บททั้งหมดของ In Lust with my Sexy Boss: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 20

Chapter Twelve Julian’s POVThe engine’s thrum carries me to the cockpit window as the floatplane skims across the glass-dark water. Pine needles whisper against the fuselage. Behind me, Aria sits on the cabin’s edge, knees drawn to her chest, gripping the compass necklace I gave her. She’s fragile and fierce in the same breath, I both need to protect her and fear she’ll be the weakness that destroys me.My phone buzzes in my lap. Local FBI. Going by the protocol code, it’s not just curiosity, it’s an interrogation. Aria doesn’t know yet, but her face will pale. She needs the stability of the cabin’s old wood walls, not this.But half of me wonders: Does she really want this life with me?The gear drops with a gentle clank as we land on the water. I taxi in, my eyes fixed on the dock. The lakehouse is still, safe, secluded. But beneath its calm exterior, I feel the tremor of exposure. FBI show-ups don’t come quietly.I step onto the dock first, scanning the tree line. Nothing stirs.

Chapter Fourteen Aria’s POVThe lights snapped on just as my breath caught in my chest, and two shadows stood before me, Elliott King and someone I never expected.A spark lit in Elliott’s eyes, hungry and triumphant. But the second face… Julian would devour me if I spoke it aloud.My heartbeat thundered. My fingers curled into Julian’s shirt, anchor and lifeline both. He held me tight, his other hand braced on the banister behind me.Elliott stepped forward, smile smooth and arrogant. “Welcome to our negotiation table.”Julian’s grip tightened. “You’ve gone too fucking far.”Elliott shrugged. “Depends on who you ask.”I looked past Elliott, at the newcomer emerging into full view: Aria’s biological sister, Isabel Monroe, who I hadn’t seen since childhood until now.Our eyes locked. Pain, fear, betrayal flashed in her gaze.The room went silent except for my pounding pulse.Julian leaned low, voice a hiss: “What the hell is she doing here?”Elliott clapped once. “Bravo. You remembere

Chapter Sixteen Aria’s POVMy heart slams in my chest as Julian’s words echo in the room: My mother. The compass in my hand suddenly feels too heavy. Like a starting gun for something I’m not sure I want to finish.Julian closes the distance between us, eyes blazing with a storm I can both ride and drown in.“She, your mother, started Phoenix Requiem?”He hesitates, pain flickering in his expression. “Yes.”I swallow. My voice trembles. “Why didn’t… why didn’t anyone tell me?”Julian’s hand curls around mine, tender, protective. “Because the truth… would’ve destroyed everything you believed about family. Especially your mother.”My world tattered at the seams. A mother I never knew is revealed now not as a victim, but an architect of chaos.I inhale deep, steadying my voice. “So… you covered for her?”He closes his eyes as if to stop the ache. “I protected her. I protected all of us.”I press the compass between my fingers. “Down to her last breath?”Julian’s jaw tightens. “I thought

Chapter EighteenAria’s POVThe damp air of Marshford Island was heavy enough to swallow my breath. As Julian and I stepped onto the decaying dock, every sound pulsed inside me, the groan of rotting wood, the faint lapping of black water, the distant sigh of wind pushing through sagging eaves. My fingers closed reflexively around the compass pendant, the cool metal a tether to reality.I swallowed the tremor in my voice when Julian leaned close. “You okay?”My heart thumped in my throat. “I..I think so.”Each heartbeat reminded me I was alive. And ruled by fear and hope in equal measure.Stepping into the manor’s front hall, dust motes floated in the muted sunlight like trapped memories. I paused, struck by the reflection of my pale face in cracked glass, eyes wide, unloved, unsure. I pressed my palm to the surface, as though I could hold onto the woman I thought I was.Julian closed the distance behind me, his warmth offered safety, even here. “We find what’s hidden,” he murmured.I

Chapter Twenty Aria’s POVThe tunnel pressed in around us, dark and narrow, barely wide enough for both our bodies as we stumbled forward. The scent of scorched metal and wet stone clung to my skin, and my ears were still ringing from the blast.My heart raced, not just from the adrenaline. Julian’s hand was wrapped around mine, tight, like if he let go I’d vanish into the smoke behind us.We didn’t speak.Not until the tunnel opened into a small cavern, half-collapsed but dry. Cracked computer monitors blinked dimly along one wall. Ancient cables snaked along the floor, pulsing like veins beneath our feet.Julian finally turned, chest rising and falling beneath his torn shirt, sweat glistening down his neck. There was a cut across his cheekbone. Blood smeared down the side of his throat.I reached out without thinking.He flinched, but not away, into my touch.“You’re bleeding,” I whispered.His eyes locked with mine. “You almost died back there.”“So did you.”He took a step closer