جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 70

I couldn’t even bring myself to appreciate the breathtaking view from the hotel Ram had chosen in Miami, nor the golden glow of the sun bouncing off the ocean waves as our plane touched down. The city sparkled with life, every towering building reflecting the late afternoon light like shards of molten glass, the kind of skyline that should have made my chest tighten with awe. And yet, all I could feel was the pull of something far more urgent, far more distracting. My mind,. and my body had entirely different priorities.My knees trembled beneath me, betraying a need I couldn’t even name, a heat pooling low in my stomach that made me want nothing more than to pull Ram away from everyone, somewhere secluded, somewhere that belonged only to the two of us. The warmth spreading through me was maddening, subtle yet relentless, amplified by the small toy hidden inside my underwear, the one Ram controlled with that infuriating grin of his from across the lobby. Every subtle vibration made my

Time had slipped through my fingers so quietly, I almost didn’t notice it was already our third day in Miami. The past few days had felt like a dream, sunlight melting over white sand, the rhythmic crash of the Atlantic brushing against the shore, and the taste of salt that lingered on my lips long after sunset. For once, life had felt light. Peaceful. Almost normal.I didn’t even need to ask the others if they were enjoying themselves, the joy was written all over their faces. Claire, for instance, had practically lived in her swimsuit since we arrived, her tan lines already forming despite the endless sunscreen lectures I’d given her.“Are you and Ram sure you don’t want to join Andrew and me for kayaking?” she asked brightly that morning as we sat down for breakfast on the hotel terrace. The ocean stretched endlessly behind her, glinting gold beneath the early Florida sun.I rolled my eyes, lowering my gaze to my large belly, a perfectly silent answer.Claire gasped, then let out a

The sun kissed my skin with gentle warmth as I walked barefoot along the shore, the red fabric of my swimsuit hugging every curve, clinging to me like a second skin. The air smelled of salt and summer, and the rhythm of the waves matched the slow sway of our joined hands. Ram’s fingers were wrapped around mine, steady, warm, familiar. There was comfort in the weight of his touch, in the way his thumb traced lazy circles against my skin as if we had all the time in the world.The beach stretched endlessly before us, glowing gold under the afternoon light. The sea shimmered, alive and endless, and laughter echoed faintly from somewhere down the coast. It felt like a dream you never wanted to wake from, the kind where the world was simple, kind, and beautiful.And for a brief moment, I believed it was real.Then I saw her.A little girl running toward us, her dark hair glinting beneath the sun, her small feet sinking into the sand. She couldn’t have been more than five. When her eyes lif

“No, I’m not speaking with you.”The words came out before Ram could even open his mouth. They sliced through the quiet morning like a blade, too sharp, too sudden, but I didn’t care. My voice sounded foreign even to me, cold, clipped, brittle. The kind of tone that warned him not to push.The silverware clinked softly against the porcelain plate as I poked at my breakfast, pretending to care about the untouched food on my plate. The coffee in front of me had long gone cold, its surface rippled by the low hum of the air-conditioning. Across the table, Ram sat in silence, his jaw tight, his fingers drumming lightly against the wood.The silence between us wasn’t peaceful. It was the kind that made you aware of every breath you took, every heartbeat that hurt to hear. I barely slept last night. My mind kept replaying every word from our argument, every look, every memory I wish I could unsee. And in the hollow stillness of dawn, when the light crept through the curtains, I wasn’t sure

Lexie’s POVI woke with a weight pressing down on me, a heaviness that clung to every limb as though the world itself had conspired to trap me in a fog, suspended between sleep and nightmare. My head throbbed relentlessly, each pulse hammering against my temples with a painful insistence, and my thoughts were sluggish, muddled, fighting to rise through the haze. Even in that dazed, foggy state, fragments of the morning lingered like sharp shards in my mind, Ram’s words, the worry in his eyes, the menacing presence of the guards, Jackson… and the last name sent a jolt through me, a sudden, frenzied hope that made my chest seize.“Jackson…” I whispered, barely more than a breath, fragile and tremulous, my voice cracking under the weight of fear.The panic came in a rush, a cold, icy claw wrapping around my chest, constricting my lungs. I blinked rapidly, trying to focus, to ground myself, and that’s when the truth hit me, this room, it wasn’t mine. It was pristine, almost unnaturally so