All Chapters of The Lieutenant's Vengeful Desire: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The night was quiet, just a little past eleven.The hotel room lay in hushed stillness, bathed only in a muted golden glow from the lamp in the corner.On the bed, Dio was fast asleep, his tiny fingers curled around a plush toy, his breathing calm and steady.Meira, however, couldn’t sleep.She stood on the balcony, letting the night breeze brush her cheeks. Her gaze pierced the ink-black sky, but her thoughts drifted elsewhere—relentless, restless.The conversation from earlier that day echoed inside her mind. About Hastan. About the way he looked at her. About the simple words that had sounded so disarmingly sincere.“Just empty words. A player’s trick. He only said that because I was right there in front of him,” she whispered bitterly, trying to chase away the strange stir in her chest.But Hastan’s image refused to leave. That warm gaze, the brief brush of his hand against hers during lunch… the inexplicable feeling of being shielded, protected.And then came the scars of her pas

The air on the porch froze.Octavian stood there—jaw clenched, veins at his temple throbbing, fists balled at his sides. His gaze was a blade, cutting straight at Hastan, who still cradled Dio in his arms.“Seems like… I came home at just the right time.” His voice was flat, but beneath the calm was fire—hissing, simmering, ready to explode.Meira froze. Dio’s little breaths remained soft against Hastan’s shoulder, blissfully unaware of the storm about to break.For Octavian, the sight was lightning to the chest. His wife—though she’d filed for divorce—standing at their door beside another man. And that man was holding his son.The air burned in his lungs. Fury. Fear of losing them. And worst of all—regret, sharp and merciless. He had betrayed her, but still, he loved her. Seeing her with someone else ripped him open. One thought pounded in his skull: No.Without warning, Octavian stepped forward, tearing Dio from Hastan’s hold with such force the blanket nearly slipped away. He snat

POV: HastanThe house was silent. Only the tick of the clock echoed against the walls, mingling with the faint trace of cinnamon that lingered from the morning. I lounged on the sofa, one leg propped lazily, but my mind was far from calm.Ever since that call, I knew she would come. And whenever Meira stepped back into my life, she never came alone. She brought storms with her—storms that either tore her apart… or tore me open.The intercom buzzed.Her face filled the small screen—pale, eyes swollen, but still… damn it. Still beautiful. There’s something about her when she looks fragile yet stubbornly composed that wakes something feral inside me. Something that wants to protect her. Something that wants to devour her.I unlocked the gate. “Come in,” I said, my tone flat—but even I heard the heaviness beneath it.Her footsteps echoed as she entered. Light, hesitant. My gaze followed her, drinking in every line of her thin dress as it traced the curve of her waist, the subtle sway of h

“How do you even know about my debts? I never told you.”Meira’s voice trembled, barely above a whisper, yet her eyes widened with a sharp, defensive light.Hastan’s chest rose and fell in a slow, deliberate rhythm. For a moment too long, he didn’t answer—just let the silence press down on them until the air felt suffocating. He leaned back against the sofa, feigning ease, though his pulse thundered like a war drum.“I saw it through your husband’s number,” he said flatly, like it was nothing. “It’s registered with multiple online loan platforms.”The lie rolled off his tongue with dangerous smoothness, cloaking the truth in a shadow darker than her suspicion.“This isn’t the first time, is it?” His tone carried both accusation and concern, a blade and a balm in one breath.Meira bit her lip, refusing to respond. The flicker of sorrow in her eyes was enough. Hastan moved closer and pulled her into him, his embrace searing her skin with a heat she should have resisted—but didn’t.His c

Morning sunlight filtered softly through the curtains of her mother’s house. Meira gazed out the window, watching Dio dart across the small yard, chasing a stray neighbor’s cat. His laughter filled the air, a warm symphony that almost—almost—erased the hollow weight in her chest. But alone, in the quiet corners of her mind, Hastan’s shadow crept back.There was a void in her heart, a small hollow that throbbed sometimes, sending an unbidden ache. A longing so subtle it was like the lingering scent of coffee in an empty cup—soft, pervasive, impossible to shake. She missed his sharp gaze, the low, vibrating timbre of his voice, the way he whispered kitten with that dangerous blend of tease and command.It wasn’t a yearning that burned—more like a slow pulse, a craving that crawled under her skin, impossible to ignore.By noon, Meira sat in a café near her office with Aira, choosing a table by the window overlooking the busy street. A plate of creamy pasta arrived for Aira; a glass of fr