11. Hope

[Xavier’s POV]The room smelled faintly of antiseptic and stale air. Too clean, too still.And yet, when I stepped inside, the sight before me hollowed me out from the inside.Layla.She lay motionless on the narrow hospital bed, her skin pale against the stark white sheets. An IV dripped slowly into her vein, a fragile thread of life tethering her here. Her lips were cracked, her lashes damp from tears dried too fast. Her arms—God—her arms bore bruises that darkened her skin, angry reminders of someone’s filthy hands.My knees gave out before I could stop them. I dropped beside her bed, my palms clutching her cold hand. The ring I had fumbled with the night before now pressed against her skin again, though she wasn’t awake to feel it.There were no words. No fury loud enough, no vow strong enough to fill the ache in my chest. All I could do was press my forehead against her fingers, breathing her name as though it would keep her here.Layla.The doctor worked quietly on her other sid

Last Updated : 2025-09-09

12. Run like a woman

[Layla’s POV]The first thing I felt was pain.A dull ache that spread from my arms to my legs, like I’d been torn apart and stitched back together too quickly. My throat burned, dry and raw, as if every scream I’d swallowed still clung there.I tried to move, but my hand wouldn’t budge.That was when I saw him.Xavier.His head rested against the edge of my bed, my hand cradled in his palm like something too fragile to let go. His hair was a mess, his shirt wrinkled, his tie long gone. The man who always carried himself like steel—sharp suits, polished shoes, the faint scent of cedarwood trailing wherever he went—was nowhere to be found.Instead, there was this man. Exhausted. Worn. Dark circles carved beneath his closed eyes, his features softer in sleep, but heavy with worry even then.My chest tightened. I’d never seen Xavier like this before.Careful not to wake him, I let my eyes wander, and that was when I noticed it.The ring.On my finger. Again.The same ring I had left behi

Last Updated : 2025-09-09

12. Family

Marissa Beth's POV....The storm outside rattled the windows, but the storm inside this house was far worse.The wind howled like it wanted to strip the roof from over us, but it wasn't the weather keeping me awake. It was the sound of my husband coughing in the other room. That cough... deep, rattling, and broken. It carried a clock inside it, ticking down the last moments of his life. His heart was failing. I knew it. The doctors had whispered it enough times. He didn't have long, and he refused every serious treatment. Stubborn old man. He had built an empire with sheer willpower, and he wanted to die on the same terms. But when he goes, what happens to us? What happens to Yuri? To me?And then there was Layla.The shadow that had haunted my life for twenty years."Mother," Yuri's voice pulled me back. It was hoarse, swollen from crying. She stood in the doorway, eyes puffy and red. "Why did you make her do it? You knew everything. I told you. I begged you to cancel the wedding a

Last Updated : 2025-09-12

All Chapters of Married to my sister's fiancè : Chapter 11 - Chapter 13

11. Hope

12. Run like a woman

12. Family