All Chapters of THE DON'S CAPTIVE MISTRESS : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

HAZEL I don't know how long I fought. I don't know how long I scream... Everything blurs together: my breath, my panic, and the sound of my own heartbeat. But by the time I hear his voice in my ear, low and close, and feel his arms completely wrapped around me, I realize that I'm subdued.I'm in his arms. And I can't turn. I can't shake free. He’s got me.My body is still moving, still trying to resist out of pure instinct, but then he whispers something into my ear. Just one word. One simple, quiet command."Sshhhhhh...!"I don't know if it's the sound of his voice or the feel of his body against mine—strong, tense, like he's holding himself back from something. Or maybe it’s his smell, both strange and familiar from the last time we kissed and I nearly lost my mind right there in his hands.I don't know if it's the authority in his voice or the promise of something worse if I don’t stop, but I stop.I stop fighting.I stop thrashing.I just...stop.He keeps holding me, his arms fir

HAZELI didn’t sleep. Not even a little.I spent the night tossing, turning, and flipping my pillow over and over like that would change anything... It didn’t. The thoughts didn’t stop, the headache didn’t stop, and the tightness in my chest didn’t stop. When morning finally came, it felt like I had been run over by something heavy and cruel.So when I walk toward the dining room, I’m still in my pajamas. My hair is a disaster. I have bags under my eyes. I look like I was dragged out of the ocean and left to dry somewhere. Everything hurts...my head the most.But at the last second, I change my mind and turn toward the kitchen instead. The moment I step inside, I see the cook and one of the maids. Busy hands. Avoiding eyes. There are a lot of staff in this house, but none of them ever want to look at me for more than a second. They always run, always keep their distance, but it never stops them from gossiping behind my back.The only one who ever talks to me is Angela. She notices me

HAZELI can’t take it.“Axel,” I say, my voice too loud in the room. “I am not in the mafia. This has nothing to do with me. I don’t want to be anyone’s boss. I don’t want anything to do with anyone.”My chest tightens, panic pressing into my ribs. I look at Axel directly.“Actually, if you wanted to do me a favor, you would do me a favor by letting me go.”The words hang in the room like smoke—sharp, thick, and impossible to ignore. And for a moment, it feels like nobody breathes.“I want to get out of here. That’s what I want.”The words spill out before I can stop them. “I don’t want to be the boss of one of your men. That’s the last thing I want. What I want is to go back to my life. A normal life. One where I don’t need bodyguards and I’m not being traded like...”My voice cracks. I swallow.“...like someone’s property. I don’t want someone holding my life in their hands and deciding what I do, where I go, or what I am.”I look at Axel. He is still looking at Nico. Not me.“Under

AXEL Axel watched as Hazel stomped out of the room, mad and angry… and he smiled. Kat was still talking, going on and on about the party and about his birthday, her voice buzzing somewhere in the background. He tuned her out entirely as his mind replayed the way Hazel had looked at him… furious, eyes blazing, like she wanted to set the entire room on fire. If only Hazel knew how angry he was right now. He was feasting on it. He couldn’t even pinpoint where that anger was coming from… though he had an inkling. Kat’s hand touched his jacket, pulling him back to the present. “So what do you say?” she asked brightly. “Just say the word and I’ll take care of everything. You won’t have to lift a single finger.” He watched her. He wondered if he even wanted this. The only parties he ever hosted had a purpose… business, power, leverage. He didn’t just bring people, especially enemies, into his home just to eat and drink. Every gathering had to benefit him. And right now, the idea

HAZELI stumbled back, my chest heaving, and fell right onto the ground, landing hard on my back. Pain shot through my shoulder as I hit the dirt with a thud. My head spun, and I squinted, trying to make sense of the shadow looming over me.Everything I thought I saw was still there, a gun, a rifle, and a man. Tall. Broad. Bare-shouldered. Standing above me with an expression that made my blood run cold.It was Luca.My stomach dropped. Luca hated me. His disdain for me was clear and unhidden. He didn’t even see me as a person just another one of Axel’s toys, another noise in the background.“Hazel,” he said, his slow, deliberate smile sharp and biting. “You really don’t know what’s good for you, do you?”I tried to scramble backwards, my hands clawing at the dirt, but the underbrush caught me. “Luca, I.....” but I couldn’t find the words to continue.He sneered down at me, cutting me off as he stepped closer. “Your words,” he mocked. “Say it. I want you to finish the words. What were