Semua Bab CRAVING THE BAD BOY: Bab 281 - Bab 290

The Carter estate was filled with warm light. The old house no longer felt heavy with secrets. Every room carried laughter instead of silence. Fresh flowers decorated the halls, and the large windows were open to welcome the cool evening breeze.Ariana stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom. She gently touched the engagement ring on her finger. Everything had changed in such a short time. She had spent years searching for answers about her father. She had fought through pain, loss, and betrayal. Now, for the first time, she was standing at the beginning of a future she had chosen for herself.A soft knock came from the door. "Come in."Claire walked inside with a bright smile. "You've been hiding in here for almost an hour."Ariana laughed. "I was just thinking."Claire linked her arm with Ariana's. "Thinking is allowed, but your fiancé has been asking for you every five minutes."Ariana shook her head. "That sounds like Nick.""He looks nervous.""He has no reason to be."Claire

Ariana stared at the words written across the blue leather journal. Do Not Open Unless She Returns First. The faded silver letters seemed to grow heavier with every passing second. Nick knelt beside her. "What do you think it means?"Ariana slowly ran her fingers across the worn cover. "I don't know.""But it sounds like my father expected my mother to come back."Nick nodded. "Or maybe he hoped she would."Ariana looked at the journal again. "My mother never returned.""At least not that we know of."Silence settled between them. The quiet study suddenly felt much smaller. Outside the window, the sounds of laughter from the celebration drifted through the night air, but inside the room everything felt frozen in time. Nick gently squeezed her hand. "You don't have to open it tonight."Ariana smiled weakly. "I've spent years wondering who my mother was.""I can't walk away now."She carefully opened the journal. The first page was almost empty. Only one sentence had been written in nea

Ariana stared at the note in her hand. We know you found the journal. The words felt impossible. For several seconds, she could not move. Someone knew. Someone had been watching them. Nick immediately stepped closer. "Ariana."She looked at him. "Someone was here.""I know.""No, Nick."Her voice shook. "They knew about the journal before we even opened it."The silence that followed was heavier than anything they had felt that night. Daniel walked toward them slowly. "What journal?"Ariana looked at him. For a moment, she did not know what to say. Then she remembered her father's warning. Someone close to the family betrayed us once before. She tightened her grip around the blue journal. "We found something my father left behind."Daniel's eyes moved toward the journal. "What kind of something?""Answers."The sadness in Daniel's expression changed into concern. "About your mother?"Ariana nodded. Daniel looked away for a moment. Like he already knew the subject was coming. Nick noti

Ariana could not move.The woman standing at the top of the stairs looked older than the photographs she had studied for years, but the eyes were the same. Soft. Familiar. Filled with a fear that made Ariana’s chest tighten.“Mom…”The word left her lips before she could stop it.Evelyn Carter did not smile. She did not rush down the stairs. She stayed where she was, one hand gripping the railing as if it was the only thing keeping her upright.“You shouldn’t have come here.”Nick stepped slightly in front of Ariana, his body tense.“Who are you talking about? Who is coming?”Evelyn’s eyes flicked to him, then back to her daughter.“There is no time. You need to leave. Both of you.”Ariana shook her head.“I’m not leaving. Not after everything. Not after finding you.”Evelyn’s expression cracked for a second. Something soft and painful passed across her face before the fear returned.“You don’t understand what you’ve walked into.”She finally began to descend the stairs, each step car

The drive back to the estate felt endless.Ariana sat in the passenger seat, the photograph clutched in one hand and her father’s letter in the other. Every streetlight that passed over her face made the tears on her cheeks glisten. She had not spoken since they left the abandoned house. Nick had not forced her to.He only reached across the center console and took her free hand, threading his fingers through hers and holding on as if he could keep her from falling apart.When they finally pulled through the gates, the estate looked different. Colder. The warm lights that once felt like home now seemed like a stage set for someone else’s tragedy. Daniel met them at the door, face tight with worry. One look at Ariana and he asked no questions. He simply locked every entrance behind them and disappeared upstairs to check the security cameras again.Nick guided Ariana into the study. The same room where the journal had been stolen. The same desk that still carried the faint memory of the