All Chapters of Broken Then Desired : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

(Ayden's Point of View) I just stood there. Frozen. I couldn’t do a single thing. I couldn’t make my legs move when the man, the one who called himself her uncle, just walked over and grabbed her. I couldn’t find my voice when he flipped her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. I only watched, my mouth hanging open like a fish. He didn’t stop there. He bent down and picked up the giant teddy bear. The one I spent all those games to win for her. He didn’t look back. The little bell above the door jingled as it closed behind him. My brain stopped working. It was full of fuzzy, grey static. I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t believe it. Every person in the cafe was staring at the empty doorway. You could have heard a pin drop. Then, as if someone turned on a switch, they all slowly turned their heads. They all looked right at me. That’s when the truth landed on me like a heavy weight. To every single person in this room, Scarlett and I were together. We played side-by-side. W

POV - SCARLETT The second his hand touched my neck, everything else just stopped. The loud fight in the car, the screaming in the big hall, the hot red shame from the cafe… it all just went away. Poof. Like turning off a TV. Gone. All that was left in my whole body was a thick, heavy, hot feeling deep down in my stomach. It was a pulling feeling. Like a rope tied tight around my middle. Because, oh my God, he looked so good when he was this angry. His eyes got so dark, like a stormy sky. His jaw was so hard it looked cut from stone. Yes, I knew some of the things he said to me were mean.. And I knew I was wrong to have gone out with Jaxon but right in that moment, with his hand on my skin, I did not care about right or wrong. My back hit the wall. It felt cool through my thin shirt. I looked up into his face, so close to mine. And I saw it. The anger was still there, yes, like a fire. But under that fire, a different kind of heat was burning. A hungry, desperate, wanting look fille

POV JACK COLE The morning light felt all wrong. It was the kind of day that feels heavy even before you open your eyes. Something was off. I could feel it in my bones, like a low, quiet hum of trouble. A bad feeling. But I couldn't name it. I just couldn't put my finger on what the problem was. Trying to shake off the weird feeling, I pushed myself out of bed. My body felt stiff and old. Today was supposed to be a big day. My first proper day back at real work since… well, since the whole world saw me fall apart on live television. My meltdown. I went to my closet. I put on my best suit, the grey one. It still fit, even though I’d lost some weight from worry. I skipped breakfast. My stomach was in too many tight knots for food. Walking to the front door, I grabbed my briefcase. Out of habit, I glanced out the big window by the door. I looked at the driveway. It was empty. Ayden’s car was gone. “Useless,” I muttered to myself. The word tasted bitter in my mouth. off to school o

POV AYDEN I was crouched behind the big landscaping truck, my heart pounding a hole in my chest. The cold from the ground was seeping through my jeans. I watched as my dad’s car pulled up to the iron gates of Victor Blackwood’s fortress. But something was off. Really off. My dad was driving himself. That was weird. He always had Henry, his driver, take him everywhere, especially to important or stressful places. But there he was, alone behind the wheel of his black town car. He looked small and tense inside the big car. He killed the engine and just sat there for a moment, his head bowed like he was praying, or maybe trying not to be sick. While I watched, frozen, my dad’s door opened. He didn't get out right away. He looked around, his eyes darting like a scared animal's. He saw the guards at the gate, two big men talking to each other, their backs partly turned. For a second, they were distracted. That’s when my dad did something I’d never seen him do. He crouched low, alm

POV - VICTORI watched the scene at my front gate with cold, simmering anger. Jack Cole, red-faced and spitting insults. Him slapping me, a pathetic, weak move from a pathetic, weak man. I took it. Let him have his little moment. It only made him look more foolish.Then, my men moved in from the side, pushing a tall figure forward. My eyes narrowed. It was the boy from last night. The one with his hands on Scarlett. Ayden. Of course. Just as I processed this, the front door behind me opened.Scarlett stepped out. She didn’t look scared. She had that defiant set to her jaw. She shrugged and pointed right at the boy, like she was presenting a gift. Or a problem.I thought I understood. Look what followed me home. Now deal with it.But then Jack Cole turned. He saw his son. His face, already purple with rage, went almost black. “Ayden Cole!” he thundered. His voice cracked across my driveway. “Should you not be in school? Why are you hell-bent on embarrassing me in every fucking place I