All Chapters of In the Arms of the Enemy’s Brother : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Serena’s POV I lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling, my eyes tracing cracks I had already memorized. The penthouse was quiet, too quiet. The kind of silence that pressed against your ears until your own thoughts became loud enough to hurt. At first, this place had felt like safety. Somewhere I could breathe without being watched. Somewhere his voice couldn’t reach me. But now, after days of not stepping outside, not answering calls, not letting the world in, the walls felt closer. Like they were slowly folding in on me. My body felt heavy, drained. Sleep came in short, broken pieces, and when it came, it carried dreams I didn’t want. When I woke up, my chest always hurt, tight, aching, like something was sitting on it. I hadn’t left the penthouse in days. I hadn’t turned on my phone. The only thing I had managed to do was order groceries earlier, That was the reason I was still lying here, waiting, telling myself I would get up when they arrived. Then the knock came. I

Serena’s POV I woke up with my head pounding. Not the dull kind of ache you could ignore, but a sharp, angry throb that made me squeeze my eyes shut and curl into myself. My mouth was dry. My limbs felt heavy, like they belonged to someone else. For a few seconds, I didn’t know where I was. Then the ceiling came into focus. It wasn’t the familiar one from my father’s penthouse. It wasn’t mine. The lines were different. The light fell wrong. The air smelled faintly of clean sheets and something masculine. soap, maybe, or cologne that lingered in the walls. Roman. Everything rushed back at once. My chest tightened so fast it stole the air from my lungs. I rolled onto my side and pressed my face into the pillow, a sound breaking out of me before I could stop it. Tears came hot and fast, soaking the fabric beneath my cheek. I clutched the blanket like it could anchor me, like if I held on tight enough, my life wouldn’t feel like it had shattered into pieces I couldn’t put back to

Serena’s POVThe movie started with soft background music, something slow and cinematic, but I barely noticed.The screen glowed in front of us, colors shifting, characters speaking words that floated right past me. I sat still on the couch, hands folded in my lap, shoulders slightly hunched, like I was bracing myself against something invisible.Roman sat beside me, not too close, not too far. Close enough that I could feel the warmth of him through the cushion, far enough that I didn’t feel crowded. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t try to fill the silence.That alone felt… considerate.I stared at the screen, eyes open, mind somewhere else entirely.I wasn’t sad in the way movies show sadness. I wasn’t quietly crying or dramatically breaking down. I felt hollow. Like everything that had happened had scraped me out from the inside and left nothing but echoes.Images kept intruding no matter how hard I tried to focus.Liam standing too close.His voice sharp, demanding.The way my he

Serena’s POV It’s been over a month now since I came to Roman’s house. Sometimes I forget the exact number of days. I stopped counting after a while. Counting made it feel temporary, like I was just passing through. And this place doesn’t feel like that anymore. It doesn’t feel like somewhere I’m hiding. It feels like somewhere I’m allowed to exist. When I first arrived here, every day felt heavy. I carried everything inside my chest fear, anger, shame, confusion. I slept a lot then. Not because I was tired, but because sleep was the only place where nothing could reach me. Now, things are different, not perfect. Just different. I feel lighter, Like someone loosened the tight knot that had been sitting in my chest for years. I still have bad moments. Sometimes memories sneak up on me when I least expect them. Sometimes I wake up with my heart racing, my body tense for no reason at all. But those moments don’t swallow me anymore. Roman has helped with that, even without trying.

Serena’s POV That morning, I woke up before the city did. I lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, listening to the faint hum of the apartment, air conditioning, distant traffic far below, the steady silence that had slowly become familiar. My body felt rested in a way I wasn’t used to. Not the kind of rest that came from exhaustion, but the kind that felt earned. It startled me. For weeks. months, waking up had been the hardest part of my day. Mornings reminded me that I had survived another night, and survival had never felt like something to celebrate. But today was different. Roman was home. The thought came gently, without force, and it settled somewhere deep in my chest. I hadn’t realized how much his absence had been felt until now, how the apartment had seemed larger, quieter, emptier without his steady presence moving through it. I pushed myself up slowly and swung my legs over the side of the bed. My feet touched the floor, grounding me. I breathed in, then ou