Lahat ng Kabanata ng Breaking Daddy's Rules: Kabanata 161 - Kabanata 170

RAINE’S POVThe first thing I noticed when we stepped outside was how quiet it was. Except for the swaying trees and chirping crickets, the street was empty, devoid of any human presence. The quaint white bungalow behind us basically sat in the middle of nowhere. A million thoughts badgered my mind. Where the hell was my mom? Why did she bring me out here? How was she affiliated with my therapist? Nothing made sense. And Cyril. My chest tightened just thinking of him. Was he looking for me? Was he okay? God, I hated not knowing. However, I remained quiet as Talon walked beside me. Our conversation earlier still replayed in my mind, it was hard accepting the same person before me as the gentle Talon who had me transferred to another therapist to preserve our friendship, the soft spoken man with principles. My eyes kept drifting to him as we walked to the sports car in the driveway. They can’t be one and the same. I should be grateful. At least Talon was a familiar face; he did pro

CYRIL’S POV I woke up with an ache in my neck and my head was pounding so bad. I’d passed out on the couch last night, my boots still on, and my jacket half off. Light streamed in through the window, and it was too bright for how I felt inside. I sat up slowly, running a hand through my hair, my phone was vibrating nonstop on the table beside me. When I picked it up, there were missed calls, texts and notifications piled in like the world had gone to hell overnight. My hands hovered over Kyle's contact, he’d called me the most. The minute I hit redial he picked up. “You were right,” he sounded antsy. “I see Harken all over this. That video? It spread too fast, too strategically.” “What’s in the video?” I asked. I haven’t seen the video. Even though it was the most talked about thing on the internet after Indie’s note. “Nothing useful,” he muttered, capturing my attention. “Just Indie, wrecked. She couldn’t stand herself for what she did to her daughter. She didn’t even say Raine

RAINE’S POVMy eyes widened as the screen flickered, then cut to a video of Indie sitting in front of a camera. Her face looked pale, makeup lighter than usual. Her lips trembled like she’d just finished crying or was about to start again. Talon stood off to the side, not even watching the screen. His eyes were locked on me.I sucked in a shaky breath as I watched it all play out. My mom looked straight into the camera, and I felt like she was staring directly into my soul.“If my daughter ever sees this…” Her voice cracked, and she looked down for a moment. “I want her to know. I’m sorry. For everything. For the pressure. For what I did to her. I thought I was protecting her, but really, I was protecting myself.”My throat burned. My fingers curled tightly into the throw pillow on my lap. I didn’t want to cry, so I swallowed back my sob. “She was always good, kind and strong. But I was too selfish to see that. I thought I knew what was best. I didn’t—I ruined everything.” She conti

RAINE’S POVI blinked my eyes open slowly, feeling the now-too-familiar weight settle into my limbs.It was that heavy, sinking feeling like my body had been dipped in syrup. My mind, though groggy, was starting to put the pieces together. This wasn’t just exhaustion. It wasn’t grief or burnout either. Something was wrong—seriously wrong.Every time I ate, I got knocked out like a freaking baby. At first, I thought it was stress or my body trying to cope with everything, but today? Today I realized it had to be more than that.Talon was definitely drugging me.The thought was enough to make my stomach churn. I shifted on the sofa, staring across the room. Talon had come down earlier, dressed in black slacks and a white button-down, looking like a polished gentleman who couldn’t hurt a fly. Casually, he’d sat beside me, gently feeding me eggs and toast, brushing my hair back like he was doing me a favor. Then, as always, I started to doze off halfway through the meal. My head dropped

CYRIL’S POVThe smoke was so fucking thick, and it almost suffocated me as I headed towards the falling structure. The roof was caving in places, as the heat from the fire licked at my skin. I didn’t flinch. My only focus was Raine, she had to be in there and I was hanging on to hope that I was going to find her. I stormed past the men, not bothering to waste anymore time, but before I could get too close; a few of them stepped in front of me.“Sir, wait just give us a second,” one of them said. “The fire’s burning too quickly, we think it’s best to survey the structure's integrity before anyone goes in.” I stared at him like he’d lost his damn mind.“I don’t have time for this shit,” I snapped. “My woman is in there.”“Boss…”“No,” I growled, already walking forward. “You want to play it safe? You stay here. I’m going to get her.”They called after me, their boots scrambling behind me, but I didn’t give a fuck.The heat hit me like a brick wall. I ducked under a fallen beam, flame