Semua Bab Twice His Bride : Bab 11 - Bab 20

ZARIA Darkness wrapped itself around me, it felt heavy and humming.I floated somewhere between sleep and pain, and honestly neither felt like safety.I couldn’t open my eyes, couldn’t speak.But I felt everything.The ache in my stomach. The icy cold of the IV drip in my arm. The burn in my throat from earlier when I’d vomited blood. My limbs were too heavy to move and too weak to fight.I wasn’t dead. But I wasn’t entirely here either.Somewhere in the haze, with swirled voices that sounded low and muffled. Doors opening and a beeping machine.Fingers brushed my wrist. A soft press on my arm and check of my pulse, at least that's what I thought..I wanted to scream.I didn’t know where I was. The last thing I remembered was the bathroom, the way the sink spun around me, the taste of blood and then… falling. Falling fast and hard.Then everything turned to static.Is he safe?The thought hit me like ice water, slicing through the fog. My mind flinched and latched onto it. Leo.My

DARIANI stormed out of the room I and felix had spoken in, the damned man refused to give me answers, everybody did. The hum of the hospital machines dug into my skull, steady and slow, like a countdown from a horror movie I certainly didn’t want to hear.Zaria was still asleep when I pushed the door open. Pale against the sheets, her hair messy around her face and lips parted as though she was mid-confession.Confession.The nurse’s voice replayed in my head.She said a name.Leo.I stood there longer than I should have, my arms folded uptight with an aching chest, if looks could burn, mine would have into her fragile body. For a woman accused of betrayal, she didn’t look like a mastermind. She looked… fragile.I hated that word. Fragile. Because fragile things made me want to protect them. And Zaria Mendez or Wolfe was the last person I should ever want to protect.A knock came at the doorframe. Felix. Again.“You’re still here?” he asked, in a low voice, like he was testing me.“O

ZARIAMy throat dried up. The words lodged there refused to come out, and all I could do was stare at him. Darian’s smirk wasn’t just cruel, it was calculated, like he had set down a piece of evidence on the table and was waiting to watch me squirm.“What do you mean resurged?” I finally managed to speak, my voice was as brittle as cracked glass.He tilted his head, and his dark hair gleamed under the ceiling lights. “Don’t play innocent. The vultures never rest. Your name is dancing across every headline again. Articles, interviews, and rumors on the stock floor. Roman Wolfe’s almost‑bride resurfaces. They’re digging up everything, Zaria. The yacht, the betrayal, the conveniently timed explosion.”Felix stiffened beside me, but Darian’s gaze didn’t shift from my face. “And,” he added softly, “Your disappearance. Some call it grief. While others call it guilt.”My chest constricted and I wrapped my arms around myself, as if that could hold me together. “That was years ago. Why now?”

ZARIA The ride home had been heavy with silence. I’d kept my eyes on the city lights blurring past the window, my chest felt too tight to breathe properly. Darian hadn’t looked at me once. Not after the car or the accusations, not even when we stepped into the penthouse lobby.The elevator doors slid open and the first thing I wanted to do was head straight to my room, close the door, and breathe without anyone staring at me like a science experiment. My body still ached from the hospital bed, but at least here, I thought I could hide.Except when I pushed the door open, my heart froze.The room was bare. Completely bare. Like no one had ever lived here before. The wardrobe doors hung open and empty. The bedspread was gone. Even the faint scent of my perfume had disappeared, replaced with the sterile smell of fresh polish.“What…?” My lips trembled. I staggered a step inside, blinking as if my eyes were playing tricks on me. “Where are my things?”For one insane moment, I thought may

ZARIA The sound of the front door shutting as he slide past me was my first sign of freedom.Darian had left for work, his footsteps fading into silence, leaving the penthouse drenched in a hush that felt strangely heavy. I exhaled slowly, relief mingling with exhaustion, and retreated into the bathroom.The shower was hot and soothing, the steam curling around me like a blanket. I tilted my head back beneath the water, trying to wash away the tension from this morning, the chase, the fear, and the way Darian had looked at me as if he could see straight through my lies.But instead of fear, another memory invaded me.Darian’s hands on my waist, our once upon a time. His lips against mine, heated and unrelenting, a man who wanted all of me. Nights when the air between us had been thick with more moans than arguments, when even the sound of his voice had been enough to make me melt.I pressed my palms against the tile, shutting my eyes tight. Those nights belonged to another life…one b