All Chapters of Désiré Me 2: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The return to the world is a slow agony. Every nerve screams, every muscle protests. Pain is a leaden weight chaining me to the hospital bed, then to the one in the penthouse. The doctors speak of cracked ribs, concussion, deep contusions. They do not speak of the interior fracture, the one that has spread among the three of us.EvaThey treat me like blown glass, a unique and irreplaceable piece that nearly shattered. Sasha doesn't leave me. He sleeps on a couch in the room, waking at the slightest moan from me. His hands, once so brutal, are infinitely gentle as they adjust a pillow, bring a glass of water to my lips. He looks at me with a devotion that terrifies me.Niko has hired the best specialists, organized the room into an ultramodern care center. But his control stops at the doors of his own fear. He no longer touches me, as if his mere contact could crumble me. His obsession has turned into a morbid, silent vigilance.Voronin's key is still in my drawer. Suddenly it seems t

One year.Time has flowed over our wounds like slow water, polishing the sharp edges, fading the most visible scars. The penthouse is no longer a prison, nor a sanctuary. It is a home. Our home. The air is different there, lighter, even if it still carries the weight of our history.EvaI am no longer the frightened girl. I am no longer the prey turned weapon. I am… the balance. The center of gravity around which two twin suns orbit, no longer in competition, but in fragile harmony. I have my own projects, a design studio they financed without asking questions, like an offering. Money is no longer a pact, but a tool. Their power, a resource I am learning to channel.Tonight, we are hosting a reception. The first since the accident. Since the reconstruction. I am wearing a night-colored dress, and around my neck, the Volkovs' black diamond. It is no longer a mark of ownership, but a talisman, a memory of the abyss we survived.The crowd of the powerful and influential throngs the space

ÉvaThe sound of the waves is a constant breath, a saline exhale that washes the air clean of all urban memory. The white villa stands on the cliff, facing the blue immensity, a lighthouse in our private world. There are no walls here, only floor-to-ceiling windows that abolish the boundary between inside and the ocean.One year.One year since the reception, since that night when we sealed our new geography in skin. One year since we left the glass tower and its oppressive luxury for this wild shoreline.I am sitting on the terrace, bare feet on the warm wood, a sketchbook on my lap. I am drawing the lines of the coast, the curves of the waves. My design studio thrives; my creations are signed with my name alone. Their fortune became a safety net, not a trap. Sometimes, I catch them looking at my drawings, and I see a pride in their eyes that holds nothing possessive.Sasha is down on the private beach. He runs along the water's edge, his powerful body moving with a grace I never kne

CHAPTER 2: THE DANCE OF BOUNDARIESDIANEThe ballroom sparkles beneath the crystal chandeliers, an ocean of muted laughter and calculated glances. I navigate this world like a predator in a game-rich reserve, but I have eyes for only one prey.Liam. My silent shadow. My rock. My torment.He stands three paces behind me, a presence so intense it alters the pressure of the air. I feel his gaze on my bare back, a cold and controlled burn. He performs his duty with machinelike precision, scanning the crowd, assessing threats. But I know. I know he also assesses the curve of my waist, the apparent fragility of my bare shoulders.I allow myself to be swept into dances by insipid heirs, their clammy hands on mine. I smile, I make pleasantries, but every movement is calculated for him. When I turn, the silk of my dress flies, brushing against men who instantly become pawns on my chessboard. I use them, these interchangeable faces, to provoke a reaction in Liam, however infinitesimal.A certai

DIANELiam's kiss isn't a submission—it's an explosion. His lips on mine are a wild claim, a silence finally erupting into a language far more eloquent than all his measured words. His hands, now imperious, leave my arms to sink into my hair, drawing me even deeper into the vortex of his surrender. I respond with equal fervor, my fingers clinging to his shoulders, digging into the fabric of his shirt, desperate to feel the flesh and muscle beneath.In one fluid, powerful motion, he moves us toward the bed. The shock of my back against the mattress is absorbed by the weight of his body surrendering onto mine. A moan escapes my throat—a sound of pure victory. The space between us is annihilated. I can feel every contour of him, every tension, every tangible proof of his desire pressed against me. It's a physical confession, more eloquent than any word.His kisses grow deeper, more exploratory. They leave my lips to trace a burning path along my jaw, my neck. I tilt my head back, offerin