive, one earthquake away from mass homicide. Music hummed from the string quartet in the corner. And at the far end of the room, on a glittering throne-like chair surrounded by gift baskets, roses, and flatterers, sat Sonia Cross, the queen herself. Killian's mother. Birthday girl. Professional ice sculpture in heels.Her gaze landed on me.I gave her my most charming smile. She didn't s