บททั้งหมดของ The Don's Wife, The Brother's Whore: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 20

Lilith POVI woke earlier than usual, though my body felt heavy, like sleep had been something I fought for instead of something that came naturally. The room was dim, the curtains still half drawn. When I reached for my phone on the nightstand, I already knew what I would see before the screen even lit up. The message sat there quietly, waiting.“What are you doing?”I stared at it for a long moment. It had no softness, no polite formality, no attempt to conceal intention.Damien spoke the way he moved: direct, steady, unapologetic. A part of me wanted to write something back. Anything. Even a small reassurance that I was alive and well. But the thought barely formed before Lucian’s voice from yesterday pressed itself sharply into my mind.“I do not trust him.”The words knotted inside me. If Lucian ever saw this message, Damien would not just be in danger. He would be hunted. And the way Lucian had spoken about Greece, about betrayal, about his own brother, showed he no longer carri

Lucian’s POVThe drive to the orphanage annoyed me more than it should have. Lilith had not replied to my message, and I disliked repeating myself.She was usually quick to answer, not because she was obedient by nature, but because she had learned discipline.I reminded myself that softness made her slow sometimes, and softness was why I kept her.A woman like her was necessary. Quiet enough not to cause problems, gentle enough to handle the social tasks I had no patience for, presentable enough to stand beside me when I needed the world to look.She was useful. That was all.I parked and stepped out without waiting for anyone to open the door. The place was exactly as I remembered it. Old beige walls, worn pavement, faded chalk drawings near the gate. I walked up the small path and saw her stepping out of the entrance, her eyes darting across the yard as if she expected something to jump out at her.She looked pale. Tired too. The color had drained from her face, and she held hersel

Damien’s POVThe apartment was quiet when I returned. Only a single lamp lit the room, casting a small circle of warmth over the table. Darkness filled everything else. I preferred it that way.I set my keys down, sat at the desk, and opened my laptop. The encrypted window came up immediately. Lines of code, access logs, blueprint files. All the pieces of Verona business that Lucian thought he had buried. I clicked through them carefully. My fingers never hesitated. Everything about my work was methodical.In one corner of the screen, a file sat open: the boutique address Lucian had registered under Lilith’s name. I hadn’t planned on checking it tonight, but my eyes kept drifting to it. Something about the timing bothered me.Before I could click into it, my phone rang.It was Rafe.I answered without looking away from the screen.“She’s home,” he said. “I dropped her off at the estate gate.”I nodded once, more to myself than to him. “Good.”The call ended. I clicked the boutique fil

Lilith POVThe phone rang so suddenly I almost dropped it. Damien’s number lit up the screen in clean, sharp numbers, bright enough that I felt it in my stomach. My breath stopped. My pulse thudded once, hard, as if my body recognized him before my mind caught up.My fingers tightened around the phone, holding it too tightly.I should not answer, but I answered anyway.“Why are you calling,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady, even though my throat felt tight.Damien’s voice slid through the speaker, low and smooth, like he hadn’t even considered the possibility that I might not pick up.“Because you didn’t answer my question.”My fingers curled in on themselves. I shifted my weight, leaning against the counter to steady the sudden weakness in my legs. “What question?”“You get jealous beautifully.”My breath hitched. Heat shot up my chest before I could stop it. I hated that he could hear it. I hated it even more that I couldn’t control it.“I wasn’t jealous,” I snapped quietly,

Lilith's POVThe moment the driver’s voice rang from outside the changing room, my entire body went still. My back pressed hard against the wall. Damien’s hand was still wrapped around my wrist from where he had pulled me in, my blouse half open, my breath too fast to disguise.The phone rang again in the pocket of my bag. The sound was painfully loud in the small room.Damien’s head turned toward the sound, then back to me. His expression did not change, but something dark showed behind his eyes. He moved like he was about to answer it for me, voice low and steady, ready to say whatever needed to be said.“I’ll handle it.”That pulled me back to myself like a slap.I jerked away, breath breaking out of my chest. “No. No, Damien, I can’t be caught with you. Not here… not ever.”His eyes stayed on me, steady and unreadable. Not angry. Not disappointed. Just this controlled heat that terrified me more than Lucian ever had. The kind of look that understood why I was panicking but hated t