บททั้งหมดของ A MIRROR OF MALICE: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

PAULINEThe moment we entered our bedroom, the air shifted from the cold authority of the courtroom to a suffocating heat. Ricardo didn't lead me in gently; he practically dragged me by the arm. The door slammed shut with a bang that made my heart skip a beat. Before I could even say thank you for standing up to the Chiefs, he gripped my shoulders and threw me onto the bed.I bounced against the mattress, staring up at him. His eyes weren't filled with the warmth of a savior; they were dark, jagged, and full of a deep-seated resentment."I am doing this for my son," he warned, his finger inches from my face. "I don’t want my son to pass through what I went through because his mother wasn’t there. But don’t expect love from me, Pauline. Not while Maria is in pain caused by your brother. Do you understand?"I couldn't even nod. The whiplash of him defending me in public only to freeze me out in private was too much. He turned away abruptly and began tearing through the drawers of his dr

PAULINEThe morning sun filtered through the curtains, but it didn't bring the usual warmth. The house was thick with a tension so heavy it felt like walking through water. I stood in the kitchen, nursing a glass of water, when I heard the heavy tread of Ricardo’s boots on the marble floor.He walked into the dining area where Maria was already seated, her face a mask of bitterness. She looked up, her eyes expectant, probably waiting for him to continue the argument from the night before or to offer her more apologies.Ricardo didn't even look at her.He was fully prepared for work, dressed in a sharp charcoal suit that made him look every bit the powerful Alpha he was. He bypassed Maria entirely, his focus solely on me. He walked straight over, his hand cupping my cheek with a tenderness that felt like a shield against the rest of the room."I'm heading to the office," he said, his voice low and firm. He leaned down and kissed me deeply on the lips—a kiss that felt like a claim, a re

MARIAI watched from my wheelchair as the power shifted in this pack, and the sight of it made my blood boil more than the wound in my side ever could. A few days had passed, and Ricardo—my strong, Alpha brother—had completely changed. He didn't just love Pauline, he almost worshipped her. He followed her with his eyes, he touched her hand at the table, and he ignored every demand I made for justice.It pained Evelyn the most, but for me, it was a terrifying wake-up call. Ricardo didn't ask me to move back into the house after I left for my husband’s house. He didn't urge me to leave Leo. Most importantly, he didn't even mention punishing Pauline anymore. The "eye for an eye" law I had counted on was being buried under the weight of Pauline’s pregnancy.She is winning because she has a child in her belly, I thought, gripping the armrests of my chair until my knuckles turned white. If I want to keep my place, if I want to keep Ricardo on my side, I need to tie Leo to me forever. I need

PAULINEFinding Mum was so easy—almost too easy. It made my heart ache with a strange kind of anger. All those years of Ricardo and Maria mourning her, and all I had to do was look at the address written on those old, dusty divorce papers. I took a car to the outskirts of the territory, found a small, vine-covered cottage, and there she was. Diana.She looked so much like Ricardo. She had his eyes—those deep, golden-brown eyes that seemed to hold the secrets of the forest. When I told her who I was, she wept. But as we drove back to the pack house, a question kept burning in my mind."Why didn't you come for them?" I asked softly, watching her hands tremble in her lap. "And why didn't they ever come for you?""The Alpha’s word is a wall of iron, Pauline," she whispered. "I was told they were told I was dead. I was told if I stepped foot on this land, Ricardo and Maria would be stripped of their inheritance. I stayed away to save their future."I didn't seek anyone’s opinion. I didn't a

The weight of the task Ricardo had given me felt like a mountain on my chest. I spent the next few days in a daze, holding baby Noah and wondering how I could possibly ask Leo to give himself to Maria. But the fear in Ricardo’s eyes had been real. If Maria didn't find a reason to be happy, if she didn't get a "throne" of her own through a child, my brother was a dead man walking.I realized I couldn't do this alone. I had to talk to the enemy.I sent for Maria. When she arrived at the main house, she looked pale and bitter, her eyes darting to Noah with a look that made me shiver."What do you want, Pauline?" she snapped. "Come to brag about your perfect life again?""No," I said, closing the door. "I've come to save your marriage. And my brother's life."We sat in the shadows of the nursery, speaking in low voices. I told her the truth, that she needed to conceive to secure her place and keep the peace. At first, she was angry, but then she became desperate."He won't touch me," she