Semua Bab Married by Mistake, Loved by Fate: Bab 71 - Bab 80

“Put the gun down, Greg!”Austin’s voice thundered through the ballroom, sharp as a blade, echoing against the high glass windows.Greg only smirked from the balcony, his silhouette framed by the chandelier’s glow. His hand lifted higher, and the silver in his grip caught the light, deliberate and taunting.“You sound nervous, Mr DiMarco,” he called, his tone smooth as poison. “Funny… for a man who claims to have everything under control.”Lucy’s pulse hammered in her throat. “Austin…” Her voice was barely a whisper, but the weight of fear clung to it. She clutched his arm, unable to look away from Greg.Austin never wavered, his shoulders squared, his stance protective. “Don’t you dare look at him, Lucy. His games end tonight.”Greg laughed, the sound rolling darkly through the crowd. “Games? Oh, Austin, I don’t play games. I orchestrate symphonies. And tonight” he tilted his head, the gun gleaming in his hand, “tonight is my masterpiece.”Gasps swept the room. Guests ducked low, dra

“Don’t you dare die on me,” Austin hissed, voice raw as the sedan spun, glass shattering like a hail of teeth.Lucy’s world narrowed to him, his weight over hers, the hot press of his body shielding hers from a rain of metal and screams. “Austin, ” she gasped, fingers clawing at his jacket, breath caught between terror and the hard, furious beat of her heart. “Tell me you’re fine. Tell me you’re not”“Shut up and hold on,” he snapped, but his hand trembled when it went to her face. Blood matted his bangs, trickling down the side of his cheek, and for a flash of seconds that felt like the only true moment in the spinning universe, Lucy saw him, not as a titan, not as the DiMarco name that made men bow, but as a man soaked in fear at the thought of losing her.The sedan hit the curb, then the guardrail, metal screaming. For a dizzying heartbeat everything was noise, the engine dying, someone shouting orders, the hiss of cooling metal. Then the car lay on the shoulder as if it had bee

Darkness swallowed the room.For one heartbeat, all Lucy could hear was her own breathing, shallow, ragged, too loud in the sudden silence. It echoed inside her head like thunder in a cave. Her pulse beat against her ribs as though it wanted to escape her body entirely.Austin’s hand tightened on her wrist, a silent command: Don’t move. His grip was steady, but she could feel the tremor beneath his skin, the kind only a man trained to face danger would hide from the world but never from her.The air thickened. The safehouse, which had felt cramped already, now pressed in on her from all sides. Somewhere in the dark, a pipe groaned, stretching like a wounded animal.Her thoughts sprinted ahead of her fear: What if the power’s not an accident? What if they’re already inside?She shifted, just enough for her shoulder to brush Austin’s. That single contact grounded her, tethered her panic to something solid. He didn’t look at her, his gaze locked on the door’s faint outline, but the press

The phone buzzed again, its glow slicing through the darkness like a blade.Lucy’s heart almost stopped. Her breath hitched as she scrambled for it, fingers trembling.“Austin!” she hissed, her voice breaking, “It’s her, it’s Angela again!”Austin shot upright from the couch, his gun already in his hand, his eyes narrowed and sharp. “Answer it. On speaker.”Lucy’s thumb swiped before she even thought, pressing it to her ear, her voice rushing out in desperation.“Angela? Talk to me, please, where are you? Are you safe?”On the other end came silence, then a fragile inhale. “Lucy… it’s me. I”Her best friend’s voice cracked, thin and nervous, like she was speaking through a trembling veil of fear.“Angela!” Lucy pressed the phone tighter to her ear. “Where are you? Tell me. We’ll come get you.”“I don’t” Angela’s words were broken, muffled, as though she were afraid someone else was listening. “Lucy, you don’t understand. I shouldn’t be calling you. He said”“Who?” Lucy’s pulse hammere

“Austin…” Lucy’s voice cracked like glass. Her phone lay lifeless in her palm, her knuckles white around it. “She chose him. Angela chose *Greg.*”Austin’s jaw tightened, steel-hard, his gaze locked on the dark window as if Greg’s shadow were already out there watching. He didn’t move for a breath, then turned, eyes burning cold fire, and crouched down beside her.“Listen to me,” he said, gripping her wrist firmly, anchoring her against the storm in her chest. “You don’t *know* that. Angela isn’t lost. She knows what she’s doing.”Lucy shook her head, tears stinging her eyes. “Then why did she walk into his arms? Why would she even *entertain* him?”Austin exhaled through his nose, sharp, controlled, and stood, towering over her again. His silhouette cut against the orange glow of the sinking sun. Calm. Collected. But his jaw was tight, his eyes sharper than blades.“Stop pacing yourself into pieces, Lucy,” he said, voice steady but edged with fire. “Greg wants you rattled. Don’t hand