Semua Bab Craving his control : Bab 71 - Bab 80

The storm had rolled in just after midnight. Lucien Vale stood on the penthouse balcony like a marble statue carved from silence, his bare chest kissed by the wind, his face half-lit by the restless flickers of lightning over Manhattan. He wasn’t shivering, though the summer rain had turned cold. He didn’t even feel it. He was too busy thinking about her. Helena Declan. He could still taste her name—like smoke, like sin, like something he'd never meant to want but now couldn’t stop needing. And that was the problem. She wasn’t supposed to matter. She was supposed to be the crown jewel of the Declan Empire. A pawn. A spoiled heiress who could be seduced and folded into his plan with just enough charm and just enough pressure. He thought he’d mapped out her weaknesses. But Helena had rewritten every rule with a single look. And that was before she kissed him. Before she clawed her way into his head like a fire he couldn’t put out. Lightning cracked overhead. Lucien exhaled a sh

The boardroom was a battlefield.Rain battered the floor-to-ceiling windows like the echo of war drums as Helena Declan sat at the head of the obsidian table. Her heels were planted, back straight, power suit sharp as a scalpel. Around her, the vultures—board members, shareholders, strategic partners—circled, their smiles too polished, their eyes glinting with quiet malice.They were here to watch her fall. And they weren’t hiding it.“Declan Corp needs stability,” said Mr. Thorne, the eldest shareholder, voice rich with veiled condescension. “Not legacy sentiment.”Helena tilted her head, barely hiding her disdain. “Is that a veiled way of calling me unfit, Mr. Thorne?”He smirked. “Not unfit. Just… unproven.”The room buzzed with the subtle murmur of alliances shifting.Helena leaned forward. “Then let’s talk about proof. Last quarter’s numbers? Up 13%. Declan Futures just signed a $300 million defense contract. And ValeTech is being merged into our biotech division as we speak.” He

The rain had stopped, but inside me, it still poured.Lucien was gone.He hadn’t said goodbye. He hadn’t looked back. And worst of all—he’d taken every ounce of control I thought I had with him.I sat on the floor of my suite, knees pulled to my chest, wearing his discarded shirt like it could still anchor me to him. But it didn’t. It smelled like a lie—warmth, leather, and the soft trace of the cologne he always wore. I had spent all night replaying every moment between us, searching for the crack I missed, the mask he wore, the truth he never told.I had been so stupid.I let him in. I wanted him in.And now, every part of me felt like a battlefield—littered with the ruins of last night’s need and this morning’s silence.The thunder outside had quieted, but in my head, everything roared. Three Years AgoHe had found me crying behind the estate’s garden wall, alone after one of Father’s business events where I had been paraded like an ornament, a doll trained to smile.“What are you

The boardroom was empty now, but Helena stood still, her hands pressed against the polished glass table. Her reflection stared back at her—composed, regal, ruthless. But beneath the calm exterior, her heart was pounding like war drums in a glass chamber. Lucien had walked out, again. Left her standing there, the scent of his cologne still clinging to the air, a ghost of everything unresolved. She didn’t chase him this time. She couldn't afford to—not in front of the board, not when her inheritance was dangling on the edge of doubt. But God, how she had wanted to. Helena exhaled slowly and turned to face the floor-to-ceiling window. The skyline of Aurelia City glowed like fireflies in heat. She used to love this view. Now, all she saw was her father's ghost behind every light, every building—Harry Declan's legacy was stitched into the city like veins under skin. And now it was hers to either protect or let rot. "You're quiet," came a voice behind her. She didn’t flinch. It was Ada

The storm had passed, but the echo of Lucien’s words thundered in my chest long after his lips had fallen silent."You ruined me, Helena."He had said it like a prayer. Like a curse. Like a confession that cost him everything and gave me everything in return. But what was I supposed to do with that power? Wield it like a sword—or lay it at his feet?I stood alone in the library now, the fire flickering low, the scent of rain and him still clinging to the air. My fingertips traced the spine of the book he’d touched last. A Philosophy of Control. The irony bit deep.Control. That had always been the center of it. My need for it. My fear of losing it. My hunger to steal it from him—because if I held it, I couldn't be hurt again.But now?Now I just felt hollow.I leaned my head against the cool marble pillar by the window, staring out into the soaked garden where Lucien had once taught me how to ride a bike when I was nine. The past pressed in like ivy, its roots digging into the cracks