ON YOUR KNEES, EX-HUSBAND のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 71 - チャプター 80

Carla~By the time we got back to the mansion, the sun was already sinking low in the sky, painting everything in warm shades of gold and orange. It felt… peaceful. Too peaceful, almost, considering how chaotic my life had been not so long ago.Lily and I sat on the long cream-colored sofa in the living room, our shoes kicked off, legs tucked beneath us. For a while, neither of us spoke. The silence wasn’t awkward, it was familiar. The kind that only existed between people who’d known each other long before life got complicated.I studied her from the corner of my eye.She looked the same. Older, maybe. Sharper around the edges. But her eyes were still the same; curious, observant, always reading between the lines. She was twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger, a habit she’d had since I first knew her.“So,” she finally said, breaking the silence, “we heard everything.”I stiffened slightly but kept my expression neutral.“Everything?” I asked calmly.Lily nodded. “Abo

Damian~If anyone had told me a year ago that I’d willingly be stepping into Luca II Grigo’s mansion; voluntarily, dressed in a tailored suit, no less, I would’ve laughed in their face and walked away.Yet here I was.I adjusted my cufflinks for the third time as the car slowed to a stop in front of an iron gate so massive it looked like it belonged to a fortress, not a residence. The gates parted slowly, revealing manicured lawns, marble fountains, and a mansion that screamed old money.Luca didn’t just have wealth.He had history.Carla sat beside me, calm as ever, smoothing the fabric of her dress like she was headed to a charity gala instead of a crime lord’s birthday.“You’re quiet,” she noted, glancing at me with a knowing smile.“That’s because I’m thinking,” I replied.“That’s dangerous,” she teased.I scoffed, but the unease in my chest refused to settle. “You’re sure about this, Carla?”She turned fully toward me now. “You’ve asked that three times.”“And I’ll ask it a fourt

Carla~I watched them drag her before me once more, her body trembling in exhaustion and fear.The warehouse still smelled like rust, oil, and whatever was rotting. No matter how many times the floor was washed, the scent clung to the concrete like a curse. Light spilled through the broken skylights in thin, dirty strips, illuminating dust motes that drifted lazily in the air, indifferent to suffering.Maria wasn’t.She stumbled forward the moment Luca’s men released her, collapsing onto her knees with a sob that echoed too loudly in the cavernous space. Her hands slapped against the floor as she scrambled closer, the chains around her wrists clinking softly. Her once shiny brown hair hung in limp strands around her face, which became increasingly harder to recognise with every passing day.“Please,” she choked, crawling the last few feet until she was practically at my boots. “Please, Carla. Please let me out of here, I beg you.”I didn’t move.I stood there with my arms folded, heel

Damian~The road blurred beneath my tires as I tore down the highway, the city lights streaking past like they were trying and failing to keep up with me.I couldn’t get the image out of my head.Xavier’s hands on her.His mouth on hers.Carla standing there frozen, maybe, but not pushing him away.Not fighting.The steering wheel creaked under my grip as my knuckles went white. My chest burned, tight and raw, like something vital had been ripped out and left exposed.“Fuck!” I roared, slamming my palm against the wheel. I didn't think I had felt this type of rage in a long time.The sound echoed inside the car, sharp and violent, but it did nothing to quiet the storm inside me.I hit it again.And again.Pain shot up my arm, but I welcomed it. Physical pain was easier than this. Easier than the betrayal clawing its way through my chest, easier than the sick twist in my gut every time I replayed the scene.She hadn’t stopped him.That was the part that hurt the most.I didn’t even kno

Damian~I couldn’t bring myself to do it.The thought followed me all the way back to the mansion, clinging to my mind like a fog that refused to clear.The engine purred beneath my hands as I pulled into the familiar driveway, headlights washing over the gates, the hedges, the stone façade of the house that had felt like home long before I ever admitted it out loud. I cut the engine and sat there for a moment, forehead resting against the steering wheel, breath uneven.Casper’s girls hadn’t stood a chance.Not because they weren’t beautiful or seductive enough.They were very good in their art of pleasure, better than most. And any other night, in another version of my life, I would have lost myself in it without a second thought.But tonight?All I’d seen was her.Carla’s face had haunted me relentlessly; the shock in her eyes, the way her body had frozen when Xavier kissed her, the split second where it looked like she hadn’t pushed him away. No matter how hard I tried to drown it