All Chapters of The CEO’s Unwanted Wife: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

RaineThe voice came out of the shadows like it had been meant to be there. Smooth, confident, and enraging."Miss me?"Roman Creed stepped out into the dim emergency lighting as he had just wandered off on a stroll and not down a ladder into the stench of the underground. His coat—midnight black, styled to perfection that was worth more than most paid in a year's rent—was open to reveal a dark waistcoat and a watch that flashed in the shadows. The rot and damp stench didn't even venture close to him.Cassian shifted behind me, his weight a stubborn burden on my shoulder. His eyes cracked open a little to identify who had spoken, and I felt him stiffen, his breath snagging against my neck.The stranger who had brought us here shifted position—measured, protecting—moving silently between me and Roman's shifting form.I shoved my voice firm, even as something in my chest had started doing an impertinent flutter. "Roman. Of course. Because nothing says perfect timing like you showing up

RaineThe blackout took over everything.Not just the lights — the hum of the air vents, the beeps of the monitor, even the muffled hospital sounds beyond the walls, all gone. The darkness wasn't empty; it was suffocating, consuming my sense of direction and courage.And in it, a hand wrapped around mine."Raine," a voice whispered. Close. Too close.It wasn't the name that sent a shiver down my spine. It was the shape of the voice around it — too soft to be Roman's usual bite, too near to be someone else's… or maybe my head was playing tricks on me.I tried to pull away, but the grip only tightened. "We don't have time."My head reeled for a reference point — footsteps down the hallway, the location of the bed, the location of the door—nothing but suffocating darkness.The faintest metallic clink sounded in my ears — a coin hitting tile, then coming to rest somewhere at the foot of the bed. My breath hung."Where are the lights?" I bellowed, attempting to keep my voice calm."They'll

Raine The SUVs enveloped me in their metal skeleton, doors slamming shut with a suddenness that reverberated through my bones. My wrists burned with the cable ties slicing through my skin, each bump of the engine pressing the plastic closer until my fingers became numb with pins and needles.Rain pounded against the roof outside like a horde of invaders trying to break through, the wipers slicing through it in frantic sweeps across the glass. Silhouettes of the convoy blended as we tore down the highway, headlights bouncing off wet asphalt.And Cassian—He was nowhere to be found.They'd pulled me away from him, yanked me off his side like a payload, and all I could do was reminisce about the whisper that had slipped out from his lips before the hurricane engulfing us.Don't.He'd done it, though. He'd done the one thing I'd begged him not to.He'd wished me alive.And Roman—God, Roman—he'd given it.I pressed my forehead against the cold of the window, my own face pale

RaineRoman's coin glowed between us, a shard of gold ripped from the throat of hell. The flame of a hundred shaking candles licked along its edge, as though the circle itself was about to draw breath for what I would do."Take it," Roman said, his voice echoing in the room like velvet wrapping barbed wire. "It's waiting for you, Raine."I looked at Cassian. The chains on his wrists rustled softly with each shallow rise and fall of his chest. His skin was gray, slick with sweat, veins throbbing against his throat like blue wires on the verge of snapping. His eyes half-closed, yet somehow they still burned for me."Don't," he panted. His lips moved as if each word cost him more than blood. "Don't you dare…"Tears clouded my eyes. My heart twisted so violently it felt like it would tear itself free.Roman's grin grew wider. "You see? He knows the truth. He knows that wishing is not salvation; it is surrender. It is chains. He would rather die than see you bound to me.""Then let him go!

RaineCassian's breath hitched, shallow and spasmodic, a ghostly whisper against the storm outside the SUV. His head was heavy in my lap, with pale skin and blue-tinged lips."Stay with me," I panted, cradling him back and forth as Malik's knuckles went white on the wheel. "Please, Cass. Don't you dare die on me… keep fighting, don’t stop"The coin burned into my hip, a weight I couldn't disregard. My fingers brushed against it all the time, as if a moth flitted around flame.Malik's voice cut through the frenzy. "He's slipping."No, I growled, though my throat trembled. "He's not." I crept closer, my lips hovering over Cassian's ear. "You hear me, Grey? You don't get to leave me. You made your wish—I'm alive. Now you hold on to that. Hold on to me."His lashes blinked for the beat of one heartbeat. His cracked lips parted, and a whisper came forth, barely sound, but enough to tear me in two. "Raine…"I tightened my grip on his hand. "I'm here… always."But the quietness that followed