جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 190

The penthouse lay shrouded in quiet darkness, the vast space swallowing sound like a tomb, city lights twinkling mockingly beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. Charlotte eased the door shut behind her, flipping the switch to bathe the room in soft amber glow. There stood Howard, a solitary silhouette against the glass, staring out at the sprawling skyline—back rigid, broad shoulders tense under his rumpled shirt, the grief of Grandpa's death etched into every line on him.She knew he was furious, the sting of her confrontation with Anastasia still burning between them. He wouldn't believe her accusations without ironclad proof, and until she unearthed it, she had to play it normal—steady the ship for a man already capsized by loss. Treading softly across the cool marble, she approached, heels whispering like a secret. He knew she was there; his posture didn't shift, but the faint clink of ice in his glass betrayed him—a tumbler of whiskey, half-drained, the sharp scent of alcohol ling

Ryan flicked the light switch with his elbow, the room flooding with a harsh yellow glow while his iron grip never slackened on Daisy's wrists. His eyes widened in stunned disbelief—she was awake, alive, and fierce after weeks in that coma, her small frame trembling under his hold. Her face was a mask of pure panic, eyes wild and haunted, pupils blown wide with terror; it hit him like a gut punch—natural, of course, after surviving that brutal subway attack and mistaking him for the monster who'd slashed her throat.He released her wrists gently, stepping back half a pace, but she lunged again in feral instinct, free hand scrabbling for the scissors on the floor. Ryan caught her arm mid-swing, snatching the blades with his other hand and hurling them across the room—they skittered under the bed with a metallic clatter. "Calm down, Daisy," he said firmly, voice low and steady, hands raised palms out to show no threat.She froze, breathing sawing raggedly, squinting through the fear to

Howard didn't relent after Charlotte's shattering release—her walls clenched and fluttered around him in pulsing waves, but he powered through, hips slamming harder, chasing his own edge with feral intensity. Sweat-slicked skin slapped rhythmically, her juices easing the way even as exhaustion crashed over her like a tide. She sagged beneath him, limbs heavy, breaths ragged gasps, but tonight his emotions churned wild: grief-fueled anger at her "madness"; burning lust stripping him raw; and tangled love refusing to let go. It twisted him into something primal, animalistic—frustrated by the chaos yet unable to deny his craving for her."Fuck, Charlotte," he snarled low, voice a guttural rasp against her throat, teeth sinking deep into the soft juncture of neck and shoulder. Sharp pain bloomed as he bit down hard—marking her with jagged indents, the copper tang of blood teasing his tongue. She cried out, a whimper laced with sting, body arching involuntarily, nails digging bloody cresce

Charlotte burst through the hospital doors, heart pounding like a war drum, Howard's car keys still clutched in her white-knuckled fist. She'd barely registered his stunned face back at the penthouse before racing out, the breakfast cold and forgotten on the table. Now, she sprinted down the sterile corridor toward Max's ward. The ward door swung open to an empty bed—sheets rumpled, IV stand silent, monitors dark. Nurses huddled in frantic whispers, charts clutched tight, while a doctor paced with a furrowed brow, phone pressed to his ear. Charlotte skidded to a halt, breath ragged. "Where's Max? What happened?"A young nurse turned, face pale and drawn, eyes wide with worry. "Ms. Carter! We... I just stepped out for his medicine—only a minute. When I came back, he was gone. We searched everywhere: the bathrooms, the lounge, and even the rooftop garden. He's not here. No sign of him."Charlotte's world tilted, knees buckling as icy dread clawed her chest. Gone? How?Panic surged, hot

Daisy huddled on the edge of the narrow bed in the dim, cramped apartment Ryan had stashed her in—a forgotten bolt-hole in the city's underbelly, far from the countryside cottage where attackers had nearly ended her. Her knees were drawn tight to her chest, thin arms wrapped around them like a fragile shield, her body still weak from days of evasion and terror.She rocked slightly, her breath shallow, her eyes darting to the locked door—Ryan had sworn this place was safe, a secret even from those hunting them. But safety felt like a lie now, fragile as her fraying nerves.The doorbell shattered the silence—a shrill, insistent buzz that sliced through her like glass. Daisy flinched hard, her heart slamming against her ribs, a gasp escaping her lips. Panic flooded her veins; she froze, muscles locked, ears straining. Who? Ryan, back early with supplies? Or them—the shadows from the cottage, the ones with cold eyes and colder hands? Ryan had vanished hours ago, promising to return before