Semua Bab The Billionaire’s Broken Angel… and His Darkest Desire: Bab 111 - Bab 120

Maya stood in the doorway of the lighthouse keeper's cottage, watching Elias pack his duffel bag with the same methodical precision he brought to everything—measuring flour for her grandmother's bread recipe, repairing the inn's broken shutters, touching her like she was something precious. Each folded shirt felt like a countdown to goodbye."You don't have to do this," she said, her voice steady despite the crack forming in her chest. "Running from them won't solve anything. We face this together, or we don't face it at all."Elias's hands stilled on a worn flannel shirt—the one she'd borrowed three nights ago when they'd sat on the beach until dawn, watching the stars and pretending the rest of the world didn't exist. He didn't turn around, but she saw his shoulders tense, saw the white-knuckle grip he had on the fabric."You don't understand what they're capable of," he said quietly. "My father's reach extends further than this town, Maya. Further than Maine. If I stay, I put you i

Maya hadn't realized how much space fear occupied in a body until it was finally gone.She stood on the widow's walk of the Tidewater Inn at dawn, watching the sun paint the Atlantic in shades of gold and rose, and felt the absence of that familiar weight like phantom pain. For ten years, fear had been her constant companion—fear of saying the wrong thing, of being too much or not enough, of the violence hiding behind a smile. Even after escaping, even here in Moonlight Cove, that fear had lingered in the spaces between her heartbeats. But somewhere between solving her grandmother's murder, rebuilding the inn, and falling impossibly in love with Ethan Cross, the fear had finally released its grip.What remained in its wake was terrifying in an entirely different way. It was hope. And hope, Maya had learned, required far more courage than survival ever had."You're up early." Ethan's voice came from behind her, rough with sleep and warm with affection. His arms wrapped around her waist

The wedding invitation sat on Marcus's desk like an accusation, cream-colored paper with elegant script that spelled out a future he'd once tried to destroy. Maya Reeves and Nathan Cross cordially invite you to celebrate their union. His hands had stopped shaking when he held it now—that was progress, his therapist said. Two years ago, the mere thought of Maya's name would have sent him into a spiral of rage and justification. Now it just made him tired. Tired of the man he'd been. Tired of carrying the weight of what he'd done.He traced the embossed lettering with his finger, careful not to crease the expensive cardstock. She'd invited him. After everything—the bruises he'd left on her skin, the fear he'd carved into her soul, the night she'd run from him with nothing but a duffel bag and borrowed courage—Maya had invited him to watch her marry someone else.It was either forgiveness or the cruelest punishment he could imagine. He suspected it was both."You don't have to go," his s

Maya's hands were shaking as she stood in the doorway of the Tidewater Inn's master bedroom, watching Ethan pack his overnight bag. Four months since she'd arrived in Moonlight Cove. Four months since she'd started rebuilding herself piece by piece. And now, watching the man she loved prepare to leave for a three-day contractor's conference in Portland, every old instinct screamed that this was a test she was going to fail."You're doing it again," Ethan said softly, not looking up from folding a shirt. His storm-gray eyes found hers in the mirror above the dresser. "That thing where you hold your breath and wait for the sky to fall."She forced air into her lungs. "I'm fine.""Maya." He turned to face her fully, crossing the room in three strides. His calloused hands cupped her face with a gentleness that still surprised her every single time. "Talk to me. Please."Please undo her. Because Marcus had never said please. Marcus had demanded, controlled, isolated. And here was Ethan, as

The storm that had been building for three days finally broke over Moonlight Cove with the fury of something personal. Maya stood at the window of the Tidewater Inn's master suite—their suite now—watching lightning fracture the sky over the Atlantic, and felt the universe's timing was almost laughably on the nose.Of course the world would try to tear everything apart the night before their wedding.Behind her, Caleb's arms wrapped around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. She could feel his heartbeat against her back, steady and sure, the opposite of the chaos raging outside. Six months ago, she'd arrived in this town with nothing but a duffel bag and enough trauma to fill the ocean. Now she stood in a place that felt like home, in the arms of a man who'd taught her that love could be shelter instead of storm."You're thinking too loud," he murmured against her ear, and despite everything, she smiled."The inn," Maya said, watching the wind whip the trees into submission. "