All Chapters of Forbidden never felt this good : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The warehouse smelled of gunpowder, sweat, and fear, a combination that made my stomach turn and my pulse hammer in a way I hadn’t thought possible. My hands were trembling, but not from fear alone. There was adrenaline, yes, but also something more dangerous anticipation, the kind that made every nerve in my body alert, every thought sharp and impossible to ignore.Selene’s gaze never left me. She moved like a predator, but her steps were measured, graceful, taunting. “You think you understand danger now?” she purred, circling the room. “You have no idea what’s coming.”Dominic stayed close to me, his body a living barrier, every muscle coiled like a spring. I could feel the tension radiating off him, hear it in the shallow set of his jaw, see it in the way his eyes darted to every shadow, every movement that might be a threat. He was alive, dangerous, and utterly magnetic, and I wanted nothing more than to be near him even if it meant risking everything.Alex and Ryan were already m

Silence is a strange thing.People think it’s empty. Peaceful. Safe.But I learned something different the morning after the press conference.Silence can be the loudest threat of all.No messages.No anonymous calls.No headlines screaming new accusations.Nothing.And that terrified me more than everything that had come before.I stood at the kitchen counter, staring into a cup of coffee that had long gone cold, my reflection warped by the dark liquid. Dominic watched me from the doorway, his presence heavy, coiled, like a storm waiting for permission to break.“They’re regrouping,” I said quietly.“Yes,” he replied. “And when they move again, it won’t be from the shadows.”Ryan entered moments later, jacket already on, eyes sharp. “We’ve got movement.”My pulse kicked hard. “Where?”“Your workplace.”The word hit like a slap.Alex followed him in, tablet in hand, jaw clenched. “They’ve filed a formal complaint. Ethics review. Abuse of influence. Emotional manipulation.”I laughed o

Fear doesn’t arrive screaming.It arrives quietly, rearranging your instincts, teaching your body new reflexes before your mind can catch up.By the time Ryan finished locking the doors of the temporary apartment, I already knew this place wouldn’t feel like home either. Homes required safety. This was a shelter temporary, tense, and built on borrowed time.Dominic tested the windows, his movements efficient but controlled. Alex sat at the small dining table, three screens open, jaw tight with concentration. Ryan stood near the door, arms crossed, eyes alert.I felt like the still point in the middle of a storm.“She didn’t just threaten you,” Ryan said finally. “She marked territory.”I nodded. “She wants me aware. Afraid. Off-balance.”Dominic turned toward me. “Are you?”The question wasn’t accusatory. It was careful. Protective.I considered the truth before answering. “I’m aware. I’m angry. I’m not paralyzed.”That earned a quiet nod from him.Alex exhaled sharply. “I pulled meta

The world didn’t reset after Selene’s arrest.I think a part of me expected it to some invisible line crossed, credits rolling, relief flooding in like a tide. Instead, life resumed with an unsettling normalcy, as if everything hadn’t nearly fallen apart.The morning after felt heavier than the days of chaos.Because now there was space.And space leaves room for questions you’ve been too busy surviving to ask.I woke early, the apartment still dim, my body sore with a fatigue that went deeper than muscles or bones. The city outside was quiet in that fragile way it gets just before sunrise, when the night hasn’t quite let go and the day hasn’t fully arrived.I sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing my palms together slowly.Who was I now?That question lingered like a bruise.I wasn’t the woman who’d ignored warning signs, who’d told herself discomfort was normal, who’d believed silence was safety.But I wasn’t entirely healed either.I was something in between.Dominic was already awake

The house was quiet, deceptively so, like the calm before a storm that had been gathering for weeks. I should have felt safe. I should have felt relief. Instead, the air around me felt tight, charged, heavy with things I wasn’t ready to name.I stood barefoot near the window, tracing the condensation on the glass with a finger. Outside, the street was bathed in the soft glow of lamplight, and the city moved on like it always did, unaware of the chaos that had become my life.Three men. Three lines I had never been allowed to cross. Yet here I was, standing on all of them at once.The knock at my door was soft, measured. Not a demand. Not an accident. A choice.My chest tightened. I already knew who it was.Elliot.My father’s best friend. The man who had known me since I was sixteen and somehow still managed to make my pulse stutter every time he looked at me. The man whose voice had a velvet edge that could make a simple question feel like a confession.“Can I come in?” he asked quie