All Chapters of Divorced, Desired, Dangerous : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

NILAHThe air outside the cabin was cold, and thick with the damp scent of pine needle trails, wet earth, and ancient stone. Massive cypress trees surrounded the entire estate, screening the property completely from the narrow country roads miles below.Marko stepped out onto the gravel first, signaling to the ground security team to establish a perimeter around the landing pad.Darien reached back into the cabin, taking my hand firmly in his. He guided me down the metal steps, his right arm wrapping around my waist to keep me steady on the loose stone path. He led me past the dark stone archway, through a heavy oak side door, and up a flight of wide marble stairs into the master bedroom on the upper floor.The room was vast and dim, framed by thick exposed wooden beams across the vaulted ceiling and a massive stone fireplace built into the far wall. A large king-sized bed sat in the center of the dark hardwood floor, covered in dark linen sheets and thick wool blankets."Sit down on

NILAHI sat in his lap, my head resting against his chest while his uninjured right arm held me close against him. His thumb had been lazily tracing slow, soothing circles over my waist, keeping me grounded after the long night. But as he glanced down at the flashing screen, his body went instantly rigid beneath me. His chest expanded on a sharp intake of air, and the gentle stroke of his hand stilled."Marko," Darien called out, his deep voice slicing through the heavy silence of the study. "Get in here now."The double doors swung open immediately. Marko stepped into the room, holding an encrypted tablet securely in his hand, his expression unusually dark as his eyes moved between us."We caught the interception three minutes ago, boss," Marko reported, walking quickly over to the desk and sliding the tablet across the polished wood. "The firewalls set up around the private medical facility in New York flagged an unauthorized attempt to access our high-security server."I shifted sl

NilahThe private elevator hummed in complete silence as it smoothed to a stop on the top floor of the Castellano headquarters building.It was long past midnight. The exhaustive, back-to-back global board meetings, emergency market adjustments, and final quarterly reviews had completely drained every single remaining ounce of energy I possessed.My feet throbbed painfully inside my simple leather flats, and my lower back burned with a constant, heavy ache from supporting the full, rounded weight of my visibly pregnant belly through the late hours of the evening.When the polished brass elevator doors slid open into the dimly lit, carpeted hallway of our private residential suite, I took a small step forward, but my knees gave out slightly beneath my gown.Before my feet could stumble, two broad, impossibly strong arms reached around my waist and behind my knees. Darien scooped me up off the carpeted floor in one seamless, effortless motion, pulling my weight close against his broad

NILAHThe heavy steel wrench gleamed dull yellow under dim emergency lights overhead.Julian took another half-step forward, his breathing ragged, loud, and erratic over the sound of rain hammering against the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. He was standing less than four feet away from me, blocking the only path out of the private library.My heart hammered viciously against my ribs, sending a sharp spike of adrenaline straight through my veins, but I forced my physical posture to remain entirely motionless. I kept my back straight, my chin lifted high, and my left hand positioned firmly over my rounded stomach to protect my baby. I knew that if I showed a single crack of panic, if I screamed, gasped, or tried to turn and run, he would swing that heavy metal tool before I could cover even two steps toward the side doors."You are staring at me like I am a ghost, Nilah," Julian hissed, his bloodshot eyes narrowing into slit-like lines as he adjusted his wet, slippery grip on the steel

NILAHThe main conference room on the top floor was completely quiet. Outside the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the sky above the Milan harbor was clear and bright blue, the heavy rain from last night’s storm completely gone.On the long mahogany table sat three thick stacks of legal files, stamped with official red seals from the European Trade Board and the federal courts in New York.Darien sat at the head of the table in his dark charcoal suit. I sat right beside him, holding a gold pen in my hand while my left hand rested comfortably over my stomach. Marko stood near the doorway alongside our four senior corporate lawyers."Are all the regulatory sign-offs officially logged?" Darien asked, breaking the silence as he leaned back in his leather chair."They came through ten minutes ago, boss," Marko said, walking over and putting the last sheet of paper on the table in front of us. "The European Union, the Swiss banking commission, and the American trade authorities have all sign