Lahat ng Kabanata ng Ashes of Love; Fire of Vengeance : Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

I had no idea how long I’d been blacked out. When consciousness finally clawed its way back, I found myself in a bed at one of our safe houses.The room was dim, lit by soft amber strips along the ceiling. Through the narrow, high-set windows I saw nothing but forest, thick trees, low hills, and patches of fog drifting over wooden undergrowth. Silence ruled here: no distant horns, no footsteps, only the dull breath of wind sweeping through pine and oak.No one would ever guess that deep in the countryside of Catalca, Infotech had constructed a remote safe house armed with some of the most advanced systems in the region. Fortified with next-generation security tech.I tried to push myself upright, but something pulled hard at my hand. I looked down to see what it was and realised one of my hands was bound to an IV drip, the other lying open on the mattress as if it had been waiting for someone who never came.The last time Sofia tried to kill me, I drifted into something close to a com

(Jennifer’s P.O.V.)After coming back from the hospital, I take a long, warm shower, letting the heat peel off the last trace of antiseptic and fatigue. Now I need to be in good health. As the daughter of Smiths I have one duty: protect the one person who can still be saved.Jason. The heir. The future. He’s the only Smith I still feel a connection with.He’d spent the last five years in the U.S. Post-grad, plans, the life he built with Heidi Shaw. They were waiting for him to come home so they could marry once he joined Smith & Hale.But everything collapsed before he could even board that plane. And now… I don’t even know what his life will look like anymore.My father, whatever he once meant, feels hollow now. Just a man capable of killing in cold blood to make his sister happy. Maybe even the reason my mother never lived long enough to see us grow.After her death, he started acting like the perfect father. He never remarried, he tried to be present in our lives. Jason forgave him

Before I can make sense of anything, I hit the ground hard. My elbow and knee burn, scraped raw, and for a moment I can’t tell if I slipped… or if someone pushed me.Watson is immediately at my side, gripping my arm as if I might fall again. He pushes himself upright, eyes sharp and scanning me. “Are you hurt?”I shake my head, breath caught in my chest, words refusing to form. And then it hits me. My baby.A broken sound escapes me before I even realise I’m speaking. “Watson… my baby.” My vision blurs; tears sting unexpectedly.Panic flashes across Watson’s face, unmistakable. “We’re going to the hospital.” He reaches for me, trying to lift me.Just then, another pair of hands grabs me from behind, steadying me. I rise slowly, heart hammering against my ribs, terrified that in my hurry I might hurt my baby myself.“Watson, you drive. I’ll hold her,” says the man, that voice, unmistakable. It’s Thomas Nelson.Watson nods silently, no questions, no hesitation.I’m stunned to see Thomas

When his lips lock on mine, sucking gently, I breathe him in like someone starved. It’s that scent…the one that calms me, the one that feels like home. That very scent… the one that clings to him like a second skin, the one that seeps into my senses and sets my blood racing. It’s more than just smell; it’s a pull I can’t resist, a magnetic force that drags me into him, making me crave him more.Before I can process, my fingers curl against his shirt, torn between resistance and the ache of missing him. He is overwhelming, unrelenting, but beneath it I feel something raw, fear, longing, love tangled together.Then his mouth crashes onto mine in a fierce, hungry kiss, his hands cradling my face as if he has been hungry for me too.My man, my Adrian… has come back to me.His tongue slides against mine.Exploring. Probing. Urgent... yet deliberate.Lost in the heat of him, I shiver. My body responds instinctively. He cradles my face with his hands, pulling me closer, pressing me against h

(Adrian’s P.O.V)The elevator doors slide shut, and the world seems to hollow out with the metallic click, along with my chest.Does she have any idea what she means to me?Her tear‑stained face keeps flashing in front of me. Her accusations echo: Why did you leave me at the altar, Adrian?I wish she knew… this isn’t about abandoning her.This is about justice.Peter Smith… Sofia Hale… and my father, Richard Hale. They destroyed my mother’s life. They don’t get to walk free.Yes, I wronged her too. By leaving her alone here. By announcing our break up.But why can’t she try to understand that I’m not fine without her? I know she's not fine without me either.I’ve done something like this before.But that time… the situation was different. I was jealous. I thought she was going to leave me for another man. So I cut her off completely.I drowned myself in models and actresses, parties, late nights, meaningless company. And while I was busy pretending I didn’t care, Jenny tried again and